There are seven District 11 playoff berths not claimed yet and many seeds not secured among the six classifications entering Week 10, the last weekend of the regular season.
There are many big games, none bigger than 9-0 Southern Lehigh visiting 9-0 Northwestern Lehigh for Colonial-Schuylkill League supremacy.
There are four other unbeatens: Schuylkill Haven, Notre Dame-Green Pond, Easton and Parkland.
There are four winless teams left: Shenandoah Valley, Bangor, East Stroudsburg North and Wilson.
There are countless playoff possibilities and a dry, cool forecast for the upcoming weekend. Here’s a breakdown by class:
CLASS A
What happened: Marian Catholic righted the ship with a victory over Pine Grove and Tri-Valley lost to Minersville. The Colts flip-flopped with the Bulldogs at Nos. 2 and 3. No. 1 Lackawanna Trail blew out No. 5 Holy Cross. No. 4 Nativity BVM was shut out for the second week in a row, this time by Schuylkill Haven.
Looking ahead: Lackawanna Trail is the top seed. Marian Catholic and Tri-Valley will meet for a second time this season in the semifinals. Marian Catholic, which won the first game 17-14, would host if it beats Nativity BVM and Tri-Valley does not beat 9-0 Schuylkill Haven in Week 10. Nativity BVM needs a win over Marian Catholic to assure itself the No. 4 spot. No. 5 Holy Cross plays winless Susquehanna in Week 10.
CLASS 2A
What happened: The top seven teams all won and have clinched playoff berths. The only movement was Minersville moving past Palisades for the No. 3 spot after beating Tri-Valley. That means staying away from a trip to Schuylkill Haven in the district semifinals.
Looking ahead: Catasauqua is clinging to the No. 8 spot. It plays Palmerton in the regular-season finale. No. 9 Mahanoy Area plays winless Shenandoah Valley. Pen Argyl must beat rival Bangor and hope Executive Education either loses to Academy of the New Church (3-4) or doesn’t gain enough points to catch it for the No. 6 spot. The seventh seed makes a trek to two-time defending district 2A champion Williams Valley in the quarterfinals.
CLASS 3A
What happened: Notre Dame-GP and Northwestern Lehigh stayed unbeaten. North Schuylkill won its third in a row. Saucon Valley saw its four-game winning streak end. Panther Valley won back-to-back games for a second time this year to clinch a playoff berth.
Looking ahead: If the Crusaders and Tigers win, it is too close to call for the top spot. North Schuylkill is the No. 3 seed and hosts a quarterfinal. Saucon Valley is the No. 4 seed and will host a quarterfinal. Tamaqua plays Blue Mountain in Week 10. Palmerton is at Catasauqua. The Blue Raiders have the edge for the No. 5 seed over the Blue Bombers. Panther Valley plays at Minersville. Salisbury visits Palisades as it tries to hold onto the No. 8 (and final) seed.
CLASS 4A
What happened: Southern Lehigh is the top seed after it beat Saucon Valley and Bethlehem Catholic lost to Liberty. Jim Thorpe moved ahead of Pottsville after beating Bangor.
Looking ahead: Bethlehem Catholic has the edge on Central Catholic, which it beat earlier this season, for the second seed. The Golden Hawks host 6A Northampton (4-5). The Vikings play 5A Whitehall (7-2). Blue Mountain is the fourth seed after beating Pottsville and will host a quarterfinal. The Lehighton at Jim Thorpe winner is the No. 5 seed and visits Blue Mountain. Pottsville is the No. 7 seed unless it beats North Schuylkill. Bangor remains the No. 8 seed at this point. It hosts 2A Pen Argyl (6-3). East Stroudsburg North visits 5A East Stroudsburg South (1-8). Wilson visits 3A Notre Dame-GP (9-0).
CLASS 5A
What happened: Whitehall lost to Parkland. Pocono Mountain East and Pleasant Valley won. East Stroudsburg South lost its fifth in a row.
Looking ahead: Whitehall is the top seed and hosts South in one semifinal. East and Pleasant Valley play for a second time in the other semifinal. East clinches the No. 2 seed with a win over West or a Pleasant Valley loss to Stroudsburg.
CLASS 6A
What happened: This class had the most volatility in Week 9 with four flip-flops. Easton stays at No. 1 after escaping Freedom. Parkland routed Whitehall and jumps over Nazareth for No. 2 after the Blue Eagles lost at Northampton. Liberty jumped over Freedom for No. 4 after beating Bethlehem Catholic. Northampton jumped over Stroudsburg for No. 6. Emmaus climbed above Pocono Mountain West for No. 8.
Looking ahead: Three playoff berths remain up for grabs. Easton visits Nazareth. Northampton plays at 4A Bethlehem Catholic (5-4). Stroudsburg plays 5A Pleasant Valley (4-5). Emmaus plays Parkland. West plays 5A East (6-3).
District 11 football ratings
(entering Week 10)
Class A (subregional with District 2; top 4 qualify)
1. x-Lackawanna Trail (8-1); .667987
2. x-Marian Catholic (6-3); .533952
3. x-Tri-Valley (6-3); .500240
4. Nativity BVM (4-5); .385145
5. Holy Cross (3-6); .371108
6. Old Forge (2-7); .273163
Class 2A (top 8 qualify)
1. x-Schuylkill Haven (9-0); .745202
2. x-Williams Valley (8-1); .680461
3. x-Minersville (7-2); .599787
4. x-Palisades (6-3); .583559
5. x-Northern Lehigh (6-3); .576886
6. x-Pen Argyl (6-3); .548762
7. x-Executive Education Academy (5-3); .525076
8. Catasauqua (3-6); .362533
9. Mahanoy Area (1-8); .268113
10. Shenandoah Valley (0-9); .211596
Class 3A (top 8 qualify)
1. x-Notre Dame-Green Pond (8-0); .794875
2. x-Northwestern Lehigh (8-0); .743968
3. x-North Schuylkill (5-3); .633111
4. x-Saucon Valley (5-3); .495572
5. x-Tamaqua (3-5); .412048
6. x-Palmerton (3-5); .386976
7. x-Panther Valley (3-5); .376544
8. Salisbury (2-6); .305642
9. Pine Grove (1-7); .215823
Class 4A (top 8 qualify)
1. x-Southern Lehigh (9-0); .766328
2. x-Bethlehem Catholic (5-4); .680270
3. x-Central Catholic (5-4); .641549
4. x-Blue Mountain (5-4); .572365
5. x-Lehighton (4-5); .479249
6. x-Jim Thorpe (4-5); .462345
7. x-Pottsville (3-6); .421397
8. Bangor (0-9); .241943
9. East Stroudsburg North (0-9); .212186
10. Wilson (0-9); .208131
Class 5A (all 4 qualify)
1. x-Whitehall (7-2); .743565
2. x-Pocono Mountain East (6-3); .586136
3. x-Pleasant Valley (4-5); .556793
4. x-East Stroudsburg South (1-8); .365523
Class 6A (top 8 qualify)
1. x-Easton (9-0); .863682
2. x-Parkland (9-0); .829145
3. x-Nazareth (7-2); .786342
4. x-Liberty (6-3); .708184
5. x-Freedom (5-4); .678650
6. Northampton (4-5); .623781
7. Stroudsburg (5-4); .623765
8. Emmaus (4-5); .572132
9. Pocono Mountain West (5-4); .542857
10. Allen (3-6); .422661
11. Dieruff (1-8); .352263
x-clinched playoff berth
Colonial-Schuylkill League football top 10
Ranking. Team (2025 record; last week): Of note
1. Southern Lehigh (9-0; 1): QB Colton Sams needs 101 passing yards for school’s career yardage record
2. Northwestern Lehigh (9-0; 2): Tigers have won 25 games in a row
3. Notre Dame-GP (9-0; 3): QB Matt Bodnar is fourth in the state in passing yardage
4. Schuylkill Haven (9-0; 4): RB Colton Reber leads the state in scoring
5. Williams Valley (8-1; 5): Has won nine of last 10 vs. Week 10 foe Pine Grove
6. North Schuylkill (6-3; 6): RB Luke Miller leads the state in rushing yardage
7. Blue Mountain (5-4; 7): LB Reese Miller has a team-high 68 tackles this year
8. Minersville (7-2; 9): QB Dante Carr is 142 rushing yards shy of 1,000 to go with 1,303 passing yards
9. Palisades (6-3; 10): Lincoln Cook is 98 receiving yards shy of 1,000 for the season
10. Northern Lehigh (6-3; HM): Chris Frame, who is tied for state lead with 7 INTs, missed last game
Dropped out: No. 8 Lehighton (4-5)
Others to watch (listed alphabetically): Catasauqua (3-6); Jim Thorpe (4-5); Marian Catholic (6-3); Palmerton (3-6); Pen Argyl (6-3); Pottsville (3-6); Saucon Valley (5-4); Tamaqua (3-6); Tri-Valley (6-3)
Senior writer Tom Housenick can be reached at thousenick@mcall.com
