It’s no secret Notre Dame has some talented players on offense.

But those players aren’t just dangerous at the line of scrimmage. They can be deadly on special teams, too.

The Crusaders had their hands full with host Northern Lehigh on Friday night, but two returns — and an outstanding effort from coach Phil Stambaugh’s punter — were crucial in Notre Dame posting a 40-21 victory to remain undefeated.

Notre Dame (6-0) ran the opening kickoff back for a score, and also had a shanked punt picked up and taken to the end zone in the first half to help build a lead.

And even when the Bulldogs got some stops, Clemente Cintron helped switch field position with his foot — connecting on three punts, all 50 yards or more.

“In 2016, we did the same thing (here) on the opening kickoff,” said Stambaugh. “That was Jalen Simpson back then. It was Jon Striba tonight, so I was really happy to see that and make that connection. … That was a big boost at the beginning of the game, and I thought the way we punted the ball was outstanding. Clemente has done a great job all year. It’s a special skill that he has in punting that ball, and he plays that role really well for us.

“And Drew Boyd (who returned the short punt for a score) is a dangerous athlete, especially when he gets the ball in his hands. That was a high-level play with him coming up and picking that up and running it in.”

Striba’s 81-yard dash to the end zone gave the Crusaders an early start, and after Nolehi was forced to punt it took Notre Dame only two plays — the second a 40-yard run by Faustie Capabianco — to extend its margin to 13-0.

Despite the poor start, there was still fight from coach Joe Tout’s club.

They responded with an 14-play, 80-yard drive. Chris Frame, who had a big 26-yard run during the march, went the final five for the score.

The two teams traded scores on their next possessions, as quarterback Matt Bodnar tossed a 13-yard TD pass to Alex Clark for Notre Dame, while Ryan Zambo’s 62-yard return of the ensuing kickoff helped lead to Frame’s second 5-yard tally.

A 58-yard punt by Cintron pinned NL on its own 1-yard line late in the first half, and when the Bulldogs eventually were forced to punt themselves, a less than ideal boot hit the ground and bounced up at the 12-yard line. An alert Boyd grabbed the ball and raced to the end zone.

“Yeah, something’s got to change there,” said Tout about the special teams play. “That hurt us against Palisades, and it hurt us again tonight, so that’s going to be a big focus moving forward.

“It looked like it had a shot to be pretty ugly tonight. Notre Dame’s the No. 5 team in the state and they knew they were in a football game tonight. We went into halftime down a score with the ball. The first half, other than the two special teams plays, I don’t know if we could have scripted a better first half.”

Like Tout said, Northern Lehigh (3-3) was within striking distance, trailing just 26-21 at the break after competing an 80-yard drive to end the first half. A 30-yard pass from Garrett Smoyer to Colin Karetsky was the key play during the march. Smoyer bulled in from a yard out.

“They’re a well-coached team and have tough kids,” Stambaugh said of the Bulldogs. “This is my wife’s alma mater, and a lot of my side of the family and her side of the family is very connected here and went to school here, so I know how tough it’s going to be to come up here and win. … I was not surprised that it was a tough game tonight. I know how hard they play.”

The Crusaders made it tough on Nolehi the rest of the evening. After making some adjustments, Notre Dame held the Bulldogs scoreless over the final two frames.

Tout’s club managed to move the ball but could never get the big play or sustain a drive.

“The defensive effort in the second half was about making some adjustments, and containing what they were trying to do,” said Stambaugh. “We felt that they were trying to get the ball to Frame, and why wouldn’t you? He’s an outstanding player and we had to contain the quarterback, but I thought our kids played better situational football in the second half.”

The visitors came through with two key four-down stops near midfield, and then proceeded to turn them into scores to seal the win.

Jason Frederick went up the gut for a 19-yard tally late in the third period, while Capabianco turned a fourth-and-one conversion into a 50-yard TD run early in the fourth.

STAT CHECK … Frame ran for 111 yards and had 63 receiving yards. The Bulldogs finished with more yards of offense (308) than ND (242) but were done in by special teams play. Northern Lehigh ran 71 offensive plays, compared to the Crusaders’ 30.

UP AHEAD … Tout is hoping his team can finish off the season with wins. “I’m usually focused (on one game) but I think with what we have with this team, I think that’s reasonable for our guys. That starts on Monday. We want to go 4-0, and then we’ll go from there when that second season starts.”

No. Dame 40, No. Lehigh 21

Notre Dame 13 13 7 7 - 40

No. Lehigh 7 14 0 0 - 21

ND - Striba 81 kickoff return (Cintron kick)

ND - Capabianco 40 run (kick failed)

NL - Frame 5 run (Hanna kick)

ND - Clark 13 pass from Bodnar (Cintron kick)

NL - Frame 5 run (Hanna kick)

ND - Boyd 12 punt return (pass failed)

NL - Smoyer 1 run (Hanna kick)

ND - Frederick 19 run (Cintron kick)

ND - Capabianco 50 run (Cintron kick)