12-0 vs. 12-0.

It’s finally here.

As the regular season started to wind down and the postseason field began to take shape, football enthusiasts throughout the region wanted to see it happen.

Friday night at Lehighton High School, the wait will be over.

Unbeaten powers Palmerton and Northwestern will meet in a winner-take-all showdown for the District 11 Class 3A championship.

“1-0. That is the approach that has gotten us to this point in the season with the opportunity to play for a championship,“ said Palmerton coach Chirs Walkowiak about his team’s mantra of going 1-0 every week. “That is the mentality we need to continue to prepare with. Everyone doing their role and their job and committing themselves.

“Both us and Northwestern have earned the right to play for a championship. We’re looking forward to the challenge come Friday night.”

The Blue Bombers overcame their final challenge to setting up this matchup last week, rallying to beat North Schuylkill.

Trailing 10-8 at halftime and 24-16 in the fourth quarter in the District 11 3A semifinals, Palmerton had to dig in. With the Bombers offense struggling for the first time this season, it was a pure ‘let’s see what we’re made of’ moment.

Palmerton responded to the adversity, rallied and was able to outscore the Spartans 16-0 in the fourth quarter to stay undefeated.

The victory sent the Bombers into the 3A championship game where they will meet Northwestern in a battle of unbeatens at Lehighton High School on Friday night.

The Spartans defense hasn’t been quite good as Northwestern’s defense this season, but has a similar makeup to the Tigers with a big front and athletes on the back end. It was a combination that gave the Bombers problems last Friday evening.

Like most teams have done this season against Palmerton, North Schuylkill put a spy on Bomber All-State quarterback Matt Machalik, but unlike most teams, the Spartans actually had the athletes that could somewhat keep the Bombers’ offense contained.

At least, that was the case in the first half. After Palmerton made adjustments at halftime, it was able to get its run game going once again.

Machalik scored on a another scintillating long touchdown run (65 yards), and running back Ty Sander was able to grind and chip away at the Spartans’ defensive front. At the end of the game, Sander finished with 127 yards rushing and Machalik with 96 as the Bombers finished with a solid 222 yards rushing after the slow start.

“We knew it was going to be a challenge last week against a good North Schuylkill team,” said Palmerton head coach Chris Walkowiak. “We have played some good football teams this season, and we have been able to win games in a number of ways. The road always gets tougher the deeper you go into the postseason. I think our path this season has prepared us for this week’s championship game.

“Going up against a good North Schuylkill defense that features both a big and physical defensive front, and good athletes at both the linebacker and secondary spots, also has served as good preparation for the challenge that lies ahead of us on Friday. Football usually comes down to the trenches, and we faced a tough group last week, and this week we’re once again facing a really good group up front.”

As good as the competition has been that the Bombers’ offense has faced this season, they will face their biggest challenge tomorrow night.

The Northwestern defense that has been both imposing and stifling this year. The Tigers are surrendering just 173.2 yards per game, and a stingy 9.8 points per contest.

Palmerton’s rushing attack has been the best in the Times News area this season, averaging 301 yards per game on the ground. Meanwhile, the Northwestern run defense leads the Times News area, giving up just 64 yards per game on the ground.

A big reason for the Tigers success against the run has been their two big men up front - Bryer Reichard (57 tackles, 14.5 tackles for loss, 7.5 sacks) and Ben Walters (56 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks).

“Northwestern has a defense that is both physical and fast. They make plays and create turnovers,” said Walkowiak. “They are really good up front, and then they have speed at all of their other positions. It’s a really impressive defense that brings it every week.”

The Tigers speed on defense - especially at the linebacker position - has set it apart from other defensive units in the area this season. Dalton Clymer (92 tackles), Blaine Snyder (85 tackles) and Shane Hulmes (78 tackles) have all been standouts at linebacker for Northwestern. With the success the North Schuylkill defense had against the Palmerton offense in the first half last week - specifically with its ability to spy Machalik - expect the Tigers’ defense to try to duplicate that approach.

But then again, that’s something every Bomber opponent has tried this season.

“Every week, every team has had some sort of spy on Matt (Machalik), or some sort of scheme to try and stop him or slow him down. Now, that we are in the playoffs, we’re seeing better teams that have better players and athletes trying to execute those things,” said Walkowiak. “At the end of the day, we’re going to try and do what we always try and do, and that is take what the defense gives us.

“Last week, there were some drives where we just didn’t execute, so we need to clean that up this week. Our goal is always to move the sticks and execute, and put ourselves in position to score points.”