Northwestern will always be a run-first team.

But that doesn’t mean the Tigers can’t throw the ball with the best of them.

Friday night in a battle of undefeated teams, Northwestern went to the air often — as Southern Lehigh made it tough on the Tigers’ ground game. And the pass game, led by quarterback Shane Leh, came through in the team’s biggest game of the season so far, holding off the Spartans by a 36-28 score.

“We saw on tape that we thought we had a chance to get them here or there in the run game, but we knew it was going to be tough sledding,” said Tiger head coach Josh Snyder. “They have some pretty good size up front … but our play action game (was effective), and we felt like we had some pretty good match-ups on the outside. And man, did our kids make a lot of plays out there.

“Shane Leh, just like he’s been doing all season long, he’s been very poised, and he puts the ball on the money. … Offensively, we did what we typically do but usually the run game just comes a little easier. We just try to do what the defense gives is. They were loading the box, and we felt like we had some match-ups.”

Leh finished with 226 yards passing in the victory, hitting on 13-of-18 passes. He was especially productive in the first half to help the Tigers race to a 22-0 lead.

On Northwestern’s first possession, the senior quarterback hit Michael Lagowy for a 33-yard gain on a third-and-long. Later in the drive, he connected with Mason Bollinger, who made an excellent catch along the sidelines for a 31-yard pickup. That led to Leh’s 12-yard touchdown run for the game’s first score.

“Our pass game was on fire,” said Leh. “We were doing a lot of play action, different things in our pass game. … We were completing in the pass game, and that was a key to this win. Lagowy’s a deep threat. He catches everything I throw to him. He’s my neighbor, so we go out and play catch all the time, and that’s what it’s all about.”

Before the two hooked up again, Northwestern received a huge play from all-everything Shane Hulmes.

The senior, who usually plays tight end on offense, took a direct snap on another third-and-long play and went 64 yards for a score. He went nearly untouched through the line, cut to the right and sped away from the Spartan defenders to make it a 14-0 game.

“I think he’s a cold weather guy,” said Snyder. “I told him after the game that might be my favorite Northwestern football run play in a big game (as a coach). I can’t wait to watch it on film. And to make a touchdown out of that, it put us up two scores. That was an early statement as to how we were going to play the football game tonight.”

“A lot of people say they’re surprised when they see me get in the open field,” said Hulmes. “Really, that’s one of the few times I’ve got to run in the open field like that. I was just hoping I wouldn’t get caught from behind. I barely got touched getting through the line of scrimmage, so all credit to the linemen. That’s just our linemen blocking out of their minds to be honest. … I was gassed after that.”

Northwestern continued to pour it on early. Another Leh-to-Lagowy hook-up produced the third score.

After Hulmes picked up 19 yards on a fourth-and-2 in their own territory and Leh found Brady Zimmerman for a 13-yard gain, the QB used a play action pass to Lagowy for a 27-yard TD throw and a 22-0 advantage just 3:09 into the second quarter.

“Shane was slinging it tonight, you could say that,” Hulmes said of his teammate. “He came out hot. We needed him to play good in this game, and he played really well.”

Southern Lehigh finally got its offense in gear late in the half, eventually scoring on a 26-yard pass from Colton Sams to Otto Young with 2:35 until halftime.

But the Spartans were forced to play catch-up the rest of the way. While they continued to score in the second half, Northwestern would always counter.

The Tigers extended the margin to 29-7 late in the third frame on a 3-yard run by Zimmerman. The score was set up by a spectacular catch by Lagowy for 35 yards.

Southern Lehigh managed to make things interesting, scoring three times in the final 14 minutes — once with three minutes left to play on a 6-yard pass from Sams to Darius Roman, and another time after recovering an onside kick. That score came on a 22-yard toss from Sams to Jack Fistner with 1:18 left to make it a one-score game.

Zimmerman, however, came up with Solehi’s second onside kick attempt, and the Tigers ran out the clock after Hulmes ran for a first down.

“It reminded me a little bit at Cumberland Valley of when Avonworth started to come back (in the state championship game last year), but I was confident in our guys and we got the ball back on the second onside kick,” Leh said of the Spartans’ rally.

The win allowed Northwestern to end regular season play at 10-0 — its second consecutive season doing that — and stretch its winning streak to 26.

“This streak will eventually end, but we said it’s not going to be tonight,” said Snyder. “We didn’t want it to be tonight against Southern Lehigh. We’ve got a little bit of a rivalry going and them being a top-ranked team in the state, this one was special, just because of the caliber team we were playing.

“To win the (Carbon-Schuylkill League Red Division) championship against Southern Lehigh, they’re a phenomenal team. They have great players, and it feels really good.”

RECORD BREAKER … Solehi’s Sams set the school record for passing yards in a career. He finished 23-of-32 for 217 yards with four touchdowns.

TIGER STATS … Lagowy caught six passes for 131 yards and a touchdown, while Hulmes ran for 95 yards and had two catches for 29 more. The Tigers’ five TDs came from five different players.

N’western 36, So. Lehigh 28

Southern Lehigh 0 7 7 14 - 28

Northwestern 14 8 7 7 - 36

NW - Leh 12 run (Sukanick kick)

NW - Hulmes 64 run (Sukanick kick)

NW - Lagowy 27 pass from Leh (Wertman pass from Bollinger)

SL - Young 26 pass from Sams (Walsh kick)

NW - Zimmerman 3 run (Sukanick kick)

SL - Roman 16 pass from Sams (Walsh kick)

NW - Sukanick 3 run (Sukanick kick)

SL - Roman 6 pass from Sams (Walsh kick)

SL - Fistner 22 pass from Sams (Walsh kick)