There were a couple of key games - losses to Palisades and Southern Lehigh - that Northwestern could have won this season. Had the Tigers won either of those, their chances of qualifying for districts would be much better coming into the final week of the regular season.

Instead, Northwestern lost those two games and one to Pen Argyl that have them in a situation that requires a win over undefeated Catasauqua to qualify for districts.

The Tigers did a nice job of handling the Bangor defensive line last week and they were able to pick up yards both on the ground and through the air. The Catasauqua line is much tougher and the Tigers will have to be at the top of their game because if they can't control the line, they'll be in serious trouble against a team that allows just over 13 points per game.

While Catty has a staggeringly tough defense, Saucon Valley and Southern Lehigh were both able to put up over 30 points against the Rough Riders. But those are the only two times this season that a team has scored more than 14 points in a game against Catasauqua.

Having receiver Cam Richardson back last week against Bangor restored a key weapon to the Northwestern offense. Richardson accounted for 128 yards of total offense against Bangor and kept the Slaters defense off-balance. The bad news on the injury front is that Justin Betz went down with a knee injury against Bangor and is likely lost for the season.

While the Rough Riders defense is stingy, their offense is pretty high-powered and has averaged 45.5 points per game this season and hasn't been held to less than 29 points all year. Northwestern's defense is comparable to Catasauqua's and has the ability to hold down the Rough Riders offense, but again, controlling the line of scrimmage will be the key.

There's no definitive word on whether running back Ra'Von Burton, who has missed two games after undergoing an emergency appendectomy, will be back, but head coach Josh Snyder is figuring he'll play against his team.

"Everyone seems to be healthy when they play us, so I won't be surprised if Ra'Von is back. You have to tackle him on the first shot," said Snyder, who compared Burton to Bangor's Phil Vass, who ran for 242 yards against the Tigers last week.

Turnovers could play a big role in the game, especially for Northwestern. The Rough Riders have fumbled the ball just four times all season and haven't turned the ball over on a fumble. Plus, quarterback Zack Bradley has been intercepted just once in 121 attempts this season. In comparison, Northwestern has lost nine of 12 fumbles and has been picked off nine times this season.

"We've made it to the Eastern Conference playoffs, but at the same time, these guys are hungry to play in the big tournament [District 11 Tournament]," said Snyder. "We're going to be ready to play Catty and we're going to give them our best shot."