PIAA Class 3A Semi-Final Preview: A Look at Northwestern Lehigh

Tagged under: District 11, News, pfn, Playoffs

Torey Petruno | November 29, 2023

Northwestern Lehigh vs Wyomissing, Friday December 1, 7pm @ Kutztown University

How they got here (click to see 4A bracket):

2023 Schedule

Last week, the Tigers cruised past Scranton Prep in their state quarterfinal matchup.  The Tigers’ suffocating defense kept the Cavaliers’ offense in check thanks to 3 forced turnovers including Eli Zimmerman’s league leading 9th interception on the year and the offense continued their relentless ground attack for another week en-route to a convincing victory. This week however, they will face another strong defensive team in Wyomissing who also boasts a fantastic ground game.  The Tigers’ ground game centers around senior running back Dalton Clymer who had a huge 3 Touchdown game last week.  On the defensive side of the ball he is also the man anchoring the middle of the Northwestern linebacker corps.  He along with his defensive Tiger teammates will be up against their toughest challenge of the year with this Spartan rushing attack which lacks a stand out star, but has numerous backs who have the capability to break a game open for the Spartans.

Keys on Offense:

The Tigers need to stay on schedule and while it is known they are a primarily ground attack offense anchored by Dalton Clymer, they need to keep their options open in the passing game with sophomore QB Shane Leh. He is definitely more than capable of spreading the ball around to his receivers and tight ends to keep this Spartan defense honest and not crowd the line of scrimmage in an effort to stop Clymer.

Keys on Defense:

This one will be easier said than done…stop the run.  Wyomissing is predominantly one dimensional with sticking to the ground game. While the Spartans do have a fantastic running attack the number of different ball carriers they use is bound to cause some problems for the Tiger defense as they figure out who’s going to be getting the ball out of the backfield with the Spartans running their Wing-T style offense.  The Tigers’ defense, anchored by Breyer Reichard and Benjamin Walters on the line and linebackers Dalton Clymer, Shane Hulmes, and Blaine Snyder will have their hands full as they try to stop this Spartan rushing attack.

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