The annual Mountain Road Rumble between Northwestern Lehigh and Northern Lehigh started out being all Bulldogs as they opened the game with 17 unanswered points in the first half. Northwestern regrouped at halftime and handled the Bulldogs in the second half to escape with a 28-24 win.

Northern Lehigh (5-4) had success running the ball early and used multiple backs to pick up yardage. Five different players had multiple carries in the first 24 minutes of the game as the Bulldogs put up 200 yards of total offense, compared to just 63 yards for Northwestern at the half.

The Bulldogs took the opening kick-off and spent the next seven minutes methodically marching down the field, going 73 yards. After running the ball for most of the drive, Northern Lehigh finished it off with a 22-yard touchdown pass from running back Mike Repsher to tight end Tyler Long on a halfback option.

Long rumbled into the end zone for an early 7-0 Bulldogs lead.

It looked like Northwestern was going to match the Bulldogs step-for-step on its first drive of the game as the Tigers traveled down to the Northern Lehigh two-yard line, but came up short on a fourth-and-goal turning the ball over on downs.

“That was a big stop for them,” said Northwestern head coach Josh Snyder. “The good thing is that we didn’t let that kill us. We kept battling even though that first half was pretty rough for us. It’s a testament to these guys that they just didn’t quit.”

A secondquarter safety gave Northern Lehigh a 9-0 edge and just before halftime, Zach Moyer took off for a 21-yard run into the end zone to give Northern Lehigh a 17-0 lead at brake.

“We let them know that we weren’t happy with them at halftime,” Snyder said. “We let them know that the way we played in the first half was no way for a championship team to play and we had to be better than that and they really took that to heart.”

Northwestern (8-1) came out looking like every bit of a championship team in the second half and put up two touchdowns in the first four minutes of the third quarter, cutting the Northern Lehigh lead to 17-14.

The first score came on a nine-yard run by Nick Henry, but the extra point went wide left. The defense forced a fumble and Cody Wieder fell on the loose football to give the Tigers a first-and-10 at the Northern Lehigh 23.

Deven Bollinger carried the ball twice to set up a three-yard TD run by Henry to make it a three-point game.

Another Northern Lehigh turnover, this time on an interception by Nick Henry, started a Tigers drive at their own 44. Bollinger then went down the left sideline for 43 yards and another Northwestern score, giving the Tigers their first lead of the night at 21-17.

The lead went right back to Northern Lehigh when they responded with a 62-yard drive and Moyer again deviated from their ground game and hit Evan Zambo with a 34-yard pass to put the Bulldogs back up 24-21.

With 10:44 left to play, Northwestern opened a drive at its own 28 and quickly moved into Northern Lehigh territory on a 29-yard run by Bollinger. Six plays later, Justin Holmes found the end zone and Andres Garrido added the extra point for a 28-24 advantage.

The Bulldogs began to march down the field and was aided by a face mask call that gave them a first-and ten at the Northwestern 20. From there, the Tiger defense dug in and forced a turnover on downs with 3:09 left to play.

Henry ran for eight yards and Bollinger carried three straight times for two first downs as the Tigers ran out the clock.

“We have a number of seniors on this team who are great leaders for us and the big thing we want to do is win a championship this year,” said Bollinger. “Obviously, we have a big game against Catty next week to close things out, but it’s huge for us.”