With games remaining against the top three teams in the Colonial League and playoff hopes fading, the Northwestern football team is embracing the role of spoiler.

After a 57-19 loss to rival Northern Lehigh last Friday, the schedule only gets harder for the Tigers.

That starts this week against Pen Argyl on Saturday afternoon.

"You want to peak at the end of the year, so its good that you play championship-like teams every week," head coach Josh Snyder said. "You look at it game by game and you look forward to the challenge and get to see what you're made of against the best teams."

The Green Knights (5-2) have been an upper echelon team for the past three seasons, winning a District 11 title a year ago.

They enter Saturday's contest coming off a rare loss on the hill, as they were beaten 48-21 by Catasauqua, snapping a two-year regular season home unbeaten streak.

The Knights boast a balanced attack that starts with running back Mike Racciato, who has rushed for 835 yards and 12 touchdowns this season. But as opposed to years past, Pen Argyl isn't just a single wing team. Quarterback Ryan Hunt has thrown for 499 yards and four touchdowns. His top targets are Scott Beltz (6-197, TD) and Chris Muller (8-127, TD) and when the Knights throw, its usually for a big gain as the receivers combine to average 17.8 yards per catch.

"They keep you off balance," Snyder said. "We watched them against Northern Lehigh and they threw as good as they ran. They're a tough team to prepare for because of the physicality they bring."

Meanwhile, the Tigers enter Week 8 a little banged up. An already thin offensive line suffered more injuries and the team is down to Mac Storm and Jake Narjerian as healthy players who started the year as linemen. Alex Partington, the team's third-leading tackler, has already shifted to a starting role on the line and will stay there this week.

The Tigers had some positives in last week's loss to the Bulldogs. Specifically the start where they matched points for a quarter, before watching Caleb Johnson and Dan Marsh explode.

This week, Snyder wants to make sure his team avoids a shootout and does a better job of controlling the tempo and flow of the game.

"Our plan is to sustain drives and shorten the game a little," Snyder said. "We need to keep it competitive, have a big play or two and have ourselves in position to win in the fourth quarter. To make it a track meet and keep scoring with them wouldn't be a smart idea."