The midway point of the season has come and gone, and as teams gear up for Week Six, it’s time to shift into overdrive.

The second half brings major implications, with playoff berths and seeding on the horizon.

It’s also the stretch of the season where teams need to play their best football to prepare themselves for the postseason.

Northwestern Lehigh has once again looked dominant for much of the 2026 campaign. After a tough opening-week test against a strong Valley View squad, a 28-16 win, the Tigers have defeated their opponents by a combined score of 214–7, averaging 53.5 points per game.

They’ll take that firepower — and a 35-game regular-season win streak — to Olympian Stadium, where they’ll face a Jim Thorpe team that’s 3–2 and riding a two-game winning streak. The Olympians have allowed just six points over the last two weeks, setting the stage for an intriguing Times News Game of the Week.

Pounding the rock has been the foundation of Northwestern’s identity ever since head coach Josh Snyder took over, and this season is no exception. The Tigers are averaging 217 rushing yards per game, and got their lead back, Chase Sukanick, rolling last week to the tune of 22 carries for 212 yards and four touchdowns.

After serving as the change-of-pace option a season ago, Sukanick has stepped into the feature role and ranks third in the Times News area with 566 rushing yards, averaging an impressive 8.84 yards per carry, and has totaled 11 touchdowns.

Balance has also been a major factor in Northwestern’s success, and the Tigers have achieved it once again this season, averaging 201.4 passing yards per game. Sophomore quarterback Trey Snyder hit a bit of adversity last week with two interceptions, but overall, he’s been outstanding. He leads the Times News area with 963 passing yards and nine touchdowns, while completing 75 percent of his passes.

Veteran wideouts Brady Zimmerman (19 catches, 340 yards, 4 TD) and Michael Lagowy (19 catches, 310 yards, 2 TD) have lived up to lofty expectations as two of the top receiving threats in all of District 11.

“Chase hasn’t had many opportunities to carry the ball much this season, so this was a game where we got him about 20 carries and he was able to go for over 200 yards and a bunch of touchdowns. He looked really good. He was breaking tackles, making people miss, and he looked strong,” said Snyder. “This is kind of what we envisioned for him, and he’s been looking really comfortable and confident.

“This week for us, more than anything, we have to focus on attention to detail. We had some turnovers last week, and we left some points on the table for sure. Trey, for the first time, left some balls up for grabs and we also had some guys freelancing routes, so we have to learn from those things and get better from it. For the way our defense is playing, we can’t turn the ball over, we have to make the other team earn it.”

The Olympians’ run game has looked better over the past two weeks in wins against Bangor and Wilson. Last week against the Warriors, sophomore running back Bobby Levins ran hard, rushing for 113 yards and three touchdowns on 13 carries. But what’s made the JT offense even more dynamic of late has been junior signal caller Tyler Hoherchak’s ability to run between the tackles on quarterback run opportunities.

Hoherchak rushed for 107 yards and two touchdowns last week on 10 carries. Levins and Hoherchak are the first Thorpe players to rush for 100 yards in the same game since 2024.

“We have been able to get our running game going of late, and that’s always a focus for us. We’ve been able to get back to that style of play, and we’ve had some success because of that. Bobby and Tyler have been running well, and Anthony Kiehl has also been productive for us as well. But we also need to be balanced. The more balanced you are, the better you’re going to perform on the offensive side of the ball,” said Jim Thorpe head coach Mark Rosenberger.

“I also have to give our guys up front a ton of credit. It starts with them. But overall, as a team, where we were in Week One of fall camp to where we are now has been a tremendous improvement. Our guys are playing extremely hard, and the effort has been great at practice”

Thorpe will have a much tougher matchup in the trenches this week, especially against the Tigers’ defensive front. Northwestern’s front has helped its defense allow just 38.8 rushing yards per game.

“Our defense has been really stingy. We have a lot of tough athletes out there that make plays. Our front has been really good with Devin Rex at nose guard, and then Scheirer and Whitney on the edge. Our defense as a whole doesn’t miss a lot of blocks, and doesn’t blow a lot of coverages,” said Snyder.

“Jim Thorpe looks like they have gotten back to what they do best. They like to scheme up the spread run game, pull guards and run the C-gap power; it’s almost like a spread Wing-T, which is kind of what we run as well. They’re always solid scheme wise. We’re going to have to know where 10 is at all times, watch out for the play-action and their screen stuff.”

The Olympians’ “Red Swarm” defense has also been pretty good over the past two weeks. An encouraging sign for Thorpe’s “D” a week ago was that it forced four turnovers, including three picks.

“They have the type of offense that can really stress out a defense, with all the shifts and motions that they run. They’ve really been able to get their run game going. And their young quarterback has been really smooth and efficient at running the offense, which is very impressive for a sophomore. You can tell he’s a coach’s son for sure,” added Rosenberger.

“We have to focus on slowing down their run game and matching their physicality. Again, a lot of that is going to be playing with effort and intensity. But their overall team speed always presents a challenge with the multitude of athletes they have on the field on offense, defense and special teams.”