While both Northwestern and Northern Lehigh haven’t had the types of seasons they would have hoped for, this week both football teams will put that all behind them and put school pride and bragging rights on the line.

The Tigers and Bulldogs are one of the better rivalries in local high school football and both teams look to this game as a high point in their season.

One common bond between the two teams is that each has a former player afflicted with tragic diseases. For Northwestern, former running back Brett Snyder has been an inspiration to many people. Snyder, the older brother of coach Josh Snyder, was diagnosed with ALS in 2003, months after starting with symptoms of the disease.

The inspiration comes from the fact that the elder Snyder has battled the disease as long and as hard as he has and is enjoying life as a husband and father while fighting ALS.

For Northern Lehigh, Bo Tkach battled mental health issues that led to him committing suicide in July of 2007 not long after graduating Magna Cum Laude from Wilkes University.

Tkach’s father, Jim Tkach coached at both Pleasant Valley and Northern Lehigh, and Bo was a two-time first team All-State football player and a two-time District 11 javelin champion while at Northern Lehigh.

“The two schools have always had a rivalry, but their connections through Bo and Brett make it even more special,” said Josh Snyder. “It’s really what a rivalry is all about, because you fight hard against each other, but at the end of the day, you realize there’s more to life and we want our kids to understand that.”

The connection between the two schools led to the development of the game being officially deemed the Mountain Road Rumble, named after the main road that connects the two communities.

Northern Lehigh is 0-8 this season, while Northwestern comes into the game 3-5 after a loss to Southern Lehigh last week in a game where the Tigers battled to the end against one of the better teams in the Colonial League.

While Northern Lehigh fights to win the game for pride, the Tigers currently hold the top spot in the Eastern Conference 4A standings, putting themselves in position to play postseason football and win their third Eastern Conference championship in five seasons.

The Bulldogs come in having been outscored 352–147 this season and are coming off a 34-13 loss to Salisbury last week. Dating back to last season, Northern Lehigh has dropped 10 straight games after beating Northwestern at Tiger Stadium a year ago.

“They’ve had a rough season, but they’re well coached and they’ve got some good players who want nothing more than to win this game because of the rivalry,” said Snyder. “I know if we were in their position, we’d be looking to make our season with a win over them, so there is no taking them lightly.”

The good news for Northwestern is that it comes into the game having taken some confidence from how well it played last week against Southern Lehigh.

The added bonus of extra football and controlling its own destiny into the Eastern Conference playoffs is something that they can add to the rivalry factor for this week’s game.

“We really did play well last week and had a chance to win that game even down to our last drive, so that gives us some confidence,” Snyder said. “I would say that we’ve got some momentum coming into the last couple of weeks, so if we keep that going it could be a good way to finish the season for us.

“The bottom line is that these two teams know each other well and the competition against each other is strong, but a lot of these kids could even wind up playing on the same college team and having connections down the road. When it’s over, we shake hands and go back to those common things that make the two programs special.”