With just two weeks left in the regular season, the District 11 playoff picture is starting to come into focus for Times News area teams.

For one local team - Northwestern - the picture is sharp, clear, and ready to display.

For three teams - Palmerton, Northern Lehigh and Jim Thorpe - the picture is top quality and almost ready to frame, but a blemish or two still has to be touched up before it’s finished.

For three other teams - Pleasant Valley, Tamaqua and Marian - the picture is still blurry and needs to be developed further.

And for a pair of teams - Lehighton and Panther Valley - the picture didn’t meet the necessary requirements and has been deleted.

This week’s OVERTIME column will take a look at the playoff status and possible postseason scenarios for our local teams.

Picture perfect

Northwestern is the only area team that has officially clinched a District 11 playoff berth.

The undefeated Tigers (8-0) are currently seeded No. 1 in Class 4A. They will keep the top seed with wins in their final two games against Catasauqua (6-2) and Saucon Valley (4-4), and could possibly keep it with just one more victory.

Allentown Central Catholic and Pottsville are each likely one victory away from joining Northwestern in the four-team field. Five teams are still (IN) contention for the final spot.

In focus

Palmerton, Northern Lehigh and Jim Thorpe will all clinch a berth with one victory in their last two games, according to the latest projections provided by the district.

The Bombers and Bulldogs - who play each other in Week 10 - are currently seeded first and second, respectively, in Class 2A.

Palmerton (7-1) plays Minersville (6-2) this week, while Northern Lehigh (5-3) has Salisbury (2-6). If both win, their regular season finale should decide the top seed.

Minersville and Catasauqua are the favorites to grab the remaining two slots in the four-team 2A playoff field, but Executive Education, Palisades and Schuylkill Haven are also still alive.

Jim Thorpe (4-4) is currently seeded third in Class 3A. A win over either Palisades (2-6) or Lehighton (1-7) clinches a district berth for the Olympians, though there are a number of scenarios where they will get in even if they lose their final two games.

Thorpe appears to be a near lock for the No. 3 seed behind powerhouses North Schuylkill and Notre Dame, and in front of New Hope Solebury, Salisbury and Tamaqua, who are all in contention for the final spot in the four-team field.

Still developing

Pleasant Valley, Tamaqua and Marian are all on the playoff bubble. The Bears are on the inside of the bubble, while the Raiders and Colts are on the outside.

Pleasant Valley (4-3) is currently seeded seventh in a 6A field where eight teams qualify. The Bears close out the regular season against two of their chief competitors for the final playoff spots, as they face Pocono Mountain West (4-4) this week, and Stroudsburg (4-4) in week 10. The Panthers are currently the No. 9 seed, and the Mountaineers are the No. 8 seed. Parkland, Northampton and Freedom have already clinched berths in 6A, while Emmaus, Easton and Nazareth all can clinch with one more win.

Pleasant Valley will clinch with a pair of victories, and also more than likely be in with one more win, although the latest district projections say that isn’t a guarantee.

Tamaqua (2-5) is currently seeded sixth in a 3A field where four teams qualify. The Raiders close the regular season with games against unbeaten North Schuylkill (8-0) and winless Panther Valley (0-6). The Raiders should be in the playoffs if they win their final two games, and should be out if they lose their final two. For Tamaqua to have a chance if it splits its final two games, it would more than likely need both New Hope Solebury and Salisbury to lose their final two games, and Pine Grove to lose at least once and maybe twice.

Marian (1-7) is still alive for the final spot in the four-team District 11 Class 1A field. The Colts, who close the regular season against Panther Valley (0-6) and Pine Grove (1-7), need at least one victory, and possibly two, to have a chance. In either of those scenarios, they would still need fourth-seeded Mahanoy Area to lose at least once, and possibly twice, to get the final spot. Williams Valley and Tri-Valley are the top seeds in Class 1A. Nativity is currently seeded third, and can clinch a district berth with one more win.

Final images

Lehighton and Panther Valley are the only two area teams who have officially been eliminated from district playoff contention. Both teams can still play the spoiler role, however.

The Indians (1-7) close the regular season against Class 5A playoff contender Southern Lehigh (2-6) and Class 3A contender Jim Thorpe (4-4), which is also a big rivalry game for Lehighton.

The Panthers will finish up against Class 1A playoff contender Marian (1-7) and Class 3A contender Tamaqua (2-5). Those two teams are also Panther Valley’s biggest local rivals.

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OVERTIME WINNER ... Marian picked up its first win of the season last Friday when it upset Nativity in overtime.

The Colts have won more overtime games than any other area team, posting a 7-2 record in games decided after regulation. In fact, Marian has now won six straight games that have gone to overtime.

Tamaqua has played the most overtime games among area teams, having participated in 10 of them. The Blue Raiders are 5-5 in those games. The Colts and Northwestern are tied for second with nine.

Since the PIAA introduced OT games in 1995, there have been a total of 49 games that have gone past regulation, an average of under two per year.

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AIRING IT OUT ... Lehighton’s Brady O’Donnell threw 39 passes in last Friday’s loss against Saucon Valley.

Over the past 25 years, no Indian quarterback has attempted that many passes in a game. The closest to that figure is the 37 that Brandon Williams attempted on Nov. 7, 2007.

Among all the area teams, there have been only six QBs to attempt more passes in a game over that time frame. They include Jim Thorpe’s Corey Cinicola (47) and Matt Long (43 and 42), Palmerton’s Tekoah Guedes (46) and Garrett Perschy (40), Tamaqua’s Brayden Knoblauch (45), and Pleasant Valley’s Brandon Leap (44).

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SCORING RECORDS ... Palmerton’s Matt Machalik had quite a game last Friday during the Blue Bombers’ victory over Mahanoy Area, rushing for 242 yards and three touchdowns.

The TDs pushed his season total to 22, which broke the school’s single-season record of 21 set by Mike Stasko during the 2015 campaign. Machalik also upped his point total to 143 to set another Bomber mark. The previous record for points in a season by a Palmerton player was Tekoah Guedes, who had 130 in 2017. The area record for touchdowns in a season is 39, set by Northern Lehigh’s Cody Remaley in 2010.

Machalik almost reached another record, but came up just a bit short. His 242 rushing yards were just six behind the school’s mark for most in a game. Stasko holds the record of 248, which he established on Sept. 2, 2015.

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TDS FOR FRAME ... Northern Lehigh’s Matt Frame scored five touchdowns last week to help the Bulldogs roll past Pen Argyl. It also earned Frame the Times News Player of the Week.

Over the past 30 years, Frame is just the fifth Nolehi player to record at least five TDs in a game. He joins a list that includes Ryan Hluschak (2001 and 2002), Nate Farber (2014), Cody Remaley (2010) and Kody Fedorcha (1995).