Coach Josh Snyder had concerns about the size of the defensive line that Allentown Central Catholic brought into the game.

Snyder was quick to point out that while the Vikings went just 3-7 in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference, he and his players knew they were a better team than their record showed.

As it turned out, the strong offensive line of the Tigers — which has been a stalwart of the team all season — handled the oversized beef on the other side of the football and Northwestern routed the Vikings 50-13 on Saturday in the District 11 Class 4A quarterfinals.

Truth be told, it was the passing game that opened things up for Northwestern.

On their first drive of the game, quarterback Deven Bollinger had three carries for zero yards, but went 3-for-3 passing for 51 yards. The drive – as many Northwestern drives in the game – was helped by Central Catholic penalties. On the night, the Vikings put together 135 yards worth of penalties. Bollinger capped the drive with a 22-yard toss to Tyler Lobach to go up 7-0.

“I think just controlling the ball and being able to eat up some of the clock was important,” said Snyder. “Confidence wise, everything we did early on led to being able to control the game better later in the game.”

The drive of the night came in the second quarter when Northwestern took the ball on its own 35 and drove to the Vikings 17. At that point, it was time to have some fun. The Tigers pulled off their own version of the Philly Special, made famous by the Eagles in the Super Bowl, when Lobach and Bollinger reversed roles and the wide receiver hit Bollinger in the end zone to make it 14-0.

“We actually had run that play a couple of years ago before the Super Bowl play,” pointed out Snyder. “It was one of the wrinkles that we put in this week for this game and that was the perfect situation to pull it out. Tyler (Lobach) has been saying all year he wanted to do that, so I guess it made his night.”

Northwestern would score on its next two drives, including a two-minute drill late in the second quarter to go up 28-0 by halftime.

The Vikings were set to get the ball to open the second half, but that was disrupted when Giovan Robinson fumbled on the return and Ryan Masters fell on the ball to give the Tigers possession at the Vikings 32. On a second-and-16, Bollinger hit Nick Henry on a middle screen and, after breaking a couple tackles, Henry went into the end zone to make it 34-0.

Henry would rush for another touchdown, Bollinger hit Justin Rodda for a 20-yard TD strike, and kicker Connor de Wit launched a 32-yard field goal as the Tigers piled up points throughout the second half.

The Tigers racked up 395 yards of offense in the game, with the offensive line contributing highly to that total.

“We watched film, we knew they were a big line and we knew that we had to keep our heads in it and not let them get good moves on us. We just stayed in there like we practiced to do,” said lineman Joey Shorts. “We have our own size and we know we’re pretty good ourselves, so it wasn’t really a matter of toughing it out, it was more just showing them what we have too.”

TIGERS VS. PANTHERS II ... One of the highlights of the season was Northwestern’s 49-28 win over Saucon Valley in Week 7. Coming into the game, the Panthers were undefeated and the Tigers were able to get the win even with a couple of key players out of the lineup. Northwestern figures to be healthier for the rematch, which, like the first game, will be at Saucon Valley.

MILESTONE ... Henry surpassed the 1,000-yard mark and finished the night with 1,053 yards on the season after rushing for 89 yards against the Vikings. He also did it in 10 games after missing a regular season game with an injury. “It’s not me at all,” noted Henry. “It’s the line, they carried me the whole season and I can’t thank them enough.” Shorts appreciated the credit, but believes Henry had something to do with the milestone. “We’ve got to give him credit too, he’s a great back. He runs all over the place and he’s really good.”

RETURN TO DISTRICTS ... This is the first time since 2015 that Northwestern qualified for districts. The Tigers did play in the Eastern Conference playoffs the last two years, however.