District 11 and Eastern Conference football postseason action begins this weekend.

Friday, Nov. 4, 7 p.m.Marian at Tri-ValleyHere's what you need to know:THE LAST TIME... Marian walloped Tri-Valley 33-0 in the District 11 Class A championship game last season. "You're going to get what you see," said Marian head coach Stan Dakosty. "They're going to run the ball, and they have a great tailback, he's ran for over 1,200 yards. They're a nice sized team. They run to the football and they're very athletic."TRENDING IN THE WRONG DIRECTION... The third-seeded Colts (5-5) have dropped two straight, and have been outscored by a 40-7 margin during that stretch. The two-game losing streak comes on the heels of a three-game winning streak. "We've really not played well up front the last two weeks," said the Marian coach. "No matter what you have behind, the guys up front are the key."HOT AND COLD... No. 2 seed Tri-Valley might not have home field advantage Friday night, as the Bulldogs are just 3-2 at home, and 5-0 on the road.HOT STARTS... The Colts have outscored their opponents by a 90-36 margin in the first quarter this season.Friday, Nov. 4, 7 p.m.Easton at Pleasant ValleyHere's what you need to know:RED ROVER... Easton has had Pleasant Valley's number, winning the last three meetings by a combined score of 138-27. The seventh-seeded Red Rovers were victorious 43-13 in the 2015 season opener after handing the Bears a 46-0 setback in the District 11 playoffs to end their 2014 season. Easton also defeated Pleasant Valley 49-14 in the 2014 season-opener. "Easton is as good of a team as any in this 6A bracket," said Pleasant Valley head coach Mark Versuk. "They are well coached and playing good football right now."A LULL... The 22 points scored by No. 2 seed Pleasant Valley in last week's loss to Stroudsburg (26-22) marked the fewest since the Bears suffered a 25-7 loss to Reading in last year's Eastern Conference playoffs.ALWAYS DANGEROUS... Pleasant Valley led the Times News area with a scoring average of 47.8 points per game.BARELY... Easton (5-5) narrowly squeaked out a 42-39 victory over Nazareth in the final week of the regular season. "The keys to victory are to eliminate the big plays on defense," Versuk said. "Win the turnover battle, play solid special teams, and execute on offense.UP IN THE AIR... The Bears lost one of their key playmakers last week against Stroudsburg when Mike Mitchell exited the game with a lower body injury and did no return. His status for this weekend is questionable.Saturday, Nov. 5, 2 p.m.Tamaqua at Pen ArgylHere's what you need to know:WHO'S HOT?... Tamaqua (5-5) earned the sixth seed and will square off with one of the Colonial League's surprise teams, Pen Argyl (7-3), which earned the third seed. Tamaqua enjoyed a quality win over Marian last week, 27-0. The Green Knights' most impressive victory came against top-seeded Notre Dame in Week 8. "They run the same 5-3 defense they have for the last 10 years," said Tamaqua head coach Sam Bonner. Obviously it's been successful. You never know how your kids are going to react," the coach said of transitioning to an afternoon game. "You just hope they show up and are ready to play."NEW GUY IN TOWN... Tamaqua freshman Nate Boyle has surged onto the scene this year. The tailback is averaging 6.93-yards-per-carry this year, and rushed for 119 yards during last week's rout of Marian.REMEMBER US?... The last time the Raiders made district playoffs was in 2012, when Pen Arygl topped them by a 30-14 margin.BIG PLAY ED... Eddie Titus only had one catch for Tamaqua last week, but he ripped off a 77-yard score on it. "Having momentum is a big plus," said Bonner. "We put together a great game against Marian and played with intensity. We made plays and we're going to have to do that against Pen Argyl."Saturday, Nov. 5, 2 p.m.Lehighton at Notre DameHere's what you need to know:UP AND DOWN... The top-seeded Crusaders went 8-2 against all Colonial League opponents this year. "They're the top seed for a reason," said Lehighton head coach Tom McCarroll. "They're an explosive offense with a ton of weapons offensively. There are three or four receivers that can take it to the house as soon as they touch it."STRUGGLING.... The eighth-seeded Indians (4-6) are a bit injury-ridden, and have dropped their last five contests after opening the season 4-1. "We really need to control the clock and maintain longer drives," McCarroll said. "I think that would give us a chance to be successful."REMEMBER WHEN?... Lehighton went 10-0 last season and played Saucon Valley in the District 11 Class AAA championship game. Notre Dame capped a stellar 2015 with a 32-22 win over Northwestern in the District 11 Class AA title game.NEW UNDER CENTER... Lehighton's Nick Skrinkosky has filled in at quarterback for the injured Cody Scherer, completing 16-of-37 passes for 135 yards and two scores.WE MEET AGAIN... Both head coaches squared off a few times on the gridiron during their collegiate careers. Notre Dame head coach Phil Stambaugh played at Lehigh, while McCarroll was a student-athlete at Colgate. "It will be a nice little Patriot League reunion," McCarroll said with a laugh. "He does a great job. They're the most athletic team that we faced all year. It's going to be a unique challenge in seeing a different type of offense. We're going to have to make some adjustments."Saturday, Nov. 5, 2 p.m.No. Lehigh at PalisadesHere's what you need to know:FINISHING STRONG... Northern Lehigh (4-6) earned the seventh seed in the Class 3A bracket and will travel to No. 2 Palisades. The Bulldogs finished the season by winning two of their final three games. "Palisades is a fast and physical football team," said Northern Lehigh head coach Joe Tout. "We have seen teams with speed, so we are expecting that we will be able to adjust to their speed quickly in this game. They are a very physical football team. They remind me of Pen Argyl up front. However, I believe Palisades also has very good speed up front as well. Their backfield is impressive, they have speed with Colleti and Gretzinger. They have the ability to break a play at anytime."RECENT HISTORY... The Bulldogs are 9-3 against the Pirates across the last 12 meetings. Northern Lehigh topped Palisades in the most recent meeting 2015, 32-7.SLOW STARTS... Northern Lehigh has been outscored by a 97-33 margin so far this year. However, they have outscored their opponents in the fourth period.OFFENSIVE SUCCESS... Northern Lehigh ranks third in the TN area, averaging 292.5 total yards per game. "As with any season, it's a bit of a chess match," said Tout. "We try to figure out correct positions and we move guys around in order for us to have the best chance to win. I think we have gotten better on both sides of the ball and are a good football team. When we don't turn the ball, over we can play with any team in the 3A field. We are proud of our seniors for getting us back to district playoffs, but are reminding them to not be content. We feel like we have a very good opportunity to move forward in the playoff bracket."Saturday, Nov. 5, 2 p.m.Minersville at PalmertonHere's what you need to know:ROLLING... The Miners' are coming in streaking, having won three in a row, which includes a season-changing victory against Marian two weeks ago.STILL ROLLING... The second-seeded Bombers' are just as hot at Minersville, also having won three games in a row after a slow start to the season. Palmerton topped Northern Lehigh last week, 21-7. The Blue Bombers are scoring an average of 38 PPG during their win streak, while allowing only nine to opposing teams.QUICK TURNAROUND... No. 3 seed Minersville is in the District 11 playoffs one season after going 1-10. The Battlin' Miners only victory in 2015 came against Nativity, 54-14.PASSING PERSCHY... This past week against rival Northern Lehigh, Palmerton quarterback Garrett Perschy entered an elite club. Perschy passed for 208 yards against the Bulldogs, which put him into the career 4,000-yard passing club for his career (4,159 yards). On the season, Perschy has passed for 1,719 yards with 16 touchdowns and four interceptions. The Bombers will be looking to spread the Miners out and take advantage of their offensive speed. "We're going to stick to the game plan and continue to spread teams out and use our athletes," said Walkowiak. "Garrett has been doing a good job of spreading the ball around in the passing game (and) our kids have been making plays. We had another guy step up last week in Chuck Burke, who had a big touchdown. Guys stepping up is a big reason for our recent success."POSTSEASON PAST... The Bombers are getting back to the playoffs for the first time since the 2014 season when they lost in the semis to then Anthracite League team North Schuylkill. Before that, the Bombers went on a three-year run in 2006, 2007, and 2008 of qualifying for the district playoffs. In 2007 and 2008, the Bombers fell in the district championship to Palisades on both occasions. The head coach at the time was Paul McArdle, and current head coach Chris Walkowiak was the defensive coordinator.Friday, Nov. 4, 7 p.m.Northwestern at Blue MtnHere's what you need to know:CHAMPIONS... Northwestern played in the Eastern Conference Playoffs in 2013 and won the EC championship. In 2013, there were two games, but this year's shift of classifications has limited the EC to a one-game playoff, with the winner being crowned champion.MOMENTUM?... The Tigers came back from their Eastern Conference title strong, winning the District 11 Class AA title in 2014 and advancing to the championship game again last year, only to come up short against Notre Dame.BOUNCE BACK... Northwestern's 48-20 win over Catasauqua last week snapped a three-game losing streak.RECORD BREAKING.. With 1,726 passing yards, Tigers' freshman quarterback Deven Bollinger shattered the Northwestern single season passing yards record, which was nearly 400 yards past the prior record.