Jim Thorpe and Northwestern will try to keep their perfect records intact as the high school football season rolls into Week 2.

The Olympians will travel to Blue Mountain, while the Tigers will host Berks Catholic after a late schedule change.

Jim Thorpe at Blue Mountain

Friday, Sept. 18 at 7 p.m.

Here’s what you need to know:

BATTLE IN THE TRENCHES

… This will be a fun battle to watch in this one, with Thorpe returning experience and size up front in AJ Bailor (6-1, 260), Derek Hunter (6-2, 289), Gabe Herschman (6-2, 232) and Bryson Heydt (6-5, 275). But Blue Mountain returns just as much, if not more size throughout their offensive and defensive line, anchored by 6-5 248-pound TE/DE Gavin Bartholomew. Bartholomew will be a tough matchup for Thorpe as he’s committed to Division 1 FBS program, Buffalo.

“I think the battle up front is going to be something impressive to watch, and I think whoever wins that battle is going to have the best chance to come out on top. We need to make sure we play physical, discipline, assignment-focused football throughout the game.” – Jim Thorpe head coach Mark Rosenberger.

BIG PLAY OFFENSE

… Blue Mountain showed last week against rival Schuylkill Haven that it could be dangerous in the passing game. Sophomore quarterback Jack Dean averaged 26.7 yards per completion, throwing for 160 yards and three touchdowns. Bartholomew tallied three catches for 110 yards and three scores.

“There’s no doubt that their offense has big play capability. They have nice size at the wide receiver position and obviously everybody knows about their terrific tight end. We are really focused on not letting up the big play; we absolutely have to prevent that,” said Rosenberger.

RUN DEFENSE

… Per usual, the Jim Thorpe defense was impressive against a young Marian squad last week, giving up just 20 yards of total offense and pitching a shutout. The Olympians defense held the Colts to 0.9 yards per carry. Blue Mountain struggled to run the football against Schuylkill Haven last week, averaging just 3.4 yards per carry.

VERSATILE BACKFIELD

… For the past couple seasons, Thorpe has been able to depend on a bell cow to carry the load in the rushing department. However, this season a talented backfield of four or five runners will be looking to keep defenses off balance. The Olympians rushed for 222 yards last week on 23 carries, with five players, rushing for 20 or more yards. The Blue Mountain rush defense was stingy last week, however, against a usual prominent Hurricanes rushing attack, holding Schuylkill Haven to just 30 yards on 31 carries.

Berks Catholic at Northwestern

Friday, Sept, 18 at 7 p.m.

Here’s what you need to know:

UPS AND DOWNS

... In their season opener, Northwestern Lehigh saw some good things and some bad from their revamped team. Junior quarterback Justin Holmes was intercepted five times, but he did throw for 169 yards and three touchdowns, two of which went to sophomore receiver Cade Christopher, whose first two varsity catches were touchdowns. A completely new offensive line allowed just one sack and opened enough holes for Senior Nick Henry to rush for 119 yards and one interception. Defensive back Taylor Wikert pulled in three of the four interceptions that Northwestern had on the night. The result was a 36-28 win over Palisades.

“We have a completely new offensive line, but they did an impressive job and Justin will tighten things up as he gets more experience, and we’ll work on some things this week. I thought overall that we played pretty well.”

WORKING OVERTIME

... Henry not only had a nice night rushing for 119 yards, but he picked up six tackles and five assists from his linebacker spot. As the team’s punter, he punted four times with an average of 38.3 yards per kick, including a 52-yarder.

“Nick is one of the smartest players I’ve been around. He just lets instincts take over on the field,” said coach Josh Snyder. “We put a lot on him, and he handles it all really well.”

READY FOR THE FUTURE

... Northwestern took advantage of the two open weeks on the schedule to play games against Palisades and Pen Argyl, who are normally Colonial League opponents. The two games do not count in league standings but do count in the Tigers overall record. Pen Argyl pulled out of Friday night’s game when two reported cases of the coronavirus closed the high school for at least a week. The Colonial League season gets underway next week when Northwestern plays their first road game of the season at Bangor. Their six-game league schedule also has games at Palmerton, Salisbury and Catasauqua and home matchups against Wilson and Saucon Valley.

PLAYING THEIR OWN GAME

... Berks Catholic quickly jumped onto the schedule to face the Tigers after the Green Knights canceled. The Saints are coached by Rick Keeley, who has spent the past 41 seasons coaching football, 31 of them as the head coach at various schools. Keeley was named the team’s coach in 2011 when Reading Central Catholic and Holy Name high schools merged to form Berks Catholic. In his stint with the Saints, Keeley is 97-21 overall after an 8-5 campaign in 2019.

Snyder has always preached that he doesn’t worry too much about what their opponent is going to do, preferring instead to focus on the things that his team can control. That includes eliminating mistakes and turnovers and making big plays when they need to be made. That approach will play well Friday night with little info on Berks Catholic to rely upon.

Brad Hurley and Chuck Hixson contributed to this story