When a visiting team gets off the bus to enter the Tiger’s Cage — better known as Northwestern Tiger Stadium — they aren’t going to step on a welcome mat.

As soon as Northwestern walks onto the field, the reigning 3A PIAA state champions are set and ready with sharpened claws before the ball is kicked off the tee to start a game.

In Thursday night’s lopsided 54-14 win over Bangor, the Tigers scored on every first-half possession and a punt return to run up a 54-0 lead over the Slaters by the intermission.

After an opening three-and-out by Bangor and a 28-yard punt, the Tigers took possession on their opponent’s 41. Three plays later, Braxton Lakatosh hit the middle on a 4-yard touchdown run. With just 2:40 gone, the home team took a 7-0 lead.

The Slaters’ offense was stymied a second straight time and the Tigers started on the other side of midfield at the Bangor 44. On first down, quarterback Shane Leh, who was 7-of-8 for 153 yards and three touchdowns, hooked up with Mason Bollinger for a 16-yard gain to the 28 where Leh then broke up the middle for a TD to put his Tigers up by 14.

NW’s Michael Lagowy later intercepted a pass, setting up his offense on the Bangor 44. Leh connected with Brady Zimmerman for a 56-yard pass-and-run play to the house. With 7:26 still left to play in the opening quarter, the Tigers increased their advantage to three touchdowns.

Bangor didn’t gain a positive yard until the 6:53 mark, and had to punt for the third time.

Once again, Northwestern had a short field to begin its drive and from the 34, Leh threw a strike to Bollinger for 13 yards. Chase Sukanick carried the rock twice to the 12. Bollinger ran to the nine where Leh tossed a screen pass to the left to Lakatosh who took it in untouched for a 28-0 lead with 3:15 still remaining in the first frame.

A fourth punt by Bangor set up another scoring drive, which took five plays with a beautiful 52-yard post pattern pass from Leh to Bollinger that pushed the score to an insurmountable 34-0 early in the second quarter.

The Tigers’ well-oiled scoring machine still had a lot of gas left in the tank.

On their next possession, Leh led another short-field drive to paydirt by utilizing Zimmerman and Bollinger on alternate play calls. But it was Sukanick who scored his second touchdown of the game on a tackle-busting 6-yard run up the middle.

Ahead 41-0 and virtually unstoppable, Northwestern found yet another way to score when Lagowy caught a punt and scampered 55 yards down the sideline for a 47-point lead.

Sukanick finished the first half — and the game scoring for Northwestern — by way of a 15-yard run off left guard.

Coach Josh Snyder was extremely pleased with his team’s performance.

“The first half was excellent,” said Snyder. “We came out of the locker room and did some important stuff. Our offense was clicking on all cylinders. A lot of different guys were touching the ball.

“Our line did a great job of opening holes, and getting downfield with their blocks and their tenacity. I’m extremely pleased with how we executed.”

Snyder also praised his team’s passing game.

“We had opportunities to throw the ball. We take what the defense gives us. We got Shane out of the pocket where he had some zone passing reads, and he was accurate with his throws. Now we are looking forward to our next game against Blue Mountain on Friday.”

With the mercy rule clock running in the second half, Bangor was able to score twice against the Tigers’ substitutes. Lucas Hurd scored on an 8-yard run, and Eziah Cartagena ran in from four yards out — both TDs occurring late in the fourth quarter.

STORM WATCH … With thunder and lightning predicted, both teams had abbreviated pre-game preparation, but that didn’t affect Northwestern’s performance. The Tigers displayed their own version of thunder and lightning with their play on the field.

SHUT DOWN “D” … The Tiger defense dominated Bangor’s offense in the first half, holding them to 29 total yards.

DOWN THE ROAD … The drama is already building for Northwestern’s future big game opponents. On Sept. 26, the Tigers host North Schuylkill, and on Oct. 24, they entertain Southern Lehigh, a rematch from last season when both teams were unbeaten and the Tigers won, 23-17.

Northwestern 54 Bangor 14

Bangor 0 0 0 14 - 14

Northwestern 28 26 0 0 - 54

NW - Lakatosh 4 run (Sukanick kick)

NW - Leh 28 run (Sukanick kick)

NW - Zimmerman 56 pass from Leh (Sukanick kick)

NW - Lakatosh 9 pass from Leh (Sukanick kick)

NW - Bollinger 52 pass from Leh (kick failed)

NW - Sukanick 6 run (Sukanick kick)

NW - Lagowy 55 punt return (kick failed)

NW - Sukanick 15 run (Sukanick kick)

B - Hurd 8 run (Mueller kick)

B - Cartagena 4 run (Mueller kick)

Records: Bangor (0-3); NW (3-0)