Northwestern enters Week 5 unbeaten at 4-0 and will host a Lehighton team coming off a win over Wilson Friday night.

Pleasant Valley has won three straight, while Northern Lehigh has picked up back-to-back wins, and Panther Valley and Marian also recorded victories last week.

The Panthers get the action started at home tonight against Minersville.

Minersville (3-1)

at Panther Vy. (2-2)

Thursday, Sept. 21, 7 p.m.

Storyline of the Week

: The Panthers are coming off a big win over Shenandoah Valley, which included a record-setting performance from Brennan Kunkel, while the Battlin’ Miners suffered their first loss of the year in a 31-28 setback against Williams Valley in overtime. Luke Stevenosky has 834 yards (10.0 yards per carry) and 15 scores on the ground this season for the Miners.

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: “They’re good, they really are. They’re about as physical a team as you’re going to see. Offensively, Stevenosky’s as good as there is; I think he’s top five in the state right now. The way he breaks tackles and has the speed and the cutback, he’s the total package. And then you throw (Dante) Carr, the quarterback and all his receivers out there, they’re tough. And then defensively, they pin their ears back, send six, seven guys at a time on a blitz and they just try to really disrupt the line of scrimmage. I said it last year, and I think we did for two quarters last year, if we don’t match their physicality it’s going to be a long night. And if we are able to match their physicality and kind of stay with them for a while and get the game into the second half, then who knows. But we have to get the game into the second half without giving up a bunch of long plays, or have bad tackling, which has happened in the past. We have to get the game into the second half and make it a football game.” – Panther Valley head coach Mark Lavine.

Pleasant Valley (3-1)

at East Stroudsburg North (1-3)

Friday, Sept. 22, 7 p.m.

Storyline of the Week

: Pleasant Valley looks to extend its win streak to four with a trip to EPC North division foe East Stroudsburg North.

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: “Nice to have a normal week here for the first time in a while. We had Thursday game that turned into Monday, then turned into Friday. To be able to get out and have a normal week and get into full pads, these kids are hungry to get back after it. We’re trying still in the heart of it. Everyone is trying to figure out who they are yet. Obviously, the win over (East Stroudsburg) South was big and then (Pocono Mountain) West goes and beats them. There’s a lot of battles upcoming and we’ll take it one game at a time and are focused on East Stroudsburg North right now. They’re making drastic improvements from the recent years, but they’re still a young team, still trying to find their frame and they have a win (over Allen). They’re going to be hungry for another one, so it’ll be a test a lot more than some of the previous North games.” - Pleasant Valley head coach Blaec Saeger.

Northern Lehigh (2-2)

at North Schuylkill (3-1)

Friday, Sept. 22, 7 p.m.

Storyline of the Week

: The Northern Lehigh defensive front was dominant last week in a 45-20 win over Pine Grove, as the Bulldogs allowed just 22 rushing yards at one yard per carry. Northern Lehigh will once again need to bring that same approach on the defensive side this week as it takes on an explosive North Schuylkill offense.

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: “Our defense has really been playing well. Our front has been really good, our linebackers have been really good, and our young secondary has hung in there for us. You can see it with our younger players that the game is starting to slow down for them a little bit. This week, we’re looking forward to the challenge of playing a very good football team. This is a game that is only going to make us better and prepare us for later in the season. When you’re playing a team like North Schuylkill, you just need to try and bog them down, so we’re going to look to continue to play physical football up front on the defensive side of the ball and once again this week look to get our run game going.” - Northern Lehigh head coach Joe Tout.

Pine Grove (1-3)

at Jim Thorpe (1-3)

Friday, Sept. 22, 7 pm

Storyline of the Week

: The improving Olympians, who nearly knocked off unbeaten Palmerton a week ago, look to build upon the progress of their young team against the Cardinals, who have been struggling in the early season.

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: “We are getting healthier, which should help us provide the environment to help our young team get better. On offense, we need to be better with our blocking schemes, and if they double down on Justin Yescavage, that should open up other passing targets for Cole Lazorick. Defensively, we have to get off our blocks, and especially stop big plays. Pine Grove is led by Lane Lehman, who’s a solid runner and a force on defense from his linebacker position. We want to start fast and finish our drives and keep their offense off the field.” – Jim Thorpe head coach Mark Rosenberger

Lehighton (2-2)

at Northwestern (4-0)

Friday, Sept. 22, 7, p.m.

Storyline of the Week

: Northwestern is arguably the best overall team in the area, having outscored their opponents 166-34 in four games. The Tribe will have to find ways to control NW’s running game led by senior Dalton Clymer and the accurate passing of sophomore quarterback Shane Leh while running a strong dose of Dylan Moyer at the Tigers’ defense.

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: “We established a solid run game last week with Moyer gaining over 200 yards, and we threw when we had to throw. Northwestern may not have a (Cade) Christopher or a (Justin) Holmes this year, but they are a solid team with no weaknesses. They like to run the ball and play action pass over the top. We need to establish the line of scrimmage on offense, control the clock, and win the battle in the trenches. On defense, we have to get them in second or third-and-long to make them have to get more than five yards to move the chains.” - Lehighton head coach Tom McCarroll.

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: “We have earned a target on our backs, and we welcome the challenge of having to play our best game of the year each week no matter the opponent. Our coaching staff demands accountability at each position, and I am big on paying attention to detail. I tell our players to have fun, and winning is fun. Let’s focus and go get another win. We enjoy being the hunter, and not the hunted. Against Lehighton, we will try to stay balanced on offense against their multiple looks. Last week we threw for 200 yards, so our passing game is complementing our run game. We will take what the defense gives us. With our defense, we’d like to take away their run game. They play two quarterbacks, one who likes to run and the other who likes to pass, so we have to prepare for that. We’ll add a few wrinkles in our game planning to keep our team fresh and to get better each week.” - Northwestern head coach Josh Snyder.

Tamaqua (0-4)

at Salisbury (0-4)

Friday, Sept, 22, 7 p.m.

Storyline of the Week:

Both teams are winless and have trouble putting points on the board. The Raiders are averaging only 10 points a game and the Falcons just under 10.

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: “We showed improvement last week against North Schuylkill, a program that’s one of the best in the league every year. We played very aggressive in the third and fourth quarters. We got stops and sacks when we could have folded our tents. This week we get five players back from the injury list which should help us compete at a higher level, one being Bradley Whalen, which will help the running game we want to establish against Salisbury. We’ve been pretty good with our short passing game, which gives us second and third downs and short yardage to go. They like to run misdirection, with counters and traps so our linebackers have to make good reads and not jump to the wrong side of the play. With two teams desperate for their first win, it’s important we start fast and get a jump on them early not only for confidence, but to put immediate pressure for them to match our score.” -Tamaqua head coach Sam Bonner.

Marian (2-2)

vs. Nativity (3-1)

(at North Schuylkill)

Saturday, Sept. 23, 7 p.m.

Storyline of the Week

: Marian running back Jayden Fermin returned last week for the Colts and instantly helped to get their rushing attack going once again. Fermin rushed for 81 yards on six carries and two rushing touchdowns against Sayre. The goal again this week for Marian is to get its rushing attack going early and often against Nativity.

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: “Having Fermin back was big for us. He’s really a difference-maker. He has that special blend of speed and elusiveness that you don’t see in many running backs. I think the defense also took a step forward last week as well, with our varsity defense shutting them out. This week, we’re once again going up against a very good football team. It is a rivalry game. They have some explosive veteran players that we will need to contain.” - Marian head coach Stan Dakosty.

By Kyle Magda, Brad Hurley, Rich Strack and Patrick Matsinko.