Not many teams have slowed down Northwestern’s offense this season.

Saucon Valley tried, and at times succeeded in Friday’s District 11 Class 3A semifinal at Tiger Stadium.

But eventually the Tigers got rolling and put away the Panthers for a 40-12 win, earning their fifth straight trip to a District 11 title game.

“There’s no easy ones,” said Northwestern head coach Josh Snyder. “You make it to a four-team playoff bracket in the Lehigh Valley and you’re going to be playing some tough competition.

“We didn’t play them this year. There was a feeling out process. They were showing us some things we haven’t seen, running games up front. It took a while.”

Top-seeded Northwestern (11-0) overcame three turnovers and six penalties, while the No. 4 seed Panthers (8-3) turned the ball over four times and committed eight penalties in the loss.

“There were some things you can’t do against a really good team,” said Panthers head coach Anthony Brinkley. “We stubbed our toe a couple times.

“The whole message the whole week was we had to find a way. We knew we had to match their physicality. That pops off on film immediately. They’re super-physical, especially at the point of attack, and they want to run the ball.”

The Tiger defense led the way to the win, holding the Panthers under 200 yards (95 rushing, 103 passing) for the game.

“Our defense, you have to thank them,” said Northwestern quarterback Shane Leh, who completed 10 of 18 passes for 128 yards. “They’re the focal point of our team. They did their job. Anytime something happened they stepped up. We were able to convert off our defense stepping up.”

The Tiger defense forced a quick three-and-out to open the game. The offense took over and Eli Zimmerman carried the ball five times on a seven-play drive aided by two Panther offsides calls, including one on a fourth down.

Zimmerman, who rushed for 192 yards in the win, scored from six yards out to give Northwestern a 6-0 lead less than three minutes into the game.

Zimmerman set up the Tigers’ next score with an interception, putting the offense and midfield. Five plays later Shane Hulmes ran in from a yard out for a 12-0 lead three seconds into the second quarter.

The Tiger defense forced another three-and-out, but a fumbled punt gave the ball back to Saucon Valley. Seth Kern came up with an interception on the next play to get the ball right back for the Tigers.

Northwestern embarked on a seven-play drive covering 62 yards to take the lead on a 30-yard Zimmerman run.

After the Tiger defense forced its third three-and-out of the first half, the offense was driving before a Saucon Valley interception and long return led to the Panthers’ first score.

Starting at the Tiger 22-yard line, the Panthers covered the distance in four plays, scoring on a Braden Rohn 1-yard run to cut the lead to 18-6 with two minutes left before halftime.

“We were firing different trick plays and formations in the first half, but none of them hit,” said Brinkley. “We were trying to find a way — scratch, claw, pry, whatever you could do.”

The Tigers established their running game in the second half, opening it with a 10-play touchdown drive, all on the ground. Leh’s 5-yard run made it 26-6 with 8:56 left in the third quarter.

The Panthers cut the lead to 26-12 on a 14-yard Jack Robertson reception with 4:14 left in the third quarter. They even forced a Tiger three-and-out after it, but a long punt pinned Saucon Valley at its own three-yard line and the Tiger defense bent but didn’t break, forcing a turnover on downs near midfield.

Northwestern then went back to the ground, covering 46 yards with seven straight running plays as Kern scored from two yards out for a 33-12 lead with 8:10 left in the game.

Leh capped the scoring with a 15-yard touchdown run with 2:13 left in the game. He ran an offense that put up 428 yards (301 rushing, 127 passing) in its playoff opener.

“Overall I’m happy with how we played, and I’m really happy with the way we finished in the second half,” said Snyder.

Zimmerman’s interception was the 18th of his career, breaking Austin Bleam’s record of 17 from 1999-2001. Bryer Reichard broke the Tigers’ record for career sacks, getting his 17th last Friday to eclipse the Conner Snyder’s mark of 16.5 set from 2016-19.

In addition to Zimmerman’s and Kern’s interceptions, the Tigers’ Michael Lagowy also picked off a Saucon Valley pass.

Northwestern is headed to its fifth straight district championship game in search of its third straight district title. The Tigers will take on No. 3 seed North Schuylkill in next week’s championship game Friday night at Lehighton. The Spartans beat No. 2 seed Notre Dame (Green Pond) 26-23 in overtime in Friday’s other semifinal.