Schuylkill-Colonial Week-10 Rivalry Special: *Battle of Lehigh* Northwestern Lehigh at Southern Lehigh Preview !

Tagged under: District 11, News

Daniel Reed | October 28, 2022

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Northwestern Lehigh Tigers(7-2) at Southern Lehigh Spartans(8-1)
Last Meeting: Tigers won 34 to 19(2021)
Streak: Northwestern Lehigh has won the last 2
Series History: Southern Lehigh leads the series 16-15-0 dating back to 1970, going 7-4 the last 11 years.

Key Player(s) to Watch in this Game:
Northwestern Lehigh – Cade Christopher(Jr.)-(QB/CB), Dalton Clymer(Jr.)-(RB/MLB), Devon Hildebrand(Jr.)-(WR/CB), Blaine Snyder(Jr.)-(MLB/C)
Southern Lehigh – Avery Kosar(Sr.)-(QB/FS), Cade Sawyer(Jr.)-(RB/WR/CB), Tyler Rizzuto(Sr.)-(WR), Jack Inglis(Jr.)-(WR/OLB), Michael Fluck(Sr.)-(G/OLB/MLB), Nick Ventresca(Sr.)-(FB/MLB)

Cade Christopher

Cade Sawyer

Game Preview:

Since their opening week loss to Quakertown, the Spartans of Southern Lehigh have gone wild, running off 8 straight wins in the process, led by their junior RB-Cade Sawyer, who has rushed for over 1200 yards on 170 carries, scoring 16 touchdowns. Sawyer isn’t the only offensive weapon in this offense as the Spartans also have a decent quarterback in  Avery Kosar. Kosar has thrown for just under 1200 yards on 65 of 110 passing, with 14 touchdowns, to just 3 interceptions on the season thus far. His main target, Tyler Rizzuto has caught 20 passes for over 400 yards, and 4 scores. For the Tigers, they come in this game equally as good, averaging 34 points a game, giving up 15, the Spartans score an average of 33 a game, giving up 14. The Tigers defeated a winless Wilson Area team last week 35 to 8. Southern Lehigh played Wilson Area back earlier in the month, scoring a 35 to 7 victory over the Warriors. Junior MLB Blaine Snyder leads the team on defense with 80 tackles, and 3 sacks. In last years game, Snyder recorded 10 tackles, and a fumble recovery. The last four games for the Spartans have gone very well, scoring 38 points a game, giving up just 7 in each game.

Coaches Words:

Northwestern Lehigh – N/A
Southern Lehigh – N/A

My Outlook: This game is going to come down to the wire I feel. Both teams can score, both teams are solid defensively, what more could we ask for right ? Well, on paper, they look equal but, my brain is telling me the Spartans have just a little more talent offensively, with more talent at the skilled positions. Last year, the Tigers had Justin Holmes leading the way, while Christopher was at wide receiver, now that Holmes is gone to graduation, its been all Cade. Southern Lehigh has a Cade as well, Cade Sawyer, who has been racking up yards on the ground all season. Like I said however, the Spartans have other weapons such as Kosar the QB, who is having a solid season as well. If the Spartans can slow down Christopher, this will not be as close as we hope. I haven’t gotten to see either of these teams play this season so I don’t know how disciplined they are, but like in most all games, the team with the lesser amount of penalties and turnovers should win.
MY PREDICTION: With the amount of skilled players on the field, which I’m assuming will all be playing in this matchup due to the fact, there is still playoff seedings to be figured out, the Spartans will prevail in this game…. 38 to 34

Don’t forget to tune in Friday Night as I will have LIVE UPDATES from the game in Hegins ! Follow @PFNDan570FB and @Bptashinski on TWITTER for all your Schuylkill-Colonial League and EPC action.

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