Northern Lehigh brought yet another physical and character-driven approach to its PIAA Class 1A quarterfinal matchup with Steelton-Highspire on Saturday.

The Bulldogs were able to use their pulverizing rushing attack to put together a strong effort against the perennial power Rollers from District 3.

But in the end, an explosive 28-point fourth quarter from Steel High’s dynamic quick-strike offense and stable of talented athletes was just enough to edge Northern Lehigh 42-35.

The game plan coming in for the Bulldogs (12-2) was to grind the clock to keep highly-touted Rollers quarterback Alex Erby and his talented arsenal of weapons off the field, and much like they have been able to do throughout the season, Northern Lehigh executed that game plan for the majority of the afternoon.

The Bulldogs wasted no time going to the ground game after getting a huge stop on the defensive side of the ball, turning the Rollers over on downs in the red zone on their first offensive possession.

Northern Lehigh’s first two scores of the game were anchored by the run, as the Bulldogs went 90 yards in nine plays, capped off by a 31-yard pitch-and-catch from Nick Frame to tight end Austyn Smyth on a well-designed play action pass.

On its second possession, Northern Lehigh would chew even more clock, going 54 yards in 10 plays before AJ Jimenez’s two-yard rush finished off the drive and gave Northern Lehigh a 14-7 advantage with 8:35 remaining in the half.

“Throughout the entire offseason, we grinded and worked hard and our goal was to get here to states and to play in these types of games,” said Jimenez. “We worked hard to adopt the physical play that you saw today and all throughout the season. That’s Northern Lehigh football.

“Since my sophomore year, we’ve been to three straight district titles, winning two of them, and we have all formed such a strong bond, and you see that with how we play for each other out there.”

The Bulldogs continued to put pressure on Steel High in the third quarter as they would receive the second half kickoff with the game tied at 14-14. A 35-yard hookup between Frame and Izaiah Ramos would get Northern Lehigh down to the Steel High seven, and a few plays later Jimenez would plunge in from three yards out to put the Bulldogs back up seven. Ramos, however, would be injured on the passing play that setup the score, and did not return.

Then came a key momentum shift that saw Northern Lehigh with a prime opportunity to build a two-score cushion on the Rollers. After forcing Steel High to punt on its first possession of the third, two unsportsmanlike penalties committed by the Rollers would give the ball to the Bulldogs at the Steel High 40. But their drive ended when they weren’t able to convert a fourth-and-one attempt, giving the ball back to the Rollers.

Steelton responded with an eight- play, 69-yard scoring drive to knot the game up at 21-21 right at the start of the fourth.

“If you had to pick one turning point of the day, you look back at that moment and you could single that out,” said Northern Lehigh coach Joe Tout. “If we could have converted there and got the two-score lead, that would have been huge.

“We also had a chance there to score right before the half and we weren’t able to get that in, and that would’ve been huge also, to go up a score at half and then we would be getting the ball back. I think those are the two moments where you could look back and say that was probably the difference in the game.”

Steel High would then get a key defensive stop, forcing Northern Lehigh to punt on the Bulldogs’ ensuing possession and returning the punt to the NL 21. A few plays later, Ronald Burnette would score from 16 yards out to give the Rollers their first lead at 28-21 with 9:29 left to play.

The Bulldogs would continue to answer the call throughout the fourth quarter as the Rollers kept trying to pull away. An 11-play, 69-yard scoring drive that featured 10 rushing attempts would make it a one-point game (28-27) after a failed two-point run.

Steel High would once again strike quickly, going 51 yards in just three plays to go up 35-27 with just under three minutes left.

But once again, the Bulldogs wouldn’t go away.

After driving the ball down to the Rollers eight-yard line and with only 30 seconds remaining, Frame rolled right and found Smyth by the right pylon for the score. It was a tight-window throw executed perfectly by Frame, and the catch from Smyth was even better as a Steel High defender just missed tipping the ball. The Bulldogs would then convert their two-point attempt on a Jimenez run where he was able to inch the ball over the goal line to make it 35-35 with 27 seconds remaining.

“Our last two touchdowns - answering their scores - I think that shows you the type of character these kids have,” said Tout. “And the last score, what a throw and catch by Nick and Austyn there to give us a chance to tie the game, and then AJ found a little bubble to get in between and tie the game.”

But just when it seemed like overtime was inevitable, the Rollers did what they do best - score fast.

It took Steel High just five plays and 23 seconds to go 59 yards with Erby finding Jaeion Perry on a back shoulder fade in the right side of the end zone for the winning touchdown with four seconds remaining.

GRIND IT OUT… The Bulldogs had the formula and the game plan to take down the Rollers and almost pulled it off. They rushed for 259 yards, and compiled 23 first downs.

PERENNIAL POSTSEASONS … Northern Lehigh has strung together an impressive three-season stretch of strong postseason play, appearing in three consecutive district championships - winning two - advancing to the state semis last season and the state quarterfinals this season.

BIG DAY … Steel High junior quarterback Alex Erby got all the headlines coming into the game as he is a vaunted 2024 recruit with a number of Division 1 FCS and FBS offers, but it was Rollers running back Ronald Burnette who had the big day, rushing for 224 yards and three touchdowns.