SALISBURY TOWNSHIP — As soon as Chase Sukanick caught the opening kickoff he looked up the field and saw nothing but empty space.

Northwestern ball carriers found plenty more throughout the game, a 69-7 rout of Salisbury on Friday night.

Sukanick set the tone for the night with his 84-yard kickoff return touchdown 11 seconds into the contest.

“When I got the ball I saw a wide open hole and I hit it,” he said. “It wouldn’t happen if it wasn’t for our guys. It was all blockers. That’s what they do around here.”

The Tiger offense didn’t spend much time on the field in the first quarter. It ran just seven plays over the game’s first 12 minutes but scored on five of those plays.

Northwestern’s first play from scrimmage saw Brady Zimmerman score on a 45-yard reception from quarterback Trey Snyder.

An interception by defensive lineman Fritz Scheirer at the Falcons’ 2-yard line set up another Sukanick score, this time on a gadget play. Snyder swung a pass out to wide receiver Michael Lagowy, who pitched it to Sukanick en route for the end zone and a 21-0 lead with 7:59 left in the first quarter.

Sukanick added a rushing touchdown on the Tigers’ next possession when he went 50 yards for the score on his only carry of the game.

Northwestern got the ball back less than a minute later at its own 9-yard line. On first down Snyder found Lagowy open around midfield. The senior hauled in the pass and blew by a pair of Salisbury defenders on his way to the end zone for a 41-0 lead with 35 seconds left in the opening quarter.

“I like to say my speed is one of the best parts of my game,” said Lagowy. “Being able to show that and use that is huge and it’s awesome for our offense.”

Chase Kerschner got the Tigers’ next two scores on rushes of one and 27 yards to cap the first-half scoring and put his team ahead 55-0 at halftime.

The Tigers put up 272 yards in the first half before kneeling on the ball on their final possession. They piled up that yardage while running just 18 plays the entire half.

“We practice really hard and to get up that early and that fast is tough for our starters because they deserve to get their playing time,” said Tiger head coach Josh Snyder. “The last two weeks we haven’t gotten many reps.”

On the flip side, he was happy to get a lot of players in the game the past couple weeks.

“What I love is they played hard,” said Snyder. “They came out and played hard. They played to our standard and to our expectations to the end. When the secondary guys got in, our expectations for them (is) they play hard, too. And they did.”

Tripp Sell scored on a 1-yard run in the third quarter for Northwestern before Grayson Smith capped the scoring with a 49-yard touchdown scamper. Smith also went 9-for-9 on extra-point kicks in the game.

While the points shine brightest on the night, the Tiger defense put in another dominant performance.

Salisbury had only four first-half plays that went for positive yardage. Led by Scheirer and Nick Whitney, the Tiger defense pushed the Falcons for a loss on nine plays and turned them over on two others. The Falcons had one first down in the first half.

“As the quarterback of our defense, I’m proud to say we’re starting to mesh together,” said Lagowy. “We’re making a lot of plays. Our defensive line and linebackers are playing amazing — Nick Whitney, Fritz (Scheirer), Maddox (Hurdle), Devin (Rex) and Reese Trotter. That’s just huge being able to have so many guys that can come in and make plays for us. It makes me very proud.”

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING ... Trey Snyder completed seven of nine passes for 170 yards and three touchdowns. He found four different receivers. Lagowy led the way with two catches for 91 yards. Zimmerman had one for 45.

NEXT UP ... The Tigers host Saucon Valley for homecoming in New Tripoli next week. Salisbury heads to Slatington to face Northern Lehigh next Friday.

N’western 69, Salisbury 7

Northwestern 41 14 7 7 - 69

Salisbury 0 0 0 7 - 7

NW - Sukanick 84 kickoff return (Smith kick)

NW - Zimmerman 45 pass from Snyder (Smith kick)

NW - Sukanick, Lagowy 2 pass from Snyder (Smith kick)

NW - Sukanick 50 run (pass failed)

NW - Zimmerman 2 run (Smith kick)

NW - Lagowy 91 pass from Snyder (Smith kick)

NW - Kerschner 1 run (Smith kick)

NW - Kershner 27 run (Smith kick)

NW - Sell 1 run (Smith kick)

S - Moren 8 pass from Frye (Lasaridis kick)

NW - Smith 49 run (Smith kick)