Plenty to see in Week 1

Clash of Colonial League powers is among highlights

Phil Stambaugh said it could be the game of the year and it’s happening in Week 1.

The Notre Dame coach is talking about Friday night’s season opener for his Crusaders against Northwestern Lehigh. It’s the defending Colonial League champ (Notre Dame) against the team most think will reign as the 2019 champion.

As usual, the league jumps right into league play with six matchups offering lots of intrigue.

3 things to know

1. Pen Argyl is running an oldschool, single-wing attack that earned positive reviews from at least one opposing coach who tried to defend it in a scrimmage. Dieruff coach Dave Lutte, whose Huskies saw Pen Argyl in a tri-scrimmage Saturday, said the Green Knights “are pretty good at it. They’re going to win some games with that offense this year.”

2. While a lot of the focus will be on the Northwestern-Notre Dame and Southern LehighSaucon Valley games, two firstyear coaches will try to get off to a good start.

New Palisades coach Ramie Moussa will try to get the horns blowing on the Pirate ship when his team welcomes Palmerton, and first-year Bangor coach Paul Reduzzi will be on familiar ground when he leads the Slaters to Catasauqua. Reduzzi had many memorable battles with the Rough Riders when he was in charge at Pen Argyl for 11 seasons before he resigned after the 2017 season.

3. Wilson and Northern Lehigh are both programs trying to build something positive. Neither is far removed from a long skid.

When the Bulldogs beat the Warriors on opening day last year, they snapped a 12-game losing streak. When Wilson beat Pen Argyl to start the 2017 season, it ended a 15-game slide.

Both would love to get the season started positively to validate their preseason optimism. The Warriors have an experienced group, while the Bulldogs have their fastest team in more than a decade.

Player to watch

Collin Quintano, Notre Dame: The Cole DeFranco era is over at Green Pond after he passed for a District 11-record 9,904 yards, but don’t feel bad for the Crusaders. Quintano, a sophomore, offers a lot of promise.

“Collin’s doing a good job,” Stambaugh said. “Being on the baseball team in the spring as a freshman really helped him. Going to the state final and being a key part of that at third base gave him a lot of big-game experience.

“Situations can carry over from sport to sport. I thought I was a better football player because of wrestling and baseball. All of those situations help mold you.

“That being said, we know he’s going to make mistakes. We just have to minimize those.”

Week 1 matchups

Bangor at Catasauqua: The Slaters graduated a bunch from their 6-5 team in 2018, while the Roughies return a lot from last year’s 1-10 squad.

Second-year Catty coach Mike McClarin said the offense has been simplified and put in the hands of converted receiver Andrew Reinhart. Still, it figures to be a good opening night for Reduzzi and the new-look Slaters, who won last year’s meeting 42-12 but trail in the series 37-34-3.

Northwestern Lehigh at Notre Dame: The Tigers and Crusaders got last season off to a flying start with a 42-41 overtime classic in New Tripoli won by Northwestern. Notre Dame will need a better defensive effort to have a shot this time. The Tigers lead the all-time series 24-17-1.

Palmerton at Palisades: Jordan Nelson is a do-it-all player who almost never leaves the field for the Blue Bombers. Palmerton will need the District 11 sprint champ to make plays and get some help from Andrew Sabo to make the long ride home from Bucks to Carbon County a happy one Friday night. Palisades won last year’s game 49-14 and leads the series 18-6.

Pen Argyl at Salisbury: The Falcons will be the first team to get the full single-wing experience from Pen Argyl. Salisbury will counter with what it hopes will be a more balanced attack than last year, when the Falcons had nearly twice as many rushing yards as passing. Pen Argyl won last year’s game 17-16 in the final seconds for the program’s 500th victory. The Green Knights lead the series 34-17-1.

Wilson at Northern Lehigh: This is the last time these two will meet, at least for a while, since the Colonial LeagueSchuylkill League scheduling coop begins next season.

Both coaches have respect for the other’s program and remember the days the Warriors and Bulldogs were battling for league honors. That may not happen this year, but both are trending upward. Northern Lehigh won last year’s game but trails 35-12-1 in the series.

Southern Lehigh at Saucon Valley: The Spartans had remarkable offensive balance last season, passing the ball for 1,886 yards and rushing for 1,912. Expect those numbers to tilt heavily toward the ground game as coach John Toman plans to use a physical offensive line to wear teams down.

For Saucon Valley, expect sophomore QB Dante Mahaffey to carry more of the load for first-year coach Brad Trembler. Last year, Mahaffey spent a lot of time handing off to Ian Csicsek, who ran for a District 11-best 2,854 yards. Saucon won last year’s game 27-13, but the Spartans lead the series 25-22-1.

Keith Groller can be reached at 610-820-6740 or at kgroller@mcall.com