The unbeatens stayed unbeaten and the winless stayed winless in Week 7 of the Colonial-Schuylkill League.
In between, however, races for playoff spots are getting tighter. North Schuylkill, Northern Lehigh and Palisades righted the ship with wins. Saucon Valley won its third in a row after a three-game losing streak.
Week 8 promises to have more drama, with many of the teams jockeying for playoff position banging heads. It’s also one week closer to unbeatens Northwestern Lehigh and Southern Lehigh meeting in New Tripoli in the regular-season finale.
Here are some of the notable moments from Week 7:
5 things we learned in Week 7
1. Leadership coming in all forms
Saucon Valley’s best players and leaders don’t have a driver’s license. In a season with a small handful of returning starters, the Panthers are making things work with a mix of freshmen, first-year starters and first-year football players.
Coach Anthony Brinkley continues to build a culture at Saucon Valley and keep the Panthers in line for a District 11 Class 3A playoff berth despite the lack of varsity experience.
“I can’t say enough about the freshmen,” Brinkley said, “[Mickie] McClarin, [Thomas] Cahill and [Taylor] Rohn are fantastic. I said it at the beginning of the year. Our 14-year-olds are more mature than most 14-year-olds.”
That was evident after Saucon Valley started 1-3 with consecutive losses to Palisades, Palmerton and Notre Dame-Green Pond when it scored a combined 19 points.
With as many freshman starters as returning starters, the Panthers’ season was teetering.
“That was a turning point,” Brinkley said. “We can go this way and feel sorry for ourselves and say we are young, or we can battle back from three losses in a row and right the ship. That’s what they decided to do as a group.
“As coaches, we told them that we will give them their best opportunity and promise it will not be a lack of preparation on our part,” he said. “We just need the guys to stay focused and execute. They bought it. A lot of that goes to our leaders who are our younger guys.”
Saucon Valley responded with a three-game winning streak after Friday night’s 40-13 win over Salisbury.
Cahill, whose father Kevin is Lehigh’s head coach, leads the freshmen. He is among the Colonial-Schuylkill League’s best with 45 receptions, including eight for 124 yards and a touchdown against the Falcons.
“Thomas is a really good player, really smart,” Brinkley added. “His dad is the coach at Lehigh, so football is a big part of his life. It shows. He runs to grass and not to get covered. He’s a great leader, such a positive voice and a great kid.”
McClarin had four receptions Friday, including one for a score. Rohn ran for 106 yards and two TDs and caught three passes. He is approaching 500 rushing yards this season.
That trio is part of a group that was unbeaten the previous two years on Saucon Valley’s junior high team, so that kind of start to their varsity career was a jolt to their psyches.
“It was hard,” Taylor Rohn said, “but this team has been good fighting through adversity. We put a lot of time in during the offseason and there is a lot of team chemistry.”
Taylor’s older brother, Braden, the Panthers’ starting quarterback as a junior, also has improved this season. He experienced growing pains as a starter last season, but had a large group of seniors, including older brother Jared, to lean on.
He is starting to reap the benefits.
“Braden has done a great job becoming a leader,” Brinkley said. “He’s so different from the Palmerton game. He’s grown. He’s taken our challenge to him on the coachability side of it and done a great job, dialed in. He watches a lot of film on his own, become a student of the game. I’m really proud of him and how he’s handled it.”
Rohn’s 257 passing yards in Friday’s victory gives him 1,315 yards this season, surpassing the 1,258 he had in 2024.
“It all starts with the line because I can get into my full step back,” he said. “It’s a lot easier delivering the ball when there’s not a lot of people in my face.”
There are other contributors, including senior first-year starter Isaiah McNally, who caught six passes Friday for 79 yards and a touchdown. He entered the game with five catches this year.
Returning lettermen Joe Petersen and Nick Sheasley each had two tackles for loss, including a sack. Junior Hunter Hill also had a tackle for loss and freshman Jaylen Caballero had an interception.
Saucon Valley (4-3), which is fourth in the race for eight District 11 Class 3A playoff berths, has three tough games remaining, starting Saturday at 5-2 Pen Argyl. A trip to unbeaten Southern Lehigh and a Week 10 date with visiting Northern Lehigh round out the regular season.
“Some people counted us out,” Brinkley said. “But this team doesn’t quit.”
2. Getting defensive, really
Northwestern Lehigh and Southern Lehigh are unbeaten for many reasons, not the least of which is their respective defenses.
The Tigers have given up only 87 points and the Spartans 96, with many of those points coming against backups. Class A Tri-Valley (5-2) has allowed only 66 points.
But it’s another team — known for its offensive prowess, development of quarterbacks and athletic skill players — has yielded a league-low 64 points.
Notre Dame-Green Pond’s ascension to the top after seven weeks started with a loss to North Schuylkill in last year’s District 11 Class 3A semifinals.
The Spartans ran the ball down the Crusaders’ throats, and the whispers grew louder. The Crusaders were soft.
The 2025 version is determined to change that stigma, but they don’t feel the burden of previous Notre Dame-GP teams. They are motivated only by their goal to win championships: Colonial-Schuylkill League White Division, District 11 3A and PIAA.
The Crusaders haven’t won anything yet, but the defense has performed above and beyond.
There are no Division I stud recruits, just an athletic, aggressive and eager bunch working well together.
“We want to be more physical and have a higher motor than any team we play,” senior Garrett Grants said.
Grants, Faustie Capobianco, Kalet Wilson and Austin Casal anchor the Crusaders defense. Grants led all area league players in tackles for loss and sacks entering Week 7.
Notre Dame-GP, with the guidance of assistant coaches Nino Morici and Jordon Hildabrant, continued its stellar defensive play Saturday at Pen Argyl.
The Crusaders recovered three fumbles, intercepted a pass, had a sack and nine other tackles for loss. They allowed only 140 yards and seven points, with many of the yards and the touchdown coming against backups long after the game was decided.
Head coach Phil Stambaugh is proud of the defense’s effort and cohesiveness.
“They have good speed,” he said. “They have bought into our system. They have a good understanding of what we are trying to do. They are playing physical. They want to hit. They want to make plays. They are doing their part to make that happen.”
Notre Dame-GP, working toward its first district title since 2016, is favored in its final three games against Palisades (5-2), Palmerton (2-5) and Wilson (0-7).
All that matters to the Crusaders, however, it what comes after those games.
3. No glove needed
Zak Ziegler was asked countless times for years by friends to join the Saucon Valley football team. He finally pulled the trigger as a senior.
“I thought it would be fun,” he said. “This year, I just couldn’t resist.”
The 5-foot-8, 160-pounder who traded in his baseball glove this fall for a helmet and shoulder pads had his best football game to date in Friday’s 40-13 Homecoming victory over Salisbury. The baseball center fielder turned defensive back tracked down two interceptions that helped the Panthers reverse an early deficit to score 40 straight points on their way to a third consecutive victory.
Ziegler, who entered the game with 18 tackles and a forced fumble, picked off his first career pass late in the second quarter and returned it 32 yards to the Falcons’ 17-yard line. Two plays later, Saucon Valley extended its lead to 27-7.
His second pick came on third down late in the fourth quarter. It was the last of four turnovers Saucon Valley forced in limiting Salisbury’s offense to 192 total yards, 85 of which came on its second series of the game that gave the Falcons a 7-0 lead.
But Ziegler and Co. buckled down defensively after that.
“We just compete,” Ziegler said. “That’s all coach [Anthony Brinkley] wants. Even though we’re not the biggest, strongest or quickest, we just compete.”
Ziegler will go back to baseball in the spring like he has for the last 14 years, but he’s happy he followed his instincts and is helping Saucon Valley’s football team make a run to the District 11 Class 3A playoffs.
4. Maximum performance
Senior Max Woerner was one of Palisades’ returning defensive players. But he’s also turned into one of the offense’s most reliable performers.
Friday night was the latest example of Woerner’s value to the Pirates. He ran seven times for 114 yards and two touchdowns. He also made a team-high 16 tackles in a 41-6 victory over visiting Palmerton.
Woerner leads the team with 410 rushing yards, averaging 7.2 yards per carry. He also is among the Colonial-Schuylkill League’s best in tackles with 77 in seven games, including five for loss.
5. Colonial vs. Schuylkill
The two leagues split four matchups for the second week in a row to keep the Colonial League up 11-10 with three weeks left in the regular season.
Blue Mountain beat Lehighton and North Schuylkil knocked off over Bangor for the Schuylkill League. Northwestern Lehigh’s shutout of host Pottsville and Southern Lehigh’s win over Tamaqua kept the Colonial League ahead by the slimmest of margins.
There are two Week 8 matchups: Lehighton at Tamaqua and Pottsville at Wilson.
Senior writer Tom Housenick can be reached at thousenick@mcall.com.
Colonial-Schuylkill League football standings
Team (Overall record); Division record; Points for; Points against
Red Division
Southern Lehigh (7-0); 6-0; 249; 98
Northwestern Lehigh (7-0); 5-0; 327; 87
Blue Mountain (4-3); 3-2; 228; 151
North Schuylkill (4-3); 3-2; 252; 167
Lehighton (3-4); 2-3; 188; 168
Tamaqua (3-4); 2-3; 129; 173
Pottsville (2-5); 2-4; 110; 187
Jim Thorpe (3-4); 1-4; 160; 200
Bangor (0-7); 0-6; 77; 285
White Division
Notre Dame-GP (7-0); 5-0; 317; 64
Palisades (5-2); 4-1; 191; 129
Pen Argyl (5-2); 4-2; 160; 180
Northern Lehigh (4-3); 3-2; 210; 202
Saucon Valley (4-3); 3-3; 188; 164
Palmerton (2-5); 2-3; 119; 174
Catasauqua (3-4); 2-4; 148; 212
Salisbury (2-5); 1-4; 89; 212
Wilson (0-7); 0-6; 63; 242
Blue Division
Schuylkill Haven (7-0); 6-0; 357; 114
Williams Valley (6-1); 5-1; 266; 104
Minersville (5-2); 4-2; 285; 123
Marian Catholic (5-2); 4-2; 188; 162
Tri-Valley (5-2); 4-2; 232; 66
Nativity BVM (4-3); 3-3; 148; 121
Panther Valley (2-5); 2-4; 94; 228
Mahanoy Area (1-6); 1-5; 47; 256
Pine Grove (1-6); 1-5; 68; 177
Shenandoah Valley (0-7); 0-6; 75; 270
Week 8 schedule (at 7 p.m. unless noted)
THURSDAY
Blue Mountain at North Schuylkill
FRIDAY
Shenandoah Valley at Panther Valley
Pine Grove at Schuylkill Haven
Catasauqua at Northern Lehigh
Palisades at Notre Dame-GP
Palmerton at Salisbury
Northwestern Lehigh at Jim Thorpe
Bangor at Southern Lehigh
Lehighton at Tamaqua
Mahanoy Area at Tri-Valley
Minersville at Nativity BVM
Williams Valley at Marian Catholic
SATURDAY
Pottsville at Wilson, noon
Saucon Valley at Pen Argyl, 1:30
