CENTER VALLEY — The Tigers were just where they hoped to be late in the game.

They had the ball and chance to tie or win it with just under two minutes left Friday night against Southern Lehigh.

But they had a little bit too far to go and were facing a defense that gave its best effort of the season against its strongest opponent as the Spartans held on for the 17-14 win.

“It was a low-scoring game and that’s what we wanted it to be,” said Northwestern head coach Josh Snyder. “We wanted to grind out, work the clock, not let their offense get on the field and go up and down.

“We just ran out of time. That was the difference.”

Two teams that have been going up and down the field nearly at will all season long had to mount long drives and pick their spots to take shots.

The Tigers opened the game with a 12-play possession that spanned 52 yards for their only lead of the game. They kept the ball on the ground the entire drive, moving in small chunks with no play going for more than nine yards.

Brady Zimmerman scored from three yards out to make it 7-0 with 5:51 left in the first quarter.

The Spartans answered with a 10-play touchdown drive. Adam Fritts (26 carries, 143 yards) broke free for a 30-yard touchdown run to tie the score with just over three minutes left in the first period.

Each team had just two drives in the first half.

The Tigers were forced to punt on their second possession.

The Spartans got the ball and took over eight minutes off the clock with a 16-play drive that ended with a 31-yard Declan Walsh field goal for a 10-7 lead with just over a minute left in the first half.

The Tigers took a knee to run out the first-half clock rather than trying to go 88 yards in 80 seconds.

The Spartans got the ball to start the second half, and senior receiver/returner Jack Pavis made a couple quick trips to the end zone, although the first was negated by a flag.

Pavis’ 85-yard return touchdown was called back on a holding penalty to start the second half.

Two plays later he got behind the Tiger defense and hauled in a pass from Colton Sams for an 87-yard touchdown and a 17-7 lead with 10:55 left in the third quarter.

An interception on Northwestern’s next possession gave the Spartans good field position, but the Tiger defense forced a turnover on downs.

A 73-yard, 13-play drive, aided by a Southern Lehigh personal foul on a third down at the Tigers’ 27-yard line, ended with another 3-yard touchdown run from Zimmerman to get the Tigers within three with 1:06 left in the third quarter.

Northwestern’s defense stopped the powerful Spartan offense twice in the fourth quarter, but the Tigers couldn’t find paydirt.

“The defense played great,” said Southern Lehigh coach Phil Sams. “There was a lot of bend but don’t break. The field position battle was huge tonight and I think the defense did the best job all season.”

Sams didn’t call a punt once in the game. His team’s six possessions ended with two touchdowns, a field goal and three turnovers on downs. The Tigers punted just once.

The win gives Southern Lehigh this year’s Colonial League title after Northwestern had a stranglehold on the trophy for the past several seasons.

“We won the Colonial League seven years in a row and we didn’t want to give that up,” said Snyder, who has led his team to three straight state championship games. “That’s a little bit disheartening. I told our guys this game isn’t going to make or break our season, but we’re going to put everything on the table to try and win it.

“This one stings. We’re not used to losing. We’re never going to be used to losing. That’s just going to make us prepare harder.”

The loss ends a 40-game Colonial League winning streak for Northwestern.

“These kids haven’t lost a football game in their careers in the regular season,” said Snyder. “I told them the monkey is off the back. We don’t have that 40-game win streak hanging over our heads. We start fresh next week.”

These two teams have met late in the season with unbeaten records four straight years with the Spartans, who won a Class 4A state title last fall, taking three straight losses to the Tigers before this season.

“It’s something we’ve been working toward a long time,” said Sams. “Winning a state title and a league title, we’ll take that every day of the week. But winning a league title is special. I don’t think it’s been done at Southern Lehigh in a long time.”

SLINGING SAMS ... Except for the one big play, the Tigers took away the Spartans’ deep-passing game and made Colton Sams settle for underneath routes. He found a lot of them, completing 14 of 20 passes for 216 yards and a score. The Bloomsburg-bound senior is one touchdown pass short of tying the District 11 record of 106 for his career.

ONE MORE ... Northwestern finishes its regular season at Catasauqua next week. The Spartans take on Salisbury. After that, Southern Lehigh will be the top seed in the Class 5A district playoffs. The Tigers will go on to the 3A bracket as the first or second seed.

So. Lehigh 17, Northwestern 14

Northwestern 7 0 7 0 - 14

So. Lehigh 7 3 7 0 - 17

NW - Zimmerman 3 run (Smith kick)

SL - Fritts 30 run (Walsh kick)

SL - Walsh 31 field goal

SL - Pavis 87 pass from Sams (Walsh kick)

NW - Zimmerman 3 run (Smith kick)