FOUNTAIN SPRINGS — No mas! No mas! No mas!

Perhaps it wasn’t a surrender by the Schuylkill Haven Area football team, but it surely felt the wrath of a Northern Lehigh squad bent on payback after last year’s loss to the Hurricanes in the District 11 Class 2A semifinals.

This time, the script was rewritten.

The Bulldogs celebrated their first district championship since 2022, dominating Schuylkill Haven 40-13 Friday night.

Hail to the conquering heroes.

It was also a moment of reflection for Northern Lehigh coach Joe Tout, the architect of the program.

Not wanting to take away from his team’s accomplishment, Tout fought back tears while thinking about his father, who passed away earlier this season.

“HE is the one who made me a football player, made me a coach; it was all because of my father,” he said in a reflective moment. “He was my hero.”

But he quickly turned the spotlight back to his players.

“I’m really proud,” Tout said. “This is a special group ... they’ve worked hard for a lot of years. We told our kids pregame, this isn’t about this year, this is years in the making ... a really good group. I’m proud, I’m glad they got one, and I know how hard they worked, how hard our coaches worked.”

There were stars all over Ghosh Orthodontics Field at Spartan Stadium.

Quarterback Garrett Smoyer was sensational. He passed for 225 yards and five touchdowns, opening the game 6-for-6 through the air and finishing 11-for-18.

Receiver Colin Karetsky, a well-kept secret for much of the season, emerged on the biggest stage of his senior year. He caught five passes for 135 yards and two touchdowns, covering 50 and 46 yards.

Chris Frame, the emotional leader of the team who battled injuries throughout his senior season, rushed for 72 yards on 12 carries and capped the scoring with a 24-yard touchdown run.

Kicker Anthony Hanna was flawless, converting all five PATs and a 24-yard field goal.

“Nobody expected us to throw the ball, but we can do that pretty good,” Smoyer, who repeatedly stunned the Hurricanes through the air, said with a laugh. His first touchdown pass went to Chase Gall for 27 yards. On the next possession, Smoyer connected with Karetsky on a 50-yard scoring strike.

A week earlier, in a 42-21 victory over Shenandoah Valley, Smoyer threw just one pass for three yards. On Friday night, the Bulldogs unveiled a completely different attack and kept Schuylkill Haven guessing.

The game plan became apparent early.

“Honestly, we thought we could throw the ball on them,” Karetsky said. “It shows we are not a one-dimensional team; last week we ran for over 300 yards and passed for three yards.”

Northern Lehigh’s first scoring drive came on its second possession. Smoyer connected with Frame on a 7-yard pass before finding Gall for a 27-yard touchdown. On the next series, Smoyer hit Karetsky for a 50-yard score and a 14-0 lead.

The Bulldogs’ defense then added to the momentum, forcing a safety on a bad punt snap for a 16-0 advantage. The pressure created by players such as Bill Slatterly and Bryce Nance left the Hurricanes reeling.

Schuylkill Haven stopped a potential third touchdown drive at its own 8-yard line, but Smoyer and Karetsky connected again on a 46-yard touchdown pass.

The Hurricanes finally answered just before halftime when Colton Reber, a 6-foot-1, 230-pound back, sprinted 82 yards for a touchdown to cut the lead to 23-6.

“Reber was our concern, we wanted to focus on him, we needed to keep him (under wraps),” Slatterly said.

Although Reber finished with 142 yards on 17 carries, the Bulldogs largely kept him in check outside of the long touchdown run.

Any Haven hopes of a comeback were quickly erased after halftime.

Northern Lehigh forced a three-and-out on Schuylkill Haven’s opening possession of the second half. The Bulldogs appeared to score moments later on a 9-yard run by Frame, set up by a 41-yard run from Smoyer, but the touchdown was wiped out by a holding penalty. Hanna followed with a 24-yard field goal for a 26-6 lead.

“This means everything, defensively our hearts out on all levels,” Slatterly said. “Our line going out on every single play, linebackers filling in when they needed to.”

The defense continued to control the game, swarming to the ball and frustrating the Hurricanes. After forcing another punt, Northern Lehigh went 50 yards in seven plays, ending the drive with a 3-yard jump-pass touchdown from Smoyer to Gall.

“Yeah, our game plan was to throw the ball, and (most) of the year we struggled throwing the ball,” Smoyer said. “It was so smooth throwing to (Karetsky) fun.”

The dagger came shortly afterward.

Schuylkill Haven added a touchdown when quarterback Dylan Diehl connected with freshman Mike Osatchuck before Reber scored on a 4-yard run. But Frame answered with a 24-yard touchdown run, providing a fitting finish.

“We’ve been pointing for this ever since last year’s (loss) to them,” Frame said. “Since we started (summer) practice we had district champions on the board. We’ve been striving to do that, the whole team.”

Tout summed it up best.

“Our defense was phenomenal, to only pop one or two (touchdowns), I thought our physicality was the difference.”

QUOTABLE I ... “We saw these guys last year, we thought we were a year away, but I really thought the game was won, defensive line against O line,” Tout said of this season’s turnaround.

QUOTABLE II ... “Dylan Hoffman, defensive coordinator, and the kids really brought the physicality the way we played,” Tout said.

UP FRONT ... The Bulldogs controlled the line of scrimmage. Landon Klimek, Slatterly, Nance, Gall and Dawson Newhard helped limit Reber’s effectiveness despite his impressive rushing total.

TONE SETTER ... Northern Lehigh started at its own 7-yard line after the opening kickoff, but a 29-yard completion from Smoyer to Karetsky immediately flipped field position and set the tone.

UP NEXT ... Northern Lehigh will face District 2 champion Dunmore on Nov. 20 in the state playoffs.

No. Lehigh 40,

Sch. Haven 13

N. Lehigh 14 13 10 7 - 40

Sch. Haven 0 7 0 6 - 13

NL - Gall 27 pass from Smoyer (Hannah kick)

NL - Karetsky 50 pass from Smoyer (Hannah kick)

NL - Safety ball snapped out of end zone

NL - Karetsky 46 pass from Smoyer (Hannah kick)

SH - Reber 82 run (Fessler kick)

NL - Hanna 24 FG

NL - Gall 3 pass from Smoyer (Hannah kick)

SH - Reber 4 run (pass failed)

NL - Frame 27 run (Hannah kick)