Northwestern is no stranger to preparing with a business-like mentality.

The Tigers got back to that approach a little more fiercely last week after a close 34-28 win over Blue Mountain in Week Three.

The result after that enhanced week of preparation was a 50-0 victory over a good Lehighton team.

This week, The Tigers (5-0) will welcome an always tough North Schuylkill (3-2) squad to try and keep its undefeated season alive in one of the Week Six Games of the Week.

It’s hard to talk about Northwestern without focusing on its defense, where once again the Tigers boast a fast and physical group on that side of the ball.

The Tigers are giving up just 13.8 points per game and 149.2 total yards per contest. Last week against the Indians, Northwestern was back to its best form on defense, giving up just 73 total yards in a shutout win.

Northwestern will face one of its toughest tests to date when it takes on the North Schuylkill offense, which features one of the fastest players in District 11 in running back Luke Miller.

A track star for North Schuylkill, Miller put on quite the show in last week’s win over Jim Thorpe, rushing for 361 yards and four touchdowns. On the season, Miller has rushed for 971 yards and 11 touchdowns.

Northwestern is allowing just 75.6 yards per game on the ground.

“I liked how we practiced last week. It was very business-like. And that’s how we like to approach it,” said Northwestern head coach Josh Snyder. “We needed to clean up some of those undisciplined plays, and those lack of focus plays. We have North Schuylkill coming to our place this week. We know it’s going to be a tough test.

“Obviously, you have to try and slow down the Miller kid. We know him from last year when he broke a big one on us early in the game. Bottling him up is easier said than done, but you can’t let him get loose because he gets going fast with that track speed. And the quarterback, Mengel, is a three-year starter and he can hurt you in both the run and pass game. It’s always a big and physical team, and as always we’re excited for the matchup.”

The Tigers’ offense has been exceptional as well, as they’re averaging 47.2 points per game and 430 total yards per game. After losing almost all of its rushing production due to graduation, Northwestern has managed to be both productive and explosive in the run game.

The Tigers’ backfield duo of Braxton Lakatosh and Chase Sukanick have combined for 840 yards and 11 touchdowns. Lakatosh leads the way with 499 yards at 12.8 yards per carry, and Sukanick has tallied 341 yards at 8.7 yards per run. Northwestern is averaging 244.6 rushing yards per game.

“We have a pretty good running duo going right now. And then we have some of our other guys who have done a good job in our direct snap stuff, too. But Lakatosh and Sukanick complement each other well,” said Snyder. “Lakatosh is a very tough runner with speed, who breaks tackles and is very patient, and Sukanick is a speed back who can gash you. Both of those guys have made big plays for us.

“Defensively, North Schuylkill is going to look to crowd the line of scrimmage. Again, they’re big, so we’re going to need to create some seams for our athletes. We have to make it so that they can’t crowd the box on us. That comes with making plays in the passing game, which we have a lot of confidence in.”