Lehighton faces stiff test in Pottsville

Lehighton will look to remain undefeated when it travels to Pottsville on Friday.

Lehighton at Pottsville

Friday, Oct. 13 at 7 p.m.

Here’s what you need to know:

ROLL TRIBE ... Lehighton remained unbeaten with an exciting 41-35 victory over Tamaqua last week.

WHAT ... Blue Mountain stunned Pottsville with a 20-6 victory last week. Not much seems to make sense in Schuylkill League Division 1; as Tamaqua rolled by Blue Mountain earlier this year, and Pottsville blew by Tamaqua two weeks ago. “Pottsville is pretty good. Their losses ... people say there’s no such thing as a good loss. Well, I’ll tell you what, they can make a pretty good case for it. They lost to Harrisburg, the top 5A team in the state; they lost to Wyomissing, probably ranked No. 3 or 4 in 3A in the state; and then they lost a rivalry game to Blue Mountain last week. I don’t want to say I’m scared, but I’ll tell you right now, I think they present the biggest challenge to us, physically, on both sides of the ball. They run the ball, they’re very physical. They handled Tamaqua pretty well two weeks ago. They have a great tight end in that (Ian) Renninger kid, a Division I player. And they actually have some pretty nice skill kids. I don’t think too many people recognize that they put up some good numbers from time-to-time. They’re gonna be our toughest challenge. I think we’re up for it, though. Playing in the types of games we played in the last two weeks are certainly gonna set us up for what we need to succeed,” said Lehighton head coach Tom McCarroll.

WAIT, THERE’S MORE ... If you didn’t read or hear by now, Lehighton tailback TaQuan Bradley-Chambers set a school record with 373 rushing yards last week. But he wasn’t the only Indian to make noise on the ground, as quarterback Cody Scherer rushed for 118 yards on only a dozen carries. McCarroll praised the work of running backs coach Mike Lusch and previous record holder Robbie Frey for helping the team pile up yards. “I think it’s pretty neat, when you have guys like that, with that kind of stature, that kind of tradition built-in within a program, for him to be around the program, that’s why we want him around the program, first of all. For him to have any kind of impact, not only on TaQuan, but on any of our running backs. Coach Lusch is also our top running backs coach, and they do a great job kind of tag-teaming with those guys. They bring two different styles. But I think both are extremely effective. To have somebody who has been the record holder on the sideline to see it happen is pretty neat,” McCarroll said.

TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS ... Lehighton is now plus-nine in the turnover department. Scherer has 10 passing touchdowns to just two interceptions, and the Tribe have only lost one fumble.

Marian at Shenandoah

Friday, Oct. 13 at 7 p.m.

Here’s what you need to know:

FINDING A GROOVE ... After scoring only scoring 25 points across the first five weeks, Marian has exploded for 80 over its last two games against Panther Valley and Mahanoy Area. The Colts topped the Golden Bears last week, 41-28. “It was a great team victory,” said Marian head coach Pat Morgans. “The defense did their part. Special teams had a big turn again. Our offense got rolling a little bit too. It was a terrific team win.”

STILL SEARCHING ... Marian is yet to throw a touchdown pass this season. But the Colts are finding other ways to put points on the board. “We received the opening kick and put together a five-minute drive and scored,” said Morgans. “It was a great way to start the game … Again, all three facets of the game were working and that’s what you need. It was great to see.”

BEEN WINNIN’ ... Marian is 6-0 against Shenandoah Valley since 2011. Over the last three meetings, the Devils have been shut out twice, as the Colts are outscoring them by a 138-14 margin during that sequence. “It’s going to take stopping their passing game,” said the Marian coach. “They have good athletes. Those receivers really go up after the ball. We have to stop the run game and make them pass, and then not let them make a big play on us with the pass. We need to keep the ball out of their hands and put together a couple of drives. Hopefully, we can get away with a victory. It’s a tough place to play, and their going to give us everything they have.”

WRONG DIRECTION ... Panther Valley held Shenandoah Valley to -14 rushing yards last week.

No. Lehigh at Salisbury

Friday, Oct. 13 at 7 p.m.

Here’s what you need to know:

GOT THEIR NUMBER ... Northern Lehigh is 12-2 against Salisbury since 2004. “I feel like our defensive staff has done a nice job of preparing our kids this week,” said Northern Lehigh head coach Joe Tout. “Offensively, we are focusing on our base plays. We felt like we saw a very good front seven last week. So we are trying to improve with our fundamentals this week.”

EXPLOSION ... Salisbury went off for 48 points against Pen Argyl last week. The Falcons scored a total of 30 points in weeks 3-5. “I think Salisbury is very athletic in the secondary, and with their skill positions on offense,” said Tout. “They have good team speed, so we will have to be fundamental with our angles defensively this week. Our kids have stayed positive and upbeat, and we are hoping that carries over into the game.”

DISCIPLINE ... Northern Lehigh has the least amount of penalties in the Times News area with 26. Lehighton is the most penalized team with 48.

FEED HIM ... Justin Paul is averaging 6.63 yards per carry for the Bulldogs.

Panther Vy. at Sch. Haven

Friday, Oct. 13 at 7 p.m.

Here’s what you need to know:

HOT, HOT HOT ... Schuylkill Haven has scored a whopping 167 points over its last three games. “Haven is a very good team,” said Panther Valley head coach Scott Price. “They’re very tough, physical, and hard to defend when they get rolling.”

THERE HE IS! ... Panther Valley’s Rene Figueroa got into the rhythm last week, scoring while rushing for for 200 yards on 23 carries. “Tristan Blasko made the move to line and that really gave us a nice spark,” said Price. “With Mason Goida and Rene Figueroa healthy, our backfield is pretty dangerous and should help lead us during this home stretch.”

FIRRSSTTTT ... Panther Valley had 16 first downs last week, which was the most the Panthers have had in a single game since Week 1 against Columbia Montour Vo Tech. “Our defense played really well last week,” said the PV coach. “We limited their chances at big plays.”

ON A ROLL ... Schuylkill Haven has won 13 of the last 14 meetings against Panther Valley. The Panthers last beat the Hurricanes in 2009.

Pleasant Vy. at ES North

Friday, Oct. 13 at 7 p.m.

Here’s what you need to know:

LOOKING FOR NO. 1 … East Stroudsburg North is one of three winless teams remaining in District 11. The Timberwolves have been outscored 271-78 this season during their 0-7 start.

BUT … Despite the team’s struggles this year, East Stroudsburg North is guaranteed a spot in the District 11 playoffs. The Timberwolves are one of just four Class 5A teams in the district, all of which qualify for the postseason. The others are Whitehall (5-2), Southern Lehigh (6-1) and East Stroudsburg South (3-4).

LONG TIME COMING … Pleasant Valley is 8-0 against East Stroudsburg North since 2009. The Bears won last year’s meeting 66-26. The Timberwolves’ last victory in the series was a 21-14 triumph in 2008.

SECOND HALF STRUGGLES … The Bears have had a hard time putting points on the board after halftime this season. Pleasant Valley has been outscored 155-35 in the second half of games this year.

FOR AND AGAINST … Pleasant Valley’s scoring average (20.3 points-per-game) is the second lowest in the Times News area this season. The Bears’ defense has allowed 31.4 ppg., which is the second highest in the area.

Northwestern at So. Lehigh

Friday, Oct. 13 at 7 p.m.

Here’s what you need to know:

NOT THIS GUY AGAIN... In their meeting last season, Southern Lehigh downed Northwestern 21-8 with the help of Luke Strauss, who torched the Tigers defense for 192 yards on the ground. This season, Strauss has rushed for 562 yards and six touchdowns. Fellow senior Mike Sisselberger is averaging almost 10 yards per carry on 39 carries and five touchdowns. Quarterback Logan Edmond is third on the team with 262 yards rushing.

A PASSING INTEREST... Junior Logan Edmond runs the offense and has thrown for just over 1,000 yards this season, having completed 60 percent of his passes and connecting on 12 touchdown tosses. His favorite target is Eli Price, who has averaged 21 yards per catch this season and has pulled in eight of the 12 touchdown passes by Edmond.

WELL, ISN’T THAT SPECIAL?... The Tigers special teams came up with a blocked punt and recovered two muffed punts last week against Bangor. It was the best performance for the unit this season, and has been a big part of some important wins over the past few seasons. This week, coach Josh Snyder knows that his team will need another big week from special teams, in addition to strong play on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. “It’s like when we went up against Saucon Valley, we had to play a clean game and make some plays if we were to win. Southern Lehigh is a good team and they’re not going to let up on anybody, so we have to be ready to play,” he said.

PLAYOFFS? WE’RE TALKING ABOUT PLAYOFFS?... While Southern Lehigh is fighting for positioning in districts, Northwestern is looking at earning a potential Eastern Conference bid. As things stand coming into the week, the Tigers are the top team in the 4A rankings in the EC. After playing Southern Lehigh this week, Northwestern plays at Northern Lehigh (0-7), before finishing its season at home against Catasauqua (2-5). “Our whole approach this season has been to mainly just worry about what we do and try to do it well. It’s the same thing with the postseason right now,” said Snyder. “If you start looking at other teams and trying to figure out what’s going to happen, you only hurt yourself. We’re just looking at winning these last three games, and then we’ll see where that puts us.”

Catasauqua at Palmerton

Friday, Oct. 13 at 7 p.m.

Here’s what you need to know:

GOOD START... The Bombers desperately need to get out to a good start against the Rough Riders. Last week against undefeated and Colonial-League favorite Palisades, Palmerton’s first four possessions resulted in turnovers, which were then converted into Pirates touchdowns. The Bombers can’t afford to get off to that kind of start this week. “We’ve been telling the kids all week that getting off to a good start is key. We need to sustain a drive and move the chains to gain some confidence back,” said Palmerton head coach Chris Walkowiak. “We also have to protect the football. We had too many turnover last week, and we gave our opponent a short field many times on the night.”

AIR ATTACK... The Palmerton secondary will be challenged this week as Catasauqua has one of the most dynamic passing attacks in the Colonial League. Rough Riders quarterback Andrew Brett has thrown for 1,209 yards and six touchdowns. He is susceptible to interceptions however, with seven on the season. His top target is Miguel Hernandez, who has 47 receptions for 653 yards and three scores.

GROUND GAME... Palmerton must get back to basics this week, which means pounding the football. Bombers quarterback Takoah Guedes has had a rough last two games throwing the football, so establishing the run first and foremost against the Roughies can help with Guedes’ efficiency, and should help the Bombers offensive line in pass protection. Guedes leads Palmerton with 528 yards and 11 touchdowns. Andrew Sabo has also been a tough runner for Palmerton, rushing for 329 yards and two touchdowns.