With two games remaining on the schedule, Northern Valley continues to endure the many ups and downs of its roller coaster season.

The Chargers defeated second-place Fullerton on Monday night, 11-2, in one of their more impressive wins all season. But less than 24 hours later, the Chargers were held scoreless in a 1-0 shutout against South Parkland, a team they had beaten earlier in the season.

After seeing a team he thought was capable of winning a legion title on Monday night, the team's play took a turn in a different direction the next day.

"It's almost to the point where it's one game you have a team that is on top of it, and they're going to be the team to beat," head coach Brad Rauch said. "And then you have another game where they're flat.

"I told them [Monday] in the fourth inning [against Fullerton]. We were up I think 5-0 or 6-0, and I told them flat out, 'I don't know where this team has been all year, but if you would've played like this for the last 14 games, we would be undefeated.' Not many teams can go to Fullerton's field and beat them the way we beat them last night. And then you go back to [Tuesday], and it was like a totally different team."

As was seen in their loss to South Parkland, Northern Valley has been plagued with mental mistakes all season long. It was a misplayed ball at second base that played a big part in South Parkland's lone run.

Going back to Sunday, a 5-4 loss to Southern Lehigh-a number of fielding miscues led to the Spartans' game-winning run.

"It's not that we're playing bad baseball," Rauch said. "We're just not playing smart baseball. It's the mental mistakes that are beating us. A lot of these teams aren't having innings where they are scoring five or six runs. In games we're getting beat, they're scoring one run and that's what's beating us."

Now 8-8 on the season, the Chargers thrive when they're able to get on the scoreboard early and build on that quick momentum. While they're unbeaten when scoring the first run, the Chargers have never responded for a win after falling behind initially.

"We don't do well when we're down," Rauch said. "Games where we jump out in front right off the bat, we win. We're 8-8 now, and every game that we've won, we've scored first and never looked back.

"It's not frustrating because we're 8-8. It's frustrating because I know these guys have great talent and can play with anybody in this league because they've proven it."

The Chargers face first-place North Parkland on Thursday and Salisbury on Sunday. Both games will be on the road, beginning with a trip to Parkland Middle School at 6 p.m. on Thursday.

Being away from the confines of their home field may propel the Chargers into a top-four spot in the league and earn them a home playoff game, a feat Rauch and the team has accomplished every season since taking over. The Chargers are sitting in fifth place behind Coplay.

If that trend doesn't stay true, Rauch's team will be ready to hit the road regardless in search of a strong postseason run.

"It would not bother me if we didn't get a home game," Rauch said. "I don't know why this is, and this is the first year that we've had this problem, [but] we struggle at Northwestern. I don't know why. We don't play well at home."