Rebuilding can be difficult in teh Colonial League. But eventually, it seems every team has to do it.

A 3-7 campaign wasn't the kind of football season that anyone associated with the Northwestern varsity program wanted to see. But because of inexperience and injuries, the Tigers struggled to compete with the better teams in the Colonial League this year, including last week's 57-3 setback to league champ Catasauqua, the Tigers' largest margin of loss this season.

"We can use some of these losses as a launching point for the offseason," said first-year head coach Josh Snyder. "We don't like lopsided losses and if our guys can take that to heart and use that for motivation I know we'll be pushing that as coaches."

Northwestern had just five seniors on the roster this year. Many times there were only two or three of them on the field along with a few juniors and a lot of sophomores and freshmen.

"We had a lot of younger guys," said senior Ty Richardson, who caught five touchdown passes this season. "We did the best that we could. We were playing against a lot of teams with a lot of seniors and juniors. Those three wins are really big for us. It boosts the team's confidence going into the offseason."

Snyder pointed out that the Tigers average age was probably in the same range as most junior varsity teams.

After three wins in their first five games, the schedule got difficult and the losses started to pile up, some of them by wide margins. But no one gave up.

"When you lose you can get frustrated," said Snyder. "Our guys kept their heads and played 48 minutes each week. They gave effort until the horn sounded at the end of the game."

Injuries over the last few weeks decimated Northwestern's lines, making the young team even more experience just as it played the Colonial League's toughest teams.

The players and coaches believe the experience the team got this season will go a long way in preparing the underclassmen for the next two or three seasons.

While seniors Richardson, Mason Schuler, Matt Pasquale, John Dolonich and Andrew Woolley graduate, most of this year's top playmakers return.

Running back Cam Richardson, a sophomore, led the team with 81 carries this season, while freshman Dylan Snyder had a team-high 316 receiving yards on 15 catches. Cam Richardson was also a threat in the passing game, catching 16 passes for 218 yards.

Sophomore quarterback Frank Dangello completed 75 passes with season, including 12 for touchdowns.

On defense the Schuler was the team's top tackler (40 tackles, seven for loss, 2 interceptions). Junior Justin Betz (34 tackles, three for loss) and freshman Harry Hall (21 tackles, two forced fumbles) were next on the list.

The team had talent, but it lacked experience and was sometimes outmatched by bigger, stronger and more experienced teams. With the players the Tigers should have returning in 2013, that probably won't happen as often next year or the years to follow.

"In the next two or three years they're going to be one of the best teams in the league," said Ty Richardson "I can guarantee they are going to be contenders.

While the seniors didn't enjoy the losses this season, they did manage to make it an enjoyable year.

"I had the best year of football in my four years," said Ty Richardson. "Record-wise it wasn't the best year, but I had the most fun this year."

One thing he and the other seniors were happy about was that their final game was played in New Tripoli. With power outages following last week's storm, there was a possibility the game would get moved to Catasauqua or even Bethlehem. Power was restored in time and the seniors got to play their final game on the field they spent so much time on over the past four years.

"I really I wanted to have my last game here (at Northwestern)," said Ty Richardson.

Tigers supporting

fellow Tigers

Snyder, a first-year head coach and former start athlete at Northwestern has many players that play two or three high school sports, as he did in the mid-1990s. He not only supports his players ambitions in other sports, but he also wants them to support their fellow Tiger athletes in all sports and avtivities.

During an early-season football practice, on the afternoon that Northwestern's cross country team was hosting its regular season league meet, Snyder and his staff timed their breaks during practice to coincide with the cross country races.

When the runners got to the part of the course that goes by the football practice field, they were cheered on by their football classmates. It was a gesture that was appreciated by the runners and their coaches.