Panther Valley will travel to Marian on Thursday night to rekindle a longstanding rivalry.

Elsewhere, Northwestern will look to stay unbeaten when the Tigers travel to Bangor in another Thursday contest.

Panther Valley (0-2)

at Marian (1-1)

When: Thursday, Sept. 5, 7 p.m.

Instant Replay

Week 2 was not kind to either Marian or Panther Valley. The Colts were shutout by Tri-Valley on the road, and the Panthers were also shutout on the road by Schuylkill Haven. Marian running back Rory Dixon has had a good season to date, rushing 41 times for 283 yards and a touchdown. PV will look to get its offense going with quarterback Brody Breiner, who has 85 rushing yards on the season. Big-play receiver Brady Jones has caught 10 passes for 99 yards.

Storyline of the Week

The Panthers have to be able to put some points on the board, as they’ve scored just six points on the season. The Colts will be looking to get back to power football this week, but they also need to convert in the passing game to keep from being one-dimensional.

Coach’s Corner

“We had some chances to convert some big plays last week down the field, and we were not able to convert them. That is something we can’t afford to do moving forward, as that came back to bite us last week. We have to be more explosive this week in both the run and passing game. And we have to be able to limit the plays to their playmakers. Breiner is a good athlete, so we will need to contain him and also make sure our coverage is strong against their wide receiver Jones.” - Marian head coach Billy O’Gurek.

“Plain and simple. We have to tackle better. Through the first two weeks we have not tackled very well at all. It’s something we’re really stressing and putting an emphasis on, and we have picked up the physicality at practice. We just can’t continue to give up the big play like we have been. We know we have a challenge in front of us this week. Dixon is a really good back with good vision, and Michael Gelatko is a big and physical kid for them at tight end. We need to take care of the football and get our offense going, but it all starts with playing more physical and finishing tackles.” - Panther Valley head coach Mark Lavine.

Northwestern (2-0)

at Bangor (0-2)

When: Thursday, Sept. 5, 7 p.m.

Instant Replay

Northwestern raced out to a 56-0 lead at halftime en route to a 56-7 win over Northern Lehigh last week. Eli Zimmerman scored touchdowns three different ways, four in all, during the Tigers victory last Thursday. Zimmerman had two rushing TDs, a scoring catch, and a punt return to the end zone. He had two carries for 89 yards - both scores, caught a 9-yard pass and his punt return covered 59 yards. His performance earned him the Times News Football Player of the Week. Bangor is coming off a 33-7 loss to Lehighton last Thursday.

Storyline of the Week

Can anyone stop Northwestern? The Tigers are 2-0 and have outscored their opponents 103-7.

Coach’s Corner

“Bangor’s a difficult match-up. We’re going up there, it’s a long trip. We haven’t gotten off the bus the last couple times we played up there. And their backs are against the wall; they’re 0-2, they want to change that and we’re coming in on a short week, and I’m sure they’re going to be swinging for the fences and it definitely would turn their season around and put them in a great spot if they could knock us off, and we know that going in, and we’re looking to play our best game of the season on Thursday, and we’re looking forward to another opportunity.” - Northwestern head coach Josh Snyder.

Lehighton (1-1)

at Southern Lehigh (1-1)

When: Friday, Sept. 6, 7 p.m.

Instant Replay

The Indians are coming off a 33-7 thrashing of Bangor in which Lukas Croizier ran for 108 yards with a touchdown, and Jayse Lawrence completed eight of 12 attempts for 85 yards with a pair of touchdown passes. Lawrence has thrown four touchdown passes over two games. Lehighton hasn’t allowed any first-half points this season. Southern Lehigh had its slim 20-19 lead over Blue Mountain slip away in an eventual 32-20 loss. Spartan’s quarterback Colton Sams completed 12 of 29 attempts for 215 yards with two touchdowns.

Storyline of the Week

Can the Indians keep their momentum and balanced offensive attack, and can their stingy defense slow Sams and his passing attack? The Indians’ defense has allowed a total of 22 points in two games

Coach’s Corner

“We played really tough last week offensively and defensively, putting a tough Week 1 loss behind us. Southern Lehigh will be a huge challenge for us. We need to continue to play physical football in the trenches on both sides of the ball.” – Lehighton head coach Tom McCarroll.

Exeter Township (2-0)

at Pleasant Valley (0-2)

When: Friday, Sept. 6, 7 p.m.

Instant replay

Pleasant Valley played a competitive game with Dieruff, getting up 19-6 at one point, but the Huskies came back to win 40-26 on Saturday. The young Bears team kept it close with Dieruff, but have a big task coming up against Exeter Township.

Storyline of the Week

What will Pleasant Valley do after a close game with Dieruff in Week 2? Can the Bears bounce back after an 0-2 start to the season against Exeter Township, which has started the season with two wins?

Coach’s Corner

“We had major improvements and positive strides from Week 1 to 2. A lot of new kids were playing in their first game, and we got a lot better from week one to two. We still need some major improvements that have to be made to go from competitive to winning. We made too many crucial mistakes.” - Pleasant Valley head coach Blaec Saeger.

Palmerton (0–2)

at Saucon Valley (2-0)

When: Friday, Sept. 6, 7 p.m.

Instant Replay

The young Bombers squad, which is starting five to six sophomores this season, and many other younger players, struggled to stop the run last week against Pen Argyl, giving up 284 rushing yards and 21 first downs. Palmerton will need to be better in the trenches this week against a Saucon Valley team that is off to a good start. The Panthers defeated Palisades 35-14. Running back Jared Rohn scored three touchdowns, while wide receiver Jack Robertson pulled in six balls for 129 yards and two scores.

Storyline of the Week

Once again this week it’s about how fast can this young and inexperienced Palmerton team grow up as it takes on a senior-laden, Saucon Valley team that starts nine seniors.

Coach’s Corner

“Obviously, we have to first be better in the trenches this week. We also have to cut down on the mental mistakes. We had way too many of those, and that put us in some bad spots. We also need to do a better job of protecting the football. It’s another week to get better and work hard and put together a good week of practice.” - Palmerton head coach Chris Walkowiak.

Blue Mountain (2-0)

at Jim Thorpe (1-1)

When: Friday, Sept. 6, 7 p.m.

Instant Replay

Thorpe lost a tough one on the road last week to Pottsville. Turnovers and an inability to stop the Tide’s rushing attack set the Olympians back. Blue Mountain is coming off an impressive win over a Southern Lehigh, a team that was expected to challenge for the Colonial/Schuylkill Red Division title. Talented Olympians quarterback Cole Lazorick and the JT offense will look to get back on track this week. Lazorick has thrown for 393 yards and four touchdowns, and has also rushed for 150 yards and two scores this season. The Eagles were led by Tyler Stahley last week, who carried the ball 27 times for 185 yards and two touchdowns. Blue Mountain racked up 430 yards of offense against Southern Lehigh.

Storyline of the Week

The Olympians will need to be more physical on the defensive side of the ball this week in order to stop a punishing Eagles rushing attack. Thorpe must also eliminate the turnovers.

Coach’s Corner

“Right now for us we need to be way more fundamentally sound on defense, and we need to play physical. It comes down to the basics of football. Get off blocks, make plays and attack. We need to play a more attacking style of defense. We’re playing a highly physical football team this week that plays all out and full tilt. We need to match that physicality and be focused on doing that on every single play.” - Jim Thorpe head coach Mark Rosenberger.

Northern Lehigh (1-1)

at Pen Argyl (1-1)

When: Saturday, Sept. 7, 1:30 p.m.

Instant Replay

The Bulldogs will be looking to bounce back after a 56-7 loss to Northwestern last Thursday. Pen Argyl picked up its first win of the season last Friday with a 24-7 win over Palmerton.

Storyline of the Week

Can Northern Lehigh slow Pen Argyl’s rushing attack? The Green Knights rushed for 288 yards last week against the Bombers, with Mason Soos (148, two TDs) and Caiden Faust (137, one TD) leading the way.

Coach’s Corner

“We think this will be a very good challenge for us playing Pen Argyl. PA has good size and their offensive and defensive lines are good size. Offensively, they seemed to change their offense after Week 1. They had an injury to #4 (Terrell Estes) who is their fullback/tailback. I’m not sure if he will be back this week. However, with #4 not in the lineup last week they relied heavily on their QB run game and stayed in the single wing offense after the first quarter. So we need to be able to stop their single wing and force them to use different formations. They look like they are content to sit in that formation if they can. They did a nice job of setting up play-action passes. So we need to put them in positions where they need to pass. We feel our secondary is a strength of our team. Defensively, again they are big up front, and what jumps out to me is how aggressive their secondary is. Their D-backs really come downhill fast when they read short pass. We need to develop our passing game, and we will continue to do that this week. We were embarrassed last week, and we feel we have a good football team and are looking to put last week behind us.” - Northern Lehigh head coach Joe Tout.

Capsules compiled by Brad Hurley, Jeff Moeller, Kyle Magda and Patrick Matsinko.