North Schuylkill assistant coach Mick Jacavage talks with the players after the Spartans' loss to Northwestern Lehigh in Friday's District 11 Class 3A semifinal (Photo by Leroy Boyer).

NEW TRIPOLI — A touchdown on a freak play to close the first half gave North Schuylkill a much-needed jolt of momentum heading into intermission.

Northwestern Lehigh’s defense grabbed that momentum right back in the second half and never let it go.

The Tigers converted a pair of second-half interceptions into touchdowns to finish off North Schuylkill 49-21 in a District 11 Class 3A semifinal Friday night at a rainy Tiger Stadium.

The victory advances the defending PIAA Class 3A champions to next Friday’s district final against Notre Dame-Green Pond, a 59-16 winner over Tamaqua in the other semifinal, at 7 p.m. at Catasauqua High School.

North Schuylkill’s season ends at 8-4.

“Those two turnovers … ,” North Schuylkill coach Wally Hall said. “There’s a lot to battle during the game besides (Northwestern Lehigh). They come out here and do a great job.”

Northwestern Lehigh (12-0) controlled the game from the outset, scoring on its first four possessions.

The Tigers mixed the run and the pass to perfection, with quarterback Shane Leh keeping the North Schuylkill defense off-balance with several read-option runs and a couple of well-placed passes.

Brady Zimmerman’s 15-yard run made it 7-0 midway through the first quarter. Leh then hit Shane Hulmes for a 20-yard TD on a fourth-and-15 play to make it 14-0 two plays into the second quarter.

After North Schuylkill failed to convert a fourth-and-3 from its own 42, Leh found Mason Bolllinger for an 8-yard touchdown. Leh then made it 28-0 with 4:47 left in the first half on an 18-yard run.

Leh finished with 96 yards and a touchdown rushing on 12 carries and was 6-of-11 passing for 122 yards and three touchdowns.

“He was dinged up with a shoulder early in the season and that hampered him running the football,” Northwestern Lehigh coach Josh Snyder said of his senior signal-caller. “Now at the end of the season, he’s feeling really good, it’s back to 100 percent and we’re running him.

“When he’s clicking like that, throwing the football, really engaged, he’s a different level player for us.”

Down 28-0, North Schuylkill didn’t quit.

Caden Mengel capped a six-play drive with a 46-yard TD run to slice the lead to 28-7, then the Spartans’ defense got a stop on a fourth-and-6 play at the North Schuylkill 37.

Mengel then went to work, running the ball six straight plays to get deep into Northwestern Lehigh territory. His 21-yard pass to Julian Nelson and a hurry-up spike had the ball at the 3-yard line with 3 seconds left in the half.

On the final play of the half, Mengel started running toward the right side but was stood up by the Northwestern Lehigh defense. He pushed the ball backward to lineman Aiden Zilker, who then tried to run with it.

The Tigers’ defense poked the ball out of the 6-foot-5, 300-pound Zilker’s hands, but it flew up into the air and went right to Luke Miller. Miller raced around the left end into the end zone for a touchdown that made it 28-14 at halftime.

“I was getting pushed back and I was in the pile,” Mengel said, recollecting the play. “Zilker was behind me … I stuffed it in his stomach. The crowd started cheering and I saw Luke running into the end zone. I didn’t know what happened.”

Video of play courtesy of Blue Ridge Cable TV-13:

North Schuylkill came out of the locker room with a ton of energy and got a defensive stop to open the third quarter. The Spartans used a big run by Mengel to get into Tigers’ territory, but Michael Lagowy stepped in front of a Mengel pass down the middle for an interception to end the drive.

When Northwestern Lehigh scored three plays later on a 72-yard pass from Leh to Zimmerman, the Tigers were up 35-14 and back in control.

“In the second half, I thought we did an outstanding job,” Snyder said. “I think our defense did an outstanding job all night stopping Miller. We were geared up to do that. Until that last run against our 2s, he was under 100 yards rushing. I don’t think any team has been able to do that to him this year.

“Michael Lagowy, Shane Leh and all our coverage guys did a nice job sticking with guys downfield and making plays. We continued to get stops. … Our kids really executed.”

A turnover on downs and an interception by Leh on North Schuylkill’s next two possessions were countered by Tigers’ touchdowns, 1-yard runs by Mason Bollinger and Braxton Lakatosh, that made it 49-14.

North Schuylkill accounted for the final margin when Miller broke free against the Tigers’ backups for a 54-yard run with 3:53 remaining.

Mengel rushed for 122 yards on 19 carries, while Miller finished with 109 yards on 20 carries. Northwestern Lehigh, meanwhile, compiled 352 yards rushing and 489 total yards with Lakatosh running for 102 yards.

Miller’s effort marked the 11th time in 12 games that the speedy senior rushed for 100 or more yards and gave him a single-season school-record 2,563 yards.

After the game, Hall and his coaching staff took roughly 20 minutes to talk with their squad, stressing the importance of offseason workouts and playing other sports, among other things.

They also praised a group of 15 seniors who played their final game Friday. That group includes Mengel, Miller, Nelson, leading receiver Landen Smith, the Temple-bound Zilker, starting linemen Kaiden Knox, Cameron Hutnick, Gavin Wall and David Martinez and two-way starter Cadyn McGraw.

“A lot of those guys got thrown into the fire pretty young,” Hall said. “They had some solid senior classes with them that showed them the way. They developed and progressed through the years. They were a really great class to have … hard workers, committed, great teammates.”

Added Mengel, who will play collegiately at Lebanon Valley College next fall: “I’m happy the way I ended with my class and my team. I’m grateful for everything.

“It was a great time, probably the best four years of my life. I’m grateful for every moment. Me and Luke sharing the backfield the last couple of years, it was great. I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”

Game Summary

District 11 Class 3A Semifinal

Northwestern Lehigh 49, North Schuylkill 21

NS (8-4)                      0          14        0          7  —    21

NWL (12-0)               7          21        13        8  —    49

NWL — Zimmerman 15 run (Sukanick kick)

NWL — Hulmes 20 pass from Leh (Sukanick kick)

NWL — Bollinger 8 pass from Leh (Sukanick kick)

NWL — Leh 18 run (Sukanick kick)

NS — Mengel 46 run (Urban kick)

NS — Miller 3 run (Urban kick)

NWL — Zimmerman 72 pass from Leh (Sukanick kick)

NWL — Bollinger 1 run (attempt failed)

NWL — Lakatosh 1 run (Zimmerman pass from Leh)

NS — Miller 54 run (Urban kick)

Team Statistics

                                    NS                NWL

First Downs                13                 22

Rushes-Yards              39-231          50-352

Passes                          1-10-2          7-12-0

Passing Yards             21                 137

Total Yards                 252               489

Fumbles/Lost              0-0                0-0

Penalties                      5-35              9-95

Individual Statistics

RUSHING: North Schuylkill — Mengel 19-122, Miller 20-109. Northwestern Lehigh — Lakatosh 17-102, Leh 12-96, Zimmerman 7-77, Sukanick 9-59, Bollinger 4-17, Hulmes 1-1.

PASSING: North Schuylkill —- Mengel 1-9-2, 21; Team 0-1-0, 0. Northwestern Lehigh —- Leh 6-11-0, 122; Zimmerman 1-1-0, 15.

RECEIVING: North Schuylkill — Nelson 1-21. Northwestern Lehigh — Zimmerman 1-72, Lagowy 2-27, Bollinger 2-23, Hulmes 1-20, Sukanick 1-(-5).

INTERCEPTIONS: Northwestern Lehigh — Lagowy, Leh.