For the past two seasons, rivals Northern Lehigh and Northwestern have been playing their annual ‘Mountain Road Rumble’ on Thursday nights.

That tradition continues later this evening in New Tripoli as the Bulldogs (0-1) and Tigers (1-0) face off in the Times News Game of the Week.

The average margin of victory in the Thursday night editions of the ‘Mountain Road Rumble’ has been a narrow four points - with Northern Lehigh winning last season (34-27) and Northwestern coming away with a victory in 2021 (34-33).

Both programs have been in similar positions during that span, competing for Schuylkill-Colonial division titles and district championships. But this season, their matchup is expected to look a little bit different, as it will feature a younger Bulldogs squad taking on a more experienced Tigers team.

Northwestern went on the road last week, defeating Tamaqua 49-6 as it took advantage of four Raider turnovers. Meanwhile, Northern Lehigh dropped a road contest to an explosive Catasauqua passing attack, 48-22. The Rough Riders offense had a big night through the air, passing for 212 yards and five touchdowns.

In Northern Lehigh’s win over Northwestern last season, 339 of its 345 yards of total offense came from seniors Nick Frame, AJ Jimenez, Izaiah Ramos and Austin Smyth. The Bulldogs will undoubtedly go through some growing pains this season, as they are depending on numerous underclassmen to provide them with starter-type snaps - including at quarterback where freshman Garrett Smoyer has stepped in under center after a season-ending injury sidelined projected starter Ayden Oswald in the preseason.

Even in the tough loss to the Rough Riders, there were some positives for Northern Lehigh. The Bulldogs rushed for 285 yards and three rushing touchdowns against Catty.

“You never anticipate that you’re going to lose your starting quarterback prior to the first game of the season, but the key for us is to stay positive and continue to work hard and get better,” said Northern Lehigh head coach Joe Tout. “We’re going to go through some growing pains, but we have experience up front that can help our younger skill guys gain confidence throughout the season.

“Again, we just need to stay positive, and also stay patient. We’re excited about this team’s future. We did do some nice things last week. I liked the way we looked in the run game. Obviously this week, we need to take better care of the ball, and limit our turnovers against a very good Northwestern team. I also need to do a better job of putting us in better positions to help limit our mistakes.”

The Tigers once again look like a team to be reckoned with after a dominant win over the Raiders. Northwestern’s two-quarterback system proved to be efficient. Shane Leh and Mason Bollinger both saw action under center and even connected together for a touchdown pass when Leh found Bollinger for an 18-yard pitch-and-catch score.

The Tigers’ rushing attack - which features both an experienced offensive line and stable of running backs - was also strong in their win over Tamaqua, as they rushed for 187 yards and six touchdowns. Dalton Clymer put together a solid performance for Northwestern, running for 72 yards and three scores.

“We’re not extremely deep up front, but the starting unit that we put out there, we really like what they can do,” said Northwestern head coach Josh Snyder. “It always starts with the run game for us, and we were able to run the ball well last week. We also feel like if the box does get loaded up against us, we have a nice group of weapons on the outside that we can distribute the ball to.

“I was also really happy with the way we played defensively last week, and we know this week it will be a good challenge for us. The heart and soul of their team is their linemen. They have some big strong experienced kids who like to move people, so we will need to match that physically, and we also need to be disciplined against their rushing attack.”