It doesn’t get any better or bigger than this.

If you’ve been living under a rock this football season, Lehighton and Jim Thorpe played a big football game Week 10. And on Saturday, they’ll be dancing again.

A lot was on the line a few weeks ago. Both teams were undefeated, playing for the Schuylkill League Division 1 Championship, a chance to hoist the 209 trophy, and the Class 3A No. 2 seed was up for grabs. And of course, bragging rights.

“In some ways it’s exactly the same as two weeks ago,” said Lehighton head coach Tom McCarroll. “It adds an interesting dynamic to not just play someone twice — but playing them twice in such a short window. You already have the playoff aspect going, so the high stakes are already built in.”

When the dust settled after Week 10, Cody Scherer and the Indians pulled away from Thorpe in the second half for a 43-27 win. During that second-half sequence, Scherer had scoring runs of 81 and 74 yards.

“That’s one of the major themes of a goal that we have this week; it may even be No. 1 on our board right now — is limiting big plays,” said Jim Thorpe head coach Mark Rosenberger. “We can’t allow No. 13, 8, 11, 6, or any of those guys to make big plays. We have to make them drive the ball downfield, opposed to making big plays.”

The Thorpe defense has been quite impressive this season.

At one point, the Olympians’ defense pitched five consecutive shutouts this season. In fact, the Indians scored 12 first-quarter points against JT in Week 10, which marked the first time anyone scored in the opening period against the Olympians in 2017.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that Jim Thorpe is going to come out with a chip on its shoulder; it would be foolish of me not to think so,” McCarroll said. “The reality of it is, going into two weeks ago, their defense was extremely highly touted and rightfully so. With our offense having success, I think they’re going to take that personally — and I know I would. If the shoe was reversed, I would probably use that as a rallying point for our kids this week. We’re fully aware that we are going to get literally everything that they have — and it should be that way.”

But in the opening round of D11 3A play last weekend, Thorpe got back on track and didn’t miss a beat with a convincing 42-20 win over Tamaqua.

“You watch a lot of film and bring a lot of different things back,” said Rosenberger of playing both Tamaqua and Lehighton twice within a month’s span. “The nice part is you get to see what worked well for you a few weeks ago, what didn’t work for you, and changes you have to make. I think it makes the game plan a little bit easier.”

The Olympians yielded just six first-half points last week and received a boost from their specials teams on a pair of 80-plus kickoff return touchdowns from speedsters Jarrin Geisinger and C.J. Selby. And after receiving only one carry in the second half of Week 10 against Lehighton, Justin St. Hill resumed his role as workhorse of the Olympians, carrying the ball 33 times for 199 yards.

“All three facets were working well for us last week,” said Rosenberger. “I thought offensively we did some really nice things. The run game is going well and Justin (St. Hill) had a big game rushing the ball for us and the line did an outstanding job. Defensively, we were able to hold them (Tamaqua) in check. I think they had about 160 yards of offense, they’re a very powerful offense, so that tells you our guys were playing defense again. Special teams has been big, kickoff returns have been big for us.”

As for Lehighton, after trailing Salisbury 10-0 at halftime in the opening round last week, the Indians stormed back with 30 second-half points for a 38-10 victory.

“Our focus is getting the kids to understand that regardless of what happened two weeks ago, we have to wipe the slate clean,” said McCarroll. “We have to perform at a higher level in my opinion.”

Not much has changed since Week 10.

It’s one of the biggest rivalries in District 11, both teams are still dominant, the game is once again at Lehighton, and there is a ton on the line.

“It’s a great rivalry; a lot of respect for their coaches and players,” said Rosenberger. “These two communities, I think, respect one another. With that being said, it’s a highly intense situation and I don’t think either team is going to back down this week. We’re excited. The pressure is on them, everyone expects Lehighton to win. We’re going there with not a whole lot to lose, and a whole lot to win — and our players are excited about it.”

But unlike Week 10, the loser won’t have a game to play the following weekend. The chips are stacked a mile high in the pot. And everyone involved is “all in.”

“Now it doesn’t really matter,” said McCarroll. “If you don’t come out on top — you’re done.”