Two weeks ago, an undefeated Saucon Valley team became the toughest opponent to date for Northwestern. This week, Southern Lehigh trumps that and becomes the biggest challenge that the Tigers have had to battle. In fact, the Spartans offense has gained more yards than Northwestern this season and has scored just six points less than the Tigers.

"They've got a very dynamic offense and they're difficult to scheme against," said Tiger head coach Josh Snyder. "We may have played teams that can do one particular thing better, but they've got the whole package."

Southern Lehigh's biggest offensive weapon is quarterback Travis Edmond, who has thrown for 1,175 yards and rushed for another 299 yards. Ironically, Edmond and Northwestern quarterback Frank Dangello both accomplished the same feat last week when they each threw for four touchdowns in their team's wins. The big night from Edmond helped lead the Spartans to a 68-21 win over Palmerton, pushing Southern Lehigh's record to 5-1.

"Edmond can hurt you with his arm and legs. He's a three-year starter, he doesn't get rattled and he really has the ability to stretch the field."

Unlike Edmond, who doled out touchdown passes to two different receivers last week, Dangello stuck with Cam Richardson for all four touchdown passes, giving both a school record. That's not to say that Dangello doesn't have other weapons.

Taylor Breininger has caught 10 passes this season for over 100 yards and the Tigers are working him into the passing game when the opportunities present themselves. Of course, there's always the ground game that is the dominion of junior Harry Hall, who has a total of 881 yards and seven rushing touchdowns on the season.

"Our offense is strong and we can present problems for teams in a couple different ways," said Snyder. "We may need to be creative and keep them off balance, but we've got guys who can do that and we can spread things around."

Southern Lehigh also has a strong defense, but not one that measures up to the strength of Northwestern. The Spartans have allowed almost 500 more yards this season than the Tigers, who have allowed less than half of the points, 44, compared to 97 given up by the Spartans.

"It's basically a traditional four-three defense, but they're very active and use a lot of exotic blitzes," said Snyder. "They're also good at disguising things and showing things late, so it's tough to pick them up."

Basically, Snyder is looking for his team to play its own brand of football and remember the strong fundamental things that have led to a 6-0 start on the season.

"Our two teams are generally pretty evenly matched," he said. "We're going to have to take care of the football on offense and work to get some takeaways on defense and certainly, we have to limit the big plays.

"It comes down to just not making mistakes and playing strong fundamental football. If we do that, I think we'll be all right."