Northwestern Lehigh Defeats North Schuylkill 49-21 in District 11 3A Semifinal Game

NEW TRIPOLI – Under heavy rain Friday night, North Schuylkill traveled over an hour to Tiger Stadium, looking to upset the undefeated Northwestern Lehigh team.

The stakes were high for both sides, but for the Spartans, this game was personal. Just two months ago, North Schuylkill had jumped out to an 18-6 lead before halftime against Northwestern Lehigh. But the Tigers stormed back, scoring 43 unanswered points to beat the Spartans 49-18 in front of their home crowd. This was a re-match.

After their defense forced a punt on the Spartans’ opening drive, the Tigers took possession. They converted on fourth down and the Tigers executed a risky but successful trick play. Braxton Lakatosh took the snap, handed it to Shane Leh, who then gave it to Brady Zimmerman. Zimmerman connected with Mason Bollinger downfield for a momentum-shifting first down. The drive was capped off when Zimmerman found a big gap created by his offensive line, breaking through the left side for an easy, untouched touchdown.

With that first touchdown, the Tigers couldn’t be stopped. Shane Leh found Shane Hulmes in the back of the end zone for a 20-yard TD. The Spartans’ defense left Mason Bollinger wide open for another Tiger touchdown. Senior QB Shane Leh snuck right up the middle and got some key blocks to score an 18-yard rushing TD on his 18th birthday to make the score 28-0.

Just when the game seemed out of reach, the Spartans answered with 3:00 left in the first half. Caden Mengel fooled everyone on a fake handoff and took it himself for a long touchdown.

The Tigers were gaining momentum back after Shane Leh ignited the team with a fantastic hurdle. When asked about it after the game, the Marist commit replied, “I was telling Coach Snyder on the sideline, I’m like, Coach, we’re running this play, and I’m jumping over this kid. You gotta do what you gotta do to get over the defender.” The senior’s background as a track hurdler clearly paid off tonight. The refs called a penalty on the hurdle, though, bringing the Tigers back further than the drive started.

The Spartans ended up forcing a turnover on downs, getting possession with 1:20 left in the first half.

After putting together a very well-executed drive, everyone expected the Spartans to kick a field goal. However, they decided to keep their offense on the field. On the final play of the first half, controversy sparked after what seemed like QB Caden Mengel getting stopped on forward progress. An offensive lineman then grabbed the ball out of his hands as the horn went off and pitched it to senior Luke Miller for a walk-in touchdown. At halftime, the Tigers led 28-14, with the Spartans having all the momentum.

The second half started slowly, but then Tiger Stadium erupted after Shane Leh connected with Brady Zimmerman on a 72-yard bomb to extend the lead to 35-14! The Tigers immediately followed up with another defensive stop and drove down the field again, capping off the drive with a one-yard touchdown run by Mason Bollinger. The hold on the PAT was bad, likely due to the rain making the football slippery, resulting in no kick as Sukanick was tackled before he could throw the ball. The Tigers scored once more, with a one-yard rushing touchdown by Braxton Lakatosh. The Tigers then converted on the two-point attempt, making the score 49-14.

The Spartans went out with a bang, as Luke Miller scored a 54-yard rushing touchdown with time winding down. This brought the final score to 49-21.

The Tigers move on and will play in their sixth straight District XI game, taking on the undefeated Notre Dame Green-Pond Crusaders.

When asked about heading back to the championship game, Coach Snyder said, “It feels great. None of them are easy to get to. It takes a lot of time, a lot of effort, and a lot of commitment. Our kids and our community have been great.” Assistant Coach David Kerschner added on, “This was our goal from the beginning of the season. Everyone thought that. I know we lost a lot of pieces, but we had it as our goal. Whether the whole Lehigh Valley did or not, I don’t know, but we certainly did.”

This game also carried a lot of emotion, as it marked the final time the Senior class would ever step on the turf at Tiger Stadium as players. Coach Snyder spoke about the Senior class, saying, “I’m extremely proud of this Senior group. They’ve been through a lot. You have the Shane Lehs’, the Shane Hulmes’, and the Mason Bollingers’ who have been multiple-year starters. But you also have the Berky’s (Braidon Berk), you have the MJ’s (Michael Boring), and the Wagstaff’s (Evan Wagstaff). Those guys didn’t start, but they didn’t complain, and they got to work. Braxton Lakatosh didn’t even start a game on offense or defense until this year. For them to go out and play the way they do says a lot about them.”

Braxton Lakatosh achieved a personal milestone on Friday night, as he eclipsed the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the season.

The championship is set for next Friday at 7 PM at Catasauqua. The Tigers will head into the game against the Crusaders riding a 28-game winning streak.