Lehighton will open Week 6 action tonight with a trip to Blue Mountain.

Lehighton at Blue Mountain

When: Thursday, Sept. 29, 6 p.m.

Storyline of the Week

: Can the Tribe win the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball?

A team’s record doesn’t always indicate how competitive they have been. Such is the case with Lehighton. At 1-4, the Tribe have been in position to have won every game they have played so far this season. Statistics suggest that a play here or there might have turned their fortunes around. The Maroon and White have been outscored by only 24 points in five games. Their offense, led by quarterback Brady O’Donnell and wide receiver Ian Rarick, has averaged nearly 30 points a game. The one significant statistic that accounts for them playing from behind most of the time is that they have been outscored 124-79 in the first half of games. Coach Tom McCarroll sees a steady improvement with his young team. “We’re getting better for sure in the last two games,” he said. “We were tied with Northwestern at the half, and were controlling the game with our run game.” O’Donnell has been handing the rock to Ethan Buchert, and he has responded by scoring six touchdowns, while averaging almost five yards per carry. “Our offensive line is intact as a new group this year,” said McCarroll, “And Ethan is still learning the position of running back, but he’s getting more comfortable with it.” Rarick, who McCarroll calls “one of the best receivers in the area,” has been phenomenal with catching passes. He has 31 receptions for 507 yards and five touchdowns and is a big play threat with an average of 16 yards per catch. “He’s a dynamic playmaker,” said McCarroll. In this week’s opponent, McCarroll sees a very physical team in the 2-3 Blue Mountain Eagles. “They have strong, downhill runners so we will have a challenge to keep them near the line of scrimmage,” he said. The Eagles will be without their starting quarterback due to a season-ending injury, and may rely more on the run game more than before. “We will have some new schemes on defense to change up our normal look, and hopefully play a complete game on both sides of the ball,” said McCarroll.

Players to Watch:

Wyatt Scherer, Lehighton

At offensive and defensive tackle, this junior stalwart has been a force on both sides of the ball. McCarroll calls him a “rock” on defense who makes plays and on offense, he’s the lineman they like to run behind.

Michael Yeakel, Lehighton

The junior defensive back is a physical tackler, great on run support and on pass coverage. “We’ve moved him around in the secondary from safety to cornerback, where we think he helps us the most right now,” McCarroll said.

Payton Fasnacht, Blue Mountain

The junior workhorse has gained 400 yards in five games, and is averaging six yards per carry. The Tribe will have to control him at the line of scrimmage, and force the Eagles into third-and-long downs, and distances.

No. Lehigh at Salisbury

When: Friday, Sept. 30, 7 p.m.

Storyline of the Week

: Bulldogs look to bounce back.

North Schuylkill handed Northern Lehigh its first loss of the season en route to a 31-0 victory in a meeting of defending District 11 champions last week. “After going back and watching the film, I thought we played pretty well defensively,” said Northern Lehigh head coach Joe Tout. “The final score wasn’t representative of our effort defensively. Ten points came off of a pick-six and a field goal due to a turnover. We gave up one long play for a TD. North Schuylkill had two solid drives against us. This game will really help us down the road. I don’t know if we will see a better team in the regular season.” With Izaiah Ramos out with an upper body injury, the Bulldogs lose their team leader with six touchdowns, as well as a tremendous defender in the secondary. “Yes, we lose that big-play burst against elite teams,” said Tout. “The one good thing about injuries is it forces you to build depth. We will be looking at some of our young guys who have speed - sophomores Resse Lipsky, Ayden Oswald, and freshman Grady Newhard will now get some looks on offense. However, our identity offensively will be power football, with our screen game, and play action football.” The Bulldogs face winless Salisbury, coming off a 52-0 loss to Tamaqua. The Blue Raiders rushed for 379 rushing yards, and had 12 carries that produced 10-or-more yards, and registered all seven touchdowns on running plays. Northern Lehigh won last year’s game against Salisbury, 28-7. “This is a business trip for us,” said Tout. “I expect us to be a moody team all week after our first loss. We are going on the road, with the goal of taking care of business. We are looking to get off the bus prepared to play immediately. We expect to improve in all phases of the game, and we expect to limit turnovers and penalties. We talked to our team about our expectations moving forward, and that we should go to Salisbury and take care of business.”

Players to Watch:

Jason St. Leger, Salisbury

While the Falcons managed just 94 yards of total offense last week, St. Leger was active in the passing game and running the ball. He carried the ball five times for 25 yards, and also had three catches for 11 yards.

Ethan Karpowich, Northern Lehigh

Karpowich carried the ball six times for 32 yards, and also had one catch for 14 yards last week against North Schuylkill, while also contributing on defense for the Bulldogs.

Marian at Mahanoy Area

When: Friday, Sept. 30, 7 p.m.

Storyline of the Week

: Comeback Colts.

For the second year in a row, Marian beat Nativity in a thriller, downing the Green Wave 15-12 last Friday. “Our kids are great kids. They’re tenacious, they work hard and what we did last week is we put ourselves in a situation with penalties, I think 11 or 12 of them, that really kept the game closer than it should have been,” said Marian head coach Stan Dakosty. “And we found ourselves trailing, but they didn’t panic and they kept their cool. Brandon Klitsch made one of the greatest catches I think I’ve ever seen at Marian High School, and we were able to come up with a big win.” The Colts improved to 3-2 during last week’s big win over Nativity, with Matt Martin scoring with 1:38 to play to put Marian in front. The Colts topped the Green Wave 19-13 in overtime last year, a victory that led to a four-game winning streak to close out the year. Klitsch made a big 47-yard catch to put Marian in scoring position. Colts junior quarterback Bruck Hopeck threw the ball to Michael Galatko, who made an excellent sideline catch that advanced the ball 31 yards. Two plays later, Hopeck heaved the ball to Klitsch who got ahead of his two defenders. The ball was thrown perfectly, just over the reaching hands of the defenders and into the grasp of Klitsch who held onto it. He was stopped on the eight-yard line. Martin carried twice, the second time breaking through the middle for a touchdown. Caden Kash kicked the extra point. Marian will now face a 3-2 Mahanoy team that has been outscored 64-18 during its two-game losing streak to Catasauqua (23-0) and Riverside (41-18). “They’re a very veteran team, senior-dominated,” said Dakosty. “They’re big up front, physical up front. They have great skill kids. They have the whole package, and we know we’re going to have our hands full going up there to play that game. We haven’t played them for two years, so it’s great to renew the rivalry... so we’re excited for that, and we’re expecting a tough, physical football game Friday night.” The Colts continue to make strides, something that can be seen beyond the varsity level. “We won our first JV in the last six years. We won on Monday against Nativity,” said Dakosty. “We lost a tough one to Minersville earlier this year. We’re playing a competitive JV team, and that kind of gives us a little perspective. We only have three seniors actively playing for us, so it’s a good sign. We’re not where we want to be yet, we’ve not even guaranteed a winning season yet, but our kids are playing hard, and as long as they’re willing to work hard and stay involved, we have a chance to get things rolling in the right direction.”

Players to Watch:

Bruce Hopeck, Marian

Hopeck completed 6-of-11 pass attempts for 145 yards, including big pass plays to Brandon Klitsch and Michael Gelatko.

Aidan Milkovits, Marian

The sophomore had two pancake blocks during Friday’s win over Nativity. He also had three total tackles.

Northwestern at Saucon Vy.

When: Friday, Sept. 30, 7 p.m.

Storyline of the Week

: Tigers on the road again.

The Tigers (4-1) are in the middle of a three-game road trip. Northwestern ripped off 28 unanswered points last week in a 35-14 win over Lehighton. Times News Football Player of the Week Dalton Clymer ran for 176 yards and two touchdowns and also caught a TD pass in a win. Clymer also added seven tackles, including one for a loss. He knows how critical a fast start will be this week against a tough Saucon Valley team. “We’re still honestly finding out a lot as a team,” said Clymer. “Still moving people around, like you’ve seen in games. Still trying to develop with our pass game and things like that. But we’re starting to get very comfortable with where people are and we know we’ve had success so far, but any one of these games coming up is a toss up. A win could be a loss; it all just depends on how we show up and play. So being that these next couple games are on the road, one of the things that we’ve struggled with is getting off the bus and being ready to go. So that’s one thing that we’re going to have to work out, and something we have struggled with. We’re going to have to figure that out.” The Panthers (2-3) are coming off back-to-back losses to Bangor (26-21) and Pottsville (19-14). Their three losses this season have come by a combined 17 points. “Halfway through the season, Saucon Valley is a very good 2-3 team,” said Northwestern head coach Josh Snyder. “They’ve had at least two games out of those three losses that they could have/should have won. They’re dangerous. They have good, experienced kids. They were dinged up last year, and so they got to play a lot. Their quarterback is pretty nifty with his legs, throws the ball to a number of receivers who have great hands, and we’re going to be challenged defensively. Offensively, we’re just going to continue to do what we do, and take what the defense gives us and try to run the ball.”

Players to Watch:

Travis Riefenstahl, Saucon Valley

The senior quarterback has completed 53-of-104 pass attempts for 934 yards with seven touchdowns, while also throwing seven picks this season. He is the team’s leading rusher, carrying the ball 52 times for 315 yards with five touchdowns.

Jared Rohn, Saucon Valley

The sophomore is the Panthers’ leading receiver this year, with 19 catches for 364 yards and one touchdown. Riefenstahl has spread the ball around, with Jack Robertson (16 catches, 316 yards, one touchdown) and Alex Magnotta (12 catches, 179 yards, four touchdowns) also a big part of the passing game.

Sam Mauro, Northwestern

Mauro led the Tigers with nine total tackles, including one tackle for a loss, in last week’s win over Lehighton.

Palmerton at Pine Grove

When: Friday, Sept. 30, 7 p.m.

Storyline of the Week:

Palmerton is coming into this week with a fundamental approach after a disappointing loss last week.

The road has not been kind to the Bombers (3-2) this season, as they dropped a tough one last week to Notre Dame Green Pond on the road, 55-18. Palmerton also lost to Palisades on the road earlier in the season 47-40, making it 0-2 away from home so far in 2022. The Bombers will take a long bus ride to Pine Grove this week, but they should get back on track, as they face off with the struggling Cardinals (1-4). Palmerton’s offense has been explosive this season, averaging 418 yards of total offense per game, and it will face off with a Pine Grove defense that is giving up 45 points per game, including 64 points per game over its last two contests. Special teams will need to improve for the Bombers this week, as they have not been good in that department over the past two weeks. In fact, Palmerton has given up two kickoff returns for touchdowns to start the second half in each of its last two games. The Cardinals offense has struggled as much as their defense this season, but when they have been able to move the football, quarterback Mason Kroh (275 yards passing, 204 yards rushing) and running back Garrett Lehman (347 yards rushing, one TD) have been the catalysts. “The message this week has been fundamentals. We need to re-focus on our fundamentals, and just work to get better this week,” said Palmerton head coach Chris Walkowiak. “Last week, overall, it was an uncharacteristic performance from us in pretty much every phase of the game. So, the emphasis will be fundamental and physical football, and to execute and just to improve and get better.”

Players to Watch:

Matt Machalik, Palmerton

Machalik could be in the players to watch category weekly and deservingly so. He is putting together a historic season for the Bombers, having thrown for 1,225 yards, 15 touchdowns and five interceptions, while rushing for 571 yards and 10 scores.

Mason Kroh, Pine Grove

Kroh is the man for the Cardinals’ offense. He has combined for 449 yards of total offense, which leads the Pine Grove offense by a significant margin.

Pleasant Valley at Parkland

When: Friday, Sept. 30, 7 p.m.

Storyline of the Week

: Pleasant Valley retains Old Oaken Bucket; Parkland on the horizon.

Pleasant Valley has been enjoying its recent success, especially after retaining the Old Oaken Bucket for the third straight year against rival Pocono Mountain East in a 48-14 victory last Friday night. The Bears had to dig a little deeper in the playbook against the Cardinals, but PV dominated the game. Pleasant Valley is now 5-0, and head coach Blaec Saeger has been pleased with the program’s effort. “It’s definitely a collective effort, and it’s a tribute to many years of hard work here,” Saeger said. “These kids are super committed. They have put their mark on this program to turn it around. They want to be the group, and it started a couple of years ago with some improvements. This class is able to take it to another level. I’m proud of so many people and so much hard work. We work hard starting in January, and put the time and effort in. There’s just something different about this group. They’re a tough group, and they’ve been determined to go out and do the job everyday, not just on Fridays.” Pleasant Valley travels to face a tough Parkland squad. The Trojans (2-3) lost by a combined 26 points to Nazareth, Allentown Central Catholic and Whitehall. The Whitehall loss was a narrow 32-31 decision in Week 5. “This one is a whole other animal,” Saeger said about the Parkland game. “This is a marquee-Lehigh Valley program, by far the best team we’ll have faced so far. I don’t care what their record is because the teams they lost to are all also very good. Everyone is so good down there. Monster school, and nearly twice our size. They have everything that every program is looking for. I have so much respect for what they’ve done over the last 30 years, and this year is no different. They are loaded, they are fantastic and it’s going to take a monumental effort for us to even compete with them.” Saeger believes his kids are ready to go up against Parkland Friday night in a really tough test for the Bears. The Parkland game starts a three-game stretch for the Bears in facing Lehigh Valley opponents. “Our kids are up to the task,” Saeger said. “They are ready, and we have a belief that we can go down there and compete. We’re certainly not going to be intimidated or overwhelmed or anything like that. We’ll go down there and give them the best shot we got.”

Players to Watch:

Mario Mondillo, Pleasant Valley

Mondillo scored a pick-six in the Old Oaken Bucket game as the defense stepped it up against Pocono Mountain East. Mondillo also got some carries on the offensive side of the ball for the first time. Both Pocono Mountain East and Pleasant Valley run the option in their offenses.

Leadell Burpo, Pleasant Valley

Burpo recovered a 44-yard fumble for a defensive touchdown for the first of two touchdowns by the defense in the game. The defense will have a tough task against Parkland in the first of three straight games against Lehigh Valley teams.

Trey Tremba, Parkland

Tremba has been averaging 94.7 yards a game, and scored six touchdowns this year for the Trojans and he figures to be tough to stop on Friday night. Tremba is one of Parkland’s offensive weapons the team can turn to.

Palisades at Panther Valley

When: Friday, Sept. 30, 7 p.m.

Storyline of the Week

: The Panthers need to play better to stay close in the first half.

Sometimes, statistics do tell the story of how a football team is playing. Panther Valley has been outscored 82-19 in the first halves of their (ITS) games this season. Coach Mark Lavine says that much of that has to do with the strength of its opponents. “Tri-Valley and Mahanoy are really good teams, and jumped on us pretty early,” said Lavine. “It’s not that we weren’t prepared. We did make halftime adjustments that worked well.” Statistics bear that out, too. The Panthers have outscored their opposition 68-63 in the third and fourth quarters combined. On offense, PV (2-3) has relied on quarterback, Michael Pascoe, a previous Times News Player of the Week, almost to a fault. He has scored six of his team’s rushing touchdowns, and has thrown for five more. On the ground, Pascoe has rushed for 679 yards and (AT) nearly six yards a carry. “We’re very aware that teams are preparing to shut down Michael, and we have been getting Brennan Kunkel and Austin Hadley more involved with our play calling,” said Lavine. Kunkel and Hadley are lugging the rock at better than four yards per carry. It’s been no secret that the Panthers are a run-oriented team, but Lavine plans to add a few new wrinkles to his playlist against Palisades (3-2) to keep them from stuffing the box at the line of scrimmage. When Pascoe does go to the air, he has spread the ball around to six different receivers, with Trey McAndrew hauling in nine catches for 149 yards to lead the team. Against Palisades, Lavine expects a very physical game. “They are big up front, with a lot of experienced seniors,” he explained. “They do a lot of different things on offense. They’ll run right at you, and use some midline and veer option, too. We have to be ready for their power game when they pull their O-linemen, as well as play assignment discipline against their option.”

Players to Watch:

Riley Hoben, Panther Valley

The 6-2, 210-pound senior led the Panthers in tackles last week from his defensive end position. He plays both ways, and has opened up plenty of holes for PV’s running game.

Eli Maynard, Panther Valley

The 6-0, 200-pound center was moved from tight end a year ago. “Eli is extremely intelligent, so much so, that he’s skipped a grade in school,” said Lavine. “He’s very good at recognizing defenses and doing our line checks.” On defense, Maynard has been solid from his middle linebacker position.

Steven Lilly, Palisades

The Pirates’ senior running back is their workhorse, and go-to-guy in short-yardage situations.