Panther Valley is yet to play two teams directly ahead of it in the District 11 class AA playoff race. The Panthers will take on Mahanoy Area on Friday, and do battle with Minersville in Week 10.

Panther Vy at MahanoyFriday, Oct. 21 at 7 p.m.Here's what you need to know:MUST WIN... For the Panthers to qualify for the District 11 AA postseason, it's likely it will need to win its final two games of the season. Presently, the Panthers are ranked last out of six teams with Mahanoy and Minersville ahead of them in the standings. The Panthers final two games will be against the Bears and Miners, so they control their own destiny.BETTER STARTS... The Panthers have been playing behind a lot this season, which explains their 2-6 record. Panther Valley head coach Matt Davis knows that his team has to get off to a better start and try to build a cushion early on in this one. "We have to go into this game with a playoff mentality, which means we have to take care of the football and we can't commit hurtful penalties," said Davis. "We also have to put some points up early and get some confidence. That's something we haven't been able to do a lot of lately.SLUMPING... After winning three of its first four games, Mahanoy has dropped its last four, scoring just 27 points combined in its last four defeats.IN THE TRENCHES... The Panthers have struggled against the run game this season, which unfortunately for them happens to be the Bears bread and butter. The Panthers are surrendering 284 rushing yards per game. "It's key for us to play disciplined football and to communicate and trust each other on defense," said Davis. "Mahanoy is going to run the football, and each guy must execute and do their job right."Pleasant Vy at PM EastFriday, Oct. 21 at 7 p.m.Here's what you need to know:HOW MANY?... Pleasant Valley erupted for 66 points during a 66-26 rout of East Stroudsburg North last week. The Bears scored 31 points in the second quarter alone.HUGE PLAYS... The Bears piled on the points in exciting fashion. PV had explosive scoring plays of 59, 38, 44, 37, and 48 yards last week.RECENT ADVANTAGE... Pleasant Valley is 12-2 against Pocono Mountain East since 2004. The Bears have outscored PME by a 105-40 margin across the last two seasons.PILE IT UP... Last week's game between East Stroudsburg North and PV combined for 849 yards of total offense. North threw the ball just three times despite facing an uphill battle throughout most of the contest.LOOKING FOR NO. 1... Pocono Moutain East is winless this season and has scored just six points over its last three contests.No. Schuylkill at TamaquaFriday, Oct. 21 at 7 p.m.Here's what you need to know:CLOSE, BUT NO CIGAR... Tamaqua has dropped its last three meetings against North Schuylkill. However, two of the three losses were decided by a one-possession margin. "The big plays were the difference last week," Tamaqua head coach Sam Bonner said. "We said after the Lehighton game two weeks ago (a 42-40 victory) that we thought we had to eliminate that. That's definitely a big key to this week's game."THROUGH THE AIR... Despite the 26-18 loss to Jim Thorpe last week, Raiders' QB Thad Zuber had his third-highest passing-yard output of the season. He completed 11-of-17 passes for 142 yards.STREAK SNAPPED.. After wining three in a row, The Spartans (5-3) had their streak snapped by Blue Mountain during a 16-7 loss last week.DEFENSIVE NIGHTMARE... The Spartans have scored 15 points or less on five different occasions this season. They've been winning games on the defensive side of the ball, posting three shutouts and having allowed only 11-points-per-game this season.Jim Thorpe at PottsvilleFriday, Oct. 21 at 7 p.m.Here's what you need to know:HOMECOMING... Jim Thorpe head coach Mark Rosenberger is a 1990 Pottsville graduate and a former offensive and defensive lineman for the Crimson Tide. Rosenberger will be taking the "Red Swarm" back to Memorial Stadium for the first time since the 2004 season when the Olympians dropped a heart-breaker to the Tide in the District 11 AAA Championship.MR. EFFICIENT... Good quarterback play has been the key in Pottsville's 7-1 record this season and 3-0 SFL Division 1 record. Eric Wapinsky has thrown for 1,007 yards and has also run for 366 yards. He is responsible for 20 total touchdowns on the season. What's perhaps most impressive about Wapinsky's statistics this season is his touchdown- to-interception ratio. He has thrown 13 touchdowns to just one interception on the year, which means Wapinsky knows how to make plays and doesn't make many mistakes.CARROLL COMING ON... Jim Thorpe senior quarterback Brendan Carroll has been improving from week to week, but last week against Tamaqua was his breakout performance. Carroll didn't pass the ball many times, but he was 5-for-9 for 152 yards, including four separate hook-ups with wide receiver Shawn O'Toole for 120 yards and three scores. A pretty interesting statistic involves Carroll's big play ability. He's averaging just over 20-yards-per-completion, and has thrown nine touchdowns and four interceptions. "We have to make plays," said Rosenberger. "The games that we haven't won this year, we just haven't made them. "Pottsville has so many weapons and they're going to play physical football. We have to match that. It's going to be a great atmosphere, and we're excited for that challenge."MOVING UP... With the win last week against the Raiders, the Olympians have improved to 5-3 and have moved up to the No. 5 spot in the District 11 AAA playoff rankings. JT has also clinched a playoff berth. If the playoffs were to start today they would be matched up with the No. 4-seed North Schuylkill.Marian at MinersvilleFriday, Oct. 21 at 7 p.m.Here's what you need to know:HEAVY HEARTS... The Marian football program lost a member of its family this week when assistant coach Kenny Snerr passed away suddenly. Snerr played for Dakosty and was a coach in the Colts program for well over a decade. It was a stunning and tragic loss for Snerr's family, friends, and the entire Marian Catholic community. "Kenny was here every day, he ran our lifting program in the winter, and he was the first guy in my office on a daily basis," said Marian head coach Stan Dakosty. "It's just a tremendous loss, guys like Kenny do not come around very often. He was a kids-first individual, and he will be greatly missed."ON A ROLL... After two straight tough losses to Lehighton and division rival Schuylkill Haven, the Colts have won three straight ball games against Panther Valley, Mahanoy, and Shenandoah Valley. With the postseason just three weeks away, the Colts are hitting their stride at just the right time.PHYSICAL PLAY... The Miners have won two out of three and are playing better football of late. Minersville will bring a wing-T offensive scheme against the Colts this week, with tough runners such as Aaron Beach, Kei'dre Taylor, and Bryce Miklesavage. Athletic quarterback Steele Fekette can also make plays for the Miners. The Colts defense has held up against run-first teams this season, giving up just 120 rushing yards per game rushing."Minersville is a physical football team, it always has been and always will be," said Dakosty. "We've been able to answer the bell for the most part this season when challenged up front in the rushing game defensively. We have to be sharp, we're really focused on Minersville. We're approaching them like they're the best team on our schedule. We also want to play our best and honor coach Snerr with our performance."Salisbury at PalmertonFriday, Oct. 21 at 7 p.m.Here's what you need to know:PICKING UP STEAM... After losing its first three games of the season, Palmerton has since gone 3-2. That's because the Bombers are finally healthy after injuries to key skill personnel and linemen throughout the early part of the season. The Bombers will be going into their game with the Falcons fully loaded. "We had six fully healthy offensive linemen last week and I think that showed. Our linemen played great a week ago, they played physical and they played tough," said Palmerton head coach Chris Walkowiak. "We got Mike Stasko going, he rushed for 166 yards, which is what we want to do. We want to be able to run the football and balance that out with the passing game."VICIOUS VEER... Salisbury will bring the veer option game to Palmerton this week with a host of players that can run the football. It all starts with quarterback Cameron Vaka, who runs the show. Fullbacks C.J. Wiitman and Christian Butz are the main backs, while Tim Buda could also see some carries and can hurt the Bombers in the running game. "Defensively, we need to play assignment football. They've been able to move the ball on almost every team they've faced, and they can certainly chew up the clock with the style of offense they run," said Walkowiak. "We just have to be disciplined and we can't give up the big play."MR. VERSATILITY... Due to an early ankle injury, Stasko didn't get off to the start he wanted. However, he's been more than making up for it over the past few weeks, having accumulated 401 yards rushing and six touchdowns, while catching 32 passes for 508 yards and seven touchdowns. Stasko will be a big reason for the Bombers success if they can finish the season on a strong note.Blue Mtn. at LehightonFriday, Oct. 21 at 7 p.m.Here's what you need to know:WITHOUT A BLEMISH... Lehighton is a perfect 3-0 against Blue Mountain since 2014. The Tribe won by 21 points in the postseason last year, but the prior two meetings were decided by just one possession.CLIMBING THE RANKS... Lehighton's Mike Mayernik now ranks second in rushing in the TN area.GETTING DEFENSIVE... During Blue Mountain's 16-7 victory against North Schuylkill last week, the Eagles held the Spartans to just nine first downs .LOOKING BACK... During Lehighton's 28-7 win last year, the Tribes' defense picked off Mason Freed four times. This year, they'll likely face first-year starter David Krewson, who completed six-of-10 passes last week against North Schuylkill.STOP THE SKID... After last week's loss to Pottsville, the Tribe has now lost three in a row. "We had some chances and didn't take advantage of them," said Lehighton head coach Tom McCarroll. "We couldn't overcome some penalties and negative plays, and Pottsville did. That's the difference between a good team and an average team."