AJ Jimenez is no stranger to the end zone.

Northern Lehigh’s senior standout entered Week 10 as the team leader in touchdowns, and added to his total with a career-high four scores in a 49-28 victory over Palmerton on Friday.

The Bulldogs leaned into the ground game - and ran away with the victory.

“Northern Lehigh, we’re known for being physical and running the ball,” said Jimenez. “And we know that we can throw it as well. But we can go back and just keep on running the ball because we’ve been so successful with it. We can go back to right-58 toss, right-52 power; we know our blocking scheme, and we know what we can do with that.”

What the Bulldogs did was run the ball 61 times to the tune of over 400 yards. Jimenez, who is listed at 6-1 and 210 pounds, carried the ball 24 times for 138 yards, pulverizing defenders and would-be tacklers on his way to Times News Football Player of the Week honors.

Jimenez was an integral part of a team that smashed school records en route to a District 11 Class 2A title and a berth in the state semifinals a year ago.

“He was a defensive starter as a sophomore - he didn’t really play offense as a sophomore - and then last year he was our fullback,” Northern Lehigh head coach Joe Tout said of Jimenez. “We had Trevor (Amorim), we had Matt Frame, and we knew how athletic he was, it was just one of those things where you only get so many footballs a year, you can only hand it off so many times. So he took his role there, and he was a great blocker. ... And he’s a smart kid, because we ask him, even in our goal line set, he’s playing two positions. We put him in a position where he’s asked to be the lead block a lot of times to take on defensive ends. But it’s also where we put Matt Frame last year. So it’s where you’re going to get the ball a pretty good amount on dives, but you’re also going to kick out. And AJ’s good in that role, but then we’ll also put him in that same formation at tailback to take the ball downhill.”

Jimenez had touchdown runs of 3, 19, 4 and 7 yards. His 4-yard touchdown run increased the Bulldogs’ advantage to 28-8 and took almost six minutes off the clock.

Northern Lehigh entered the week second among area teams in rushing offense, averaging over 240 yards per game.

On Friday, it was Jackson VanNorman, Landon Moll, Brody Dye, Ben Reitz, Seth Adams and tight ends Austyn Smith and Sam Frame paving the way.

“Our guys are really strong upfront,” said Jimenez. “We love the run game.”

Jimenez now has 12 rushing touchdowns, and 13 total TDs this season.

“I’ve scored three in a game, but not four, that’s my most,” Jimenez said of his performance.

Jimenez is tied for the team lead with 86 total tackles, making a team-leading five sacks with one forced fumble and two fumble recoveries a year ago when he was recognized as a Pa. Football Writers’ All-State selection in Class 2A at defensive line.

Jiminez and the Northern Lehigh defense limited a high-powered Palmerton team averaging an area-best 420.9 yards and 39.7 points per game to 281 total yards and 28 points.

The Bulldogs entered Week 10 leading the area with 15.2 points and 214.2 yards per game allowed.

A long postseason run a year ago, which included five additional games, helped the Bulldogs got a jump start on what the offense might look like this fall with the graduation of playmakers Amorim, Matt Frame, Brett Misera and quarterback Dylan Smoyer.

“So we knew what we had, we just couldn’t play him at tailback last year,” said Tout. “I always try to look a year ahead. We’re evaluating next year right now, we’re looking at what we have and where we think the pieces will fit next year. And with AJ, we did that when he was a junior. We knew he was going to be at that spot. We kind of imagined him and Izaiah Ramos and John Abidelli. And then Izaiah goes out (with an injury), and you have to give a lot of credit to John and AJ and guys like Grady Newhard, who has come along offensively as well. But we knew what we had with AJ.”

Jimenez, who has been a quick study throughout his career, is happy to help any way he can.

“I feel pretty comfortable wherever I have to go,” said Jimenez. “Fullback, power back, tailback, flanker. I know what I have to do where ever I have to go. I just try to pay attention, and if I have to get thrown anywhere else, I’ll just try to pick it up as fast as I can.”