Friday night’s clash between Northwestern Lehigh and Pottsville lived up to the billing.

It was nothing short of exhilarating.

Standing the test of courage, and grit, the Tigers rallied late and hung on to claim a 41-35 victory over Pottsville in this Schuylkill/Colonial Gold Division battle.

There was a calm before the storm. Both teams slugged it out in the first two quarters, with Pottsville holding a scant 14-13 lead at the intermission.

Pottsville took a 21-13 lead to open the second half, of all things on a fumble recovery by Amaree Bainbridge, who raced 15 yards for a touchdown.

Northwestern responded when do-it-all quarterback Cade Christopher found Landon Matson streaking past the Pottsville secondary and hauled in a 58-yard pass from Christopher.

“Landon is so fast, I saw him open and just hit him with the pass,” Christopher said.

Christopher scored four touchdowns, added two extra points and had a career rushing night with 220 yards on 26 carries. Oh, he was also firing passes to three different receivers. When he wasn’t passing as a fill-in quarterback, he caught an 18-yard strike from Mason Bollinger.

“He’s unbelievable,” Josh Snyder his coach said. “I’ll tell you what, this was such a physical ballgame. We needed every single player to step up. We had to move players all over the place. We lose Dalton (Clymer) and we scrambled. But what a great effort, what a great win for our kids.”

Clymer got hurt in the second quarter and never returned after rushing for 67 yards on 12 carries.

The thrill-a-minute was going back and forth from the middle of the third quarter when Pottsville took a 21-13 lead.

Back came Northwestern to forge a 27-21 lead. Matson cut into the deficit with his 58-yard bomb that made it 21-19. Then his team jumped in front when Christopher cashed in the go-ahead score on a 2-yard run and he ran in the two-point conversion for a 27-21 lead.

That was set up thanks to a well-read pass interception from senior linebacker Austin Sosnovik who raced to the two-yard line.

“We kept battling, never giving up,” Clymer said. “Our guys just stepped up. I knew we could overcome things … we’re a team that fights for everything.”

And those words were ever so prophetic, when the Tigers turned to Christopher to cap off a two-play 22-yard drive with a 7-yard touchdown run and when the Tigers converted the deuce they led 35-21,

Pottsville regrouped and had a pair of answers tying the score at 35-35. Bainbridge and quarterback Tejay Allen (11-80) hooked up on a terrific 62-yard touchdown pass. Then with 3:02 to play, Allen was darting all over the Northwestern defense, zipping 30 yards for a touchdown and when freshman kicker Christian Alvarez hit the PAT it was tied.

Northwestern reached back for one more punch. It rode the legs of Christopher, who bolted 42 yards to the end zone on the third play following the Tide’s tying touchdown putting the Tigers up for keeps.

There was still one more try by the host.

Pottsville marched from its own 37, as Parrish McFarland teamed with Allen to nearly make a dramatic comeback. But in the end, the Tigers defense staved off the Tide just inside the Northwestern 30.

The Tigers first two touchdowns had Christopher running 43 yards to cap off a 3-play, 52-yard drive. Pottsville pulled off a nifty 18-yard screen pass to McFarland to tie the game. The Tigers turned to Clymer to go in front 13-7 when he pecked his way to the end zone on a 4-yard run. Again, McFarland answered on a 40-yard pass from Allen and took a 14-13 lead at this juncture.

“We had a couple bullets in the chamber,” Snyder said of his team’s shootout victory. “Pottsville was really loading up the box.”

Trench warfare had the standout play from tackles Ben Walters, Josiah Gornics, guards Cameron Shields and Jared Meck and the leader at center Blaine Snyder.