SLATINGTON – Northwestern Lehigh dominated Northern Lehigh in the “Mountain Road Rumble” rivalry game, securing a 56-13 victory at Northern Lehigh’s Bulldog Stadium Thursday night.
“I was proud of the way we came off the bus and played tonight,” said Head Coach Josh Snyder. “That was the most fun I had coaching in a first half and we were dominated in all three phases.”
The Tigers, the defending PIAA Class 3A state champions, improved to 2-0 with the win, while the Bulldogs fell to 1-1.
The Tigers took an early 6-0 lead on a Mason Bollinger one yard touchdown run. The Bulldogs defense came up with a key play when Keith Lectora stepped in front of a Shane Leh pass and picked it off.
Northern Lehigh took the interception down to the Tigers 15. It took five plays for Chris Frame to plow in from one yard out. Anthony Hanna’d kick put the Bulldogs up by one with 3:18 left in the first quarter, 7-6. However, that lead would be short lived.
Northwestern Lehigh responded swiftly with a 90-yard kickoff return by junior Brady Zimmerman for the touchdown just 14 seconds later. From that point the Tigers never look back.
Shane Hulmes added a one-yard touchdown run in the first quarter and the Tigers led 20-7. The Tigers capitalized on more big plays in the second quarter. Chase Sukanick scored back-to-back touchdowns on runs of 33 and 42.
In between the Tigers scoring was a Bulldog touchdown by Colin Karetsky who hit Garrett Smoyer for the 25-yard touchdown pass. Braxton Lakatosh for Northwestern Lehigh added a 15 yard touchdown run.
But the biggest play of the first half came on a Bollinger pick that went 100 yards as time expired in the first half. “I made the play and I saw a lot of open field in front of me and guys were able to lead the way blocking and I was able to take it all the way,” said Mason Bollinger. It was 49-13 Tigers at halftime.
The lone touchdown in the second half was a Lakatosh 42-yard run. With the game in hand, this gave the younger players an opportunity to get some key playing time the second half.
But, as impressive as the offense was tonight for the Tigers, the defense was just as impressive.
The Tigers’ defense was led by Hulmes who had two sacks and Fritz Scheirer with two tackles for loss, stifling the Northern Lehigh’s offense most of the game.
Up next, Northwestern Lehigh is home against Bangor and Northern Lehigh hosts Pen Argyl.
Stars of the game:
Northwestern Lehigh
Chase Sukanick 78 yards rushing and 2 TDs
Braxton Lakatosh 141 yards rushing and 2 TDs
Shane Leh passed for 90 yards
Northern Lehigh
Garrett Smoyer passed for 144 yards and a touchdown
Northwestern Lehigh 56, Northern Lehigh 13
| Final | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final |
| Northwestern Lehigh (2-0) | 20 | 29 | 7 | 0 | 56 |
| Northern Lehigh (1-1) | 7 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
Scoring Summary:
1st Quarter:
NWL: Mason Bollinger 1 yard run (kick failed) 8:50
NL: Chris Frame 1 yard run (Anthony Hanna kick good) 3:18
NWL: Brady Zimmerman 90 yard kick return (2 point conversion good) 3:14
NWL: Shane Hulmes 1 yard run (run failed) 1:15
2nd Quarter:
NWL: Chase Sukanick 33 yard run (kick failed) 10:58
NWL: Chase Sukanick 42 yard run (2 point conversion good) 8:44
NL: Garrett Smoyer 25 yard pass to Colin Karetsky (kick blocked) 3:03
NWL: Braxton Lakatosh 15 yard run (2 point conversion good) 0:57
NWL: Mason Bollinger 100 yard interception return (Chase Sukanick kick good) 0:00
3rd Quarter:
NWL: Braxton Lakatosh 42 yard run (Chase Sukanick kick good) 11:08