For the past couple weeks, Northwestern coach Josh Snyder has been coaching out of necessity rather than being able to run things the way he would like. Injuries and the loss of four other players had him handcuffed by a lack of depth and a remaining roster full of young players who were getting their first taste of varsity football.

This week, as the Tigers travel to Wilson Saturday afternoon, Snyder has gotten five players back that he didn’t have available last week. Wide receiver/defensive back Ryan Haas returns from injury and he’ll be joined at those two positions by Phil Dangello. Running back/linebacker Anthony Colucci, tight end/linebacker Jack Moloney and offensive/defensive lineman Dan Burke also return to the field for Snyder.

“It’s been kind of rough,” said Snyder. “We had to cut things back as far as the play calling and didn’t have any real depth, so there wasn’t a lot that we could do. Getting these guys back is going to help us in a lot of ways and get some of the pressure off of some of our young players who were thrown into the fire.”

In addition to getting three juniors and two seniors back on the field, getting regulars back into their normal positions will allow Snyder to put Caleb Clymer back at tight end rather than having to use him out of the backfield. In week one, Clymer was the favorite target of sophomore quarterback Deven Bollinger, who connected with him six times for 148 yards and two touchdowns. The past couple weeks, Clymer has been at fullback, taking away a weapon from Bollinger.

“We had to make that move [putting Clymer in the backfield], otherwise, we would have had to run another young kid out there who didn’t have experience,” said Snyder. “We at least had another junior with more experience that we could put at tight end. Caleb did a good job for us and accepted the move, but we’re better with him in a spot where he can do more for us offensively.”

The Tigers play on the road for the second straight week against a Wilson team that has played pretty well in the early going. The Warriors surprised Pen Argyl in week one with a 43-8 pounding. Week two, they fell to Palisades 42-0, but rebounded last week for a strong 28-7 win over Salisbury.

For the Warriors, the offense begins with Job Goodman, who has 289 yards rushing this season despite being held to just 28 yards against Palisades. Goodman also has 258 yards worth of receiving and is a dangerous weapon for Wilson.

“We have to stop him,” said Snyder of the senior running back. “Overall, I’ve been pretty happy with our defense, but last week we missed a lot of tackles and really hurt ourselves on some plays and we can’t afford to do that. They’ve also got a pretty athletic quarterback [Cam Clark] who can beat you, so you have to pay attention to him.”

Clark is only averaging 10 passes per game, but has thrown for 113 yards per game this season with four touchdown passes. Clark is more likely to carry the ball, averaging just under 13 carries per game and 61-yard rushing per game.

Wilson’s defense has been overpowering, for the most part. While the Pirates found success against them, they’ve been tough in the other two games. Last week against Salisbury, the only points Wilson allowed came on a 90-yard kickoff return by Tim Buda.

“I think our guys are really ready for this week,” said Snyder. “We’ve had a rough start, but their morale is good and they’ve stayed positive. We have an extra day of practice this week and that always helps, so we’re excited about playing and seeing if we can get a win for ourselves.”