For Northwestern, the expectation is to get to the final game, and for Jim Thorpe, the battle cry is, ‘You got to be in it to win it.”

This Friday night, the two teams will meet in the quarterfinals for the right to advance toward winning a District 11 Class 3A Championship.

Coming into this one, both teams have been going in different directions. The Tigers won their last two regular season games by combined scores of 80-15, while the Olympians dropped their last two games to Northern Lehigh and Lehighton.

But now, it’s a whole new “season” where every run and every pass can make a difference in sending the winning team to the semifinals, and the losing team home until next year.

The Tigers are 8-2 and coming off a huge win against a solid Southern Lehigh team. Leading the charge to victory were quarterback Cade Christopher and running back Dalton Clymer.

Christopher rushed for 216 yards and four touchdowns. Clymer carried the rock for 124 yards and two TDs. Together, the dynamic duo handled 37 of the 46 carries in the win over the Spartans.

On the season, Christopher has gained 1,352 yards with 21 touchdowns, while Clymer is averaging over six yards per carry with 995 yards gained.

To say the Tigers are a run-heavy team is no exaggeration. Christopher has thrown only 80 passes this season, an average of just eight throws per game. When he does go to the air, his favorite target is Devon Hildebrand, who’s cradled 18 of the Tigers’ 39 receptions in 10 games.

“We’re carrying some motivation, for sure,” said Northwestern coach Josh Snyder. “The win over Southern Lehigh gave us the division title, too.”

On offense, the Tigers can grind out long drives, or bust big plays.

“We’re built to go both ways,” said Snyder.

Sometimes, they’ll flank Christopher out as a receiver. He’s also another threat on punt returns. Another impressive Tigers’ statistic is they have outscored their opponents 129-22 in third quarters this season.

Jim Thorpe head coach Mark Rosenberger knows exactly what his team is up against with Northwestern, having faced them in a scrimmage last August.

“They have an exceptional quarterback and tailback,” he said. “We have to slow their running game down, not give up the big play, and have good tackling.”

A good weapon the Olympians (3-7) will have is kicker Dawson Meckes, who regularly booms kickoffs into the end zone.

“He can make an offense drive 80 yards to score rather than 60,” said Rosenberger.

Returning to JT’s offense is offensive and defensive end Bryson Heydt, who along with tackle, Noah Rosahac, should provide an extra force on both sides of the ball. Thorpe has its own scoring weapons in running back Sal Capria, and wide receiver David Fiorito.

Capria leads the team with 801 yards gained and seven TDs. Fiorito, with 38 receptions, has caught one less than the entire Tigers’ team which has 39.

Snyder also knows what to expect from the Red, White, and Blue on Friday night.and plans to make sure his Tigers don’t look past Jim Thorpe.

“We know their record, but we also know they’ve lost a few very close games against good teams,” Snyder said. “You never know how a game will go based on teams’ records. A football is a weird thing. It’s not round, and it doesn’t bounce right back to you when it hits the ground. Turnovers can change momentum.”

While Northwestern may have its eyes on a district championship, the Olympians will give it their best shot to pull off the upset and advance to the semifinals.

“It’s been a tough road for us so far,” said Rosenberger, “but past records don’t matter anymore. Everyone is 0-0, and a new season begins now.”