Guess who’s back again, back again.

Northwestern Lehigh was able to stay on course by defeating District 2 champion Scranton Prep in the PIAA 3A quarterfinals last week.

With the win, the Tigers have advanced to the state semifinals for the third straight season – and will now look to punch their ticket to the state title game for the third year in a row.

Northwestern (14-0) will try and keep its historic 30-game winning streak alive as its takes on District 3 champion Trinity at Exeter Township High School at 7 p.m. on Friday night.

“We feel very fortunate to once again be in the PIAA 3A final four,” said Northwestern head coach Josh Snyder. “Trinity is a good football team that has been playing their best football over the last few weeks. We have the experience of the last two seasons with being in this position before. And our kids are extremely shortsighted at this time of the year, and they really buy into the coaching. We’re going to put a great game plan together, and the guys are going to go out there and try and execute it and play their tails off.

“As always, we need to play a clean football game, take care of the ball, create turnovers and make plays in all phases.”

It was yet another tough state draw for the Tigers last week against a Scranton Prep team that was hot and playing its best football of the season. All Northwestern did was put up 42 points, while holding the Cavaliers to well below their season average in rushing yards at 4.3 yards per carry.

The Northwestern offense has been balanced throughout the season, but with Prep stacking the box to stop the run, it was the first game of the season where the Tigers needed to really lean on their passing attack, and senior quarterback Shane Leh didn’t disappoint. Leh went 17-for-19 for 224 yards and five touchdowns. Brady Zimmerman (96 receiving yards, 3 TDs) and Michael Lagowy (86, 1 TD) were Leh’s top targets on the night.

“Leading into the game we knew they were going to load the box, and that’s what they did. They had their linebackers really crowding the line of scrimmage,” said Snyder. “And we’re not that big up front, so the plan was to take advantage of them in the passing game. We still did mix in the run throughout the game to keep them honest, but Shane Leh had a great game, going 17 for 19 and five passing touchdowns. He does such a good job of distributing the ball around to our playmakers. We have a bunch of guys who can get open and make plays after the catch. Shane is just extremely comfortable back there. We do practice the pass as much as the run, and our guys went out there and they executed.”

The vaunted Tigers’ defense will face another challenge this week in a Trinity offense that is versatile as well. The Shamrocks have a 2,000-yard passer in senior quarterback Mason Boyer (2,042 yards, 25 TDs, 8 INTs), 1,000-yard rusher in sophomore running back Brandon Harris (1,101 yards, 9 TDs), and a 1,000-yard receiver in Maddox Jarzynski (76 receptions, 1,044 yards, 17 TDs). The Trinity offense came through in a big way against Neumann Goretti a week ago. Trailing 22-14 late in the fourth quarter, the Shamrocks came from behind to defeat the Saints 26-22. A Boyer rushing score and passing touchdown helped Trinity complete the comeback.

“They’re coming off a huge come-from-behind win, and there’s no doubt that they will be playing with confidence,” said Snyder. “We have to prevent the big play. They have a good receiver with over 1,000 yards, and we need to know where he is at all times. They have a balanced attack with a running back that is big and physical. Team defense will again be key for us, and we need to make them work for every yard.”