CATASAUQUA — Championship teams make championship plays when the game is on the line.

Leading by just one score – 21-14 – heading into the fourth quarter, that’s exactly what Northwestern Lehigh was able to do in the District 11 3A title game on Friday night. The Tigers dominated the fourth, outscoring Notre Dame Green Pond 14-0 on their way to a 35-14 win and yet another District 11 championship.

“In the fourth quarter, our guys just decided to take over,” said Northwestern head coach Josh Snyder. “Our guys dominated in the trenches in that quarter. The offensive line dug in and our guys ran the ball extremely hard and were breaking tackles, and on defense, we got after the quarterback and forced them into two interceptions with great coverage. I think they threw just three interceptions all year, so that was big, too. Just really proud of everyone in our program and very proud of the execution, especially in the fourth quarter.”

Northwestern’s play in the trenches was important early in the game as well, as it would lead 7-0 after the first. The Tigers’ opening drive was fueled by the run game, with them going 80 yards in eight plays, with 57 of those yards coming on the ground. An explosive 35-yard run from Braxton Lakatosh was the key play of the drive, which was capped off by a wildcat run from Shane Hulmes from the two-yard line.

The Crusaders’ (12-1) first drive was thwarted after back to back sacks by Fritz Scheirer and Lakatosh, but Notre Dame tied the game up at 7-7 early in the second after putting together an impressive six play. 89-yard scoring drive on its second possession. A 21-yard run by Faustie Capobianco and a 51-yard connection from quarterback Matt Bodnar to Tommy Murphy would lead to a Jonathan Striba five-yard scoring rush. Unfortunately for the Crusaders, Capobianco, who is one of their leading rushers on the season was injured on the 21-yard carry and did not return.

The Tigers would answer quickly, though, to up their advantage to 14-7. A nice kickoff return by Chase Sukanick with a 15-yard penalty tacked on for a hit out of bounds would set Northwestern up with the ball at the ND 47. Five plays later, Sukanick took it in from 11 yards out for the score at the 9:36 mark of the second. Lakatosh was productive on the drive, rushing three times for 34 yards.

“I thought Coach Snyder made some great calls in the game and our guys made plays when they needed to all night long,” said Northwestern QB Shane Leh. “They were able to stop us a few times, but when we needed to come through with a key score we were able to. I just really want to give the defense credit, too. Notre Dame can really throw the rock around and our defense shut them down at key moments in the game.”

The Crusaders looked like they might respond with a score of their own to try and knot the game up yet again. Driving the ball down to the Northwestern 18, a costly fumble forced by Ethan Steigerwalt when Bodnar tried to escape the pocket was recovered by the Tigers, which ended the Crusaders scoring hopes. Northwestern and Notre Dame would then each be stopped on downs on their ensuing possessions after the fumble, with both defenses coming up with vital stops.

The Tigers (13-0) would get one more score before the end of half to take a 21-7 lead at the intermission. Taking over at their own 24 after forcing the ND turnover on downs around the 3:30 mark, Leh found Brady Zimmerman for a huge pass play down the right sideline, taking the Tigers inside Notre Dame territory to the 41. After a few short yardage gains, Leh would finish off the march with a 30-yard quarterback run around the right side to put Northwestern up two scores.

The Crusaders would then come away with their best quarter of the game, shutting out Northwestern in the third and forcing two Tigers’ punts. After punting on its first possession of the second half, Notre Dame needed to put together a positive possession to get back into the game, and that’s what it did, going 89 yards in 13 plays to make it a one score game with 1:57 to play in the third.

Bodnar got hot on the drive, going 4-for-5 for 61 yards, which included a highlight reel 32-yard pitch and catch from to wide receiver Drew Boyd that got the Crusaders down to the Northwestern 13. Five plays later, Striba pounded the ball in from two yards out to cut the ND deficit to seven.

“Getting a big stop out of halftime and getting the ball back there. We were excited about that. That’s what we wanted to do,” said Snyder. “So, we got the ball back after that stop and we weren’t able to capitalize there and that hurt us a little bit. But again, our guys hung in there and once our guys got to that fourth quarter, they really turned it on and dug in.”

A gutsy, 13-play, 65-yard drive made it 28-14 and would give the Tigers a little breathing room with 5:47 left in the game. Once again, Northwestern turned to the run game, which helped it grind its way down to the ND 24.

But a series of false starts and holding calls would eventually set the Tigers up with a pivotal fourth and 12 at the 26. On that play, a few Crusaders defenders would get flagged for pass interference after running through the Northwestern receiver before he had a chance to make a play on the ball, giving the Tigers a new set of downs at the 13. A few plays later, Hulmes would take it in again from the wildcat from one yard out for the score.

Then came the turnovers. On Notre Dame’s next two possessions, the Tigers’ pressure would cause two interceptions - one from Zimmerman and one from Leh - to put the game away. Mason Bollinger would score from 19 yards out on a powerful wildcat rush setup from Zimmerman’s pick. Bollinger also iced the game with a 14-yard run at the end of the contest when the Crusaders were out of timeouts.

“Our defense balled out tonight,” said Hulmes. “We had a bunch of different packages to go up against their offense, and everyone made plays when they had to. The offense had the defense’s back and the defense had the offense’s back. That’s what it’s all about.”

With the win, the Tigers Improve to 13-0 on the season and increase their winning streak to 28 straight games, while capturing their fourth consecutive District 11 championship.

“It’s just incredible. In awe right now a little bit and definitely taken aback, because it’s tough to just do it once. You dream about that,” said Snyder. “But then you get two, then three and now four happens, and you start to sort of expect it. And we know what the formula is and what it takes to get there. It’s extraordinary work, it’s a lot of effort, it’s the guys putting the time in the weight room, it’s all of that. And then you need to make the plays on the field. I’m just so proud of this group and especially the seniors.”

GROUND AND POUND… The run game was once again vital for the Tigers. They rushed for 273 yards and five rushing scores. Lakatosh (95), Sukanick (82) and Bollinger (54) all ran hard on the night.

TURNOVER TOWN… The Tigers forced three turnovers in the game. A forced fumble and two interceptions, while committing zero turnovers.

NEXT UP… Northwestern will take on District 2 champion Scranton Prep at a time and date to be determined next week.

Northwestern 35, NDGP 14

Northwestern 7 14 0 14 - 35

Notre Dame GP 0 7 7 0 - 14

NW - Hulmes 2 run (Sukanick kick)

ND - Striba 5 run (Cintron kick)

NW - Sukanick 11 run (Sukanick kick)

NW - Leh 30 run (Sukanick kick)

ND - Striba 2 run (Cintron kick)

NW - Hulmes 1 run (Sukanick kick)

NW - Bollinger 19 run (Sukanick kick)