Heading into the final two weeks of the regular season, several teams are fighting for postseason positioning, while others are looking ahead to next season.

No. Schuylkill at Tamaqua

When: Friday, Oct. 22 at 7 p.m.

Storyline of the Week

: Youth movement still in progress for Blue Raiders

The Blue Raiders aren’t letting a 2-5 overall record bother them. Despite a 34-0 loss to Jim Thorpe last week, Tamaqua is working to take steps forward while trying to stay healthy. The next challenger will be North Schuylkill, which stands atop the Colonial League-Schuylkill League with an 8-0 record on the season. Meanwhile, the Spartans are also atop the District 11 Class 3A standings. One might think that Bonner may have reached out this past week to speak to Blue Mountain head coach Tom Gallagher, or Northern Lehigh head coach Joe Tout, for some words of wisdom on how to slow the Spartans down a bit. The Blue Eagles lost only by a touchdown (21-14). The Bulldogs fell victim to defeat by two touchdowns after giving the Spartans a run for their money in a 56-42 setback. The Blue Raiders will try to pull the upset, but their youth will certainly have their hands full. Tamaqua needs to get off to a good start to even stay close. The first quarter hasn’t been friendly to the Blue Raiders this season, as they have only scored 21 points in the opening period over the stretch of those seven games. It’s the same with the third quarter, where the Blue Raiders need to come out of the locker room with the right mindset at half and put some points on the scoreboard right away. They have put up only 21 in the third quarter all season. The future may need to start now for the Blue Raiders, who face a North Schuylkill team firing on all cylinders.

Players to Watch:

Zander Coleman, Tamaqua

Coleman has been one of the go-to guys for the Blue Raiders, especially when it comes to finding the end zone, as he leads the team with five touchdowns, and has posted a two-point conversion as well. Coleman leads the Blue Raiders with 513 yards rushing and four touchdowns, as well as 235 yards receiving and one touchdown.

Nate Gregoire, Tamaqua

Gregoire has completed 32-of-75 pass attempts this season for 504 yards through the air. Four of those completed passes have found the end zone for touchdowns.

Pocono Mountain West

at Pleasant Valley

Saturday, Oct. 23 at 1 p.m.

Storyline of the Week

: Bears finish season against two Pocono teams

Pleasant Valley endured a tough 42-0 loss last week to one of the best Lehigh Valley football teams in Freedom. Now 4-3, the Bears wrap up the regular season against Pocono Mountain West at home and Stroudsburg on the road. “We’re happy to have that one behind us,” PV head coach Blaec Saeger said. “Going down and playing a Valley team is a different animal. Bigger kids, faster team, a lot more kids. We survived and got through it and put up as good as a fight as we could’ve. Sometimes, you’re just outmanned.” Pleasant Valley is also in playoff contention currently as the No. 7 seed in the 6A playoffs, and a win against the Panthers Saturday can solidify their chances. The Bears haven’t beaten Pocono Mountain West since 2016. “They’re your typical Pocono Mountain West,” Saeger said. “Very well-coached, very big and always have a great tailback. You can check all those boxes again. We got a handful with them.” The Panthers (4-4) are coming off a 44-8 loss to East Stroudsburg South after four straight wins. The loss dropped West in a tie with Stroudsburg (4-4) in the 6A playoff race. Pocono Mountain West handed PV its first loss last season in a 21-7 game. With both teams teetering on the playoff bubble, Saturday’s game at Pleasant Valley can prove to be crucial once the regular season wraps up. “They’re a team we have a lot of history and respect for,” Saeger said about PM West. “They have tough inside linebackers that run the ball and a lot of guys up front, and athletes in the back. They’ve given us trouble the last few years. The first few years I’ve been at PV, they’ve given us fits and I’ve had success against them in the past, but the last few years they’ve had me. We’re looking forward to getting after it.”

Players to Watch:

Robert Papaleo, Pleasant Valley

Papaleo will look to get the running game back on track this week against Pocono Mountain West. The PV offense wasn’t able to score at Freedom, but expect the Bears to be back in form come Saturday. Papaleo will also have to find his main target, Ryan Blass, in case the running game doesn’t fare well.

Ryan Blass, Pleasant Valley

Blass hopes to connect with quarterback Robert Papaleo on some big plays just as the tandem has been able to do during the season. The senior wide receiver has also done masterful defensive work, having picked up three interceptions against Dieruff in Week 5.

Jaden Bowens, Pocono Mountain West

Bowens is the team’s top rusher, and expect the senior tailback to look for ways to gain on the ground. The PM West rushing game was for naught against East Stroudsburg South, another team PV struggled with in Week 4. Bowens will try to turn the running game around this week at PV and extend West’s winning streak over PV to five.

Northwestern Lehigh

at Saucon Valley

When: Friday Oct. 22 at 7 p.m.

Storyline of the Week

: Can Northwestern Lehigh’s unsung heroes continue to help lead them to wins?

football fans know Justin Holmes, Cade Christopher and Taylor Wikert as leading players on the undefeated Tigers football team. Names like Ben Dunstan, Drew Sabo and Luke Benvin have been playing complimentary roles for Northwestern Lehigh and helping them to win games. In last week’s win over Pottsville, Dunstan and Sabo both came up with big plays to stop drives by the Crimson Tide. Benvin kicked a 22-yard field goal to help ice the victory. “Anytime that you’re 8-0, it’s not just the big-name guys, like Justin Holmes or Cade Christopher who are leading the way. You need contributions from everybody, and we’ve gotten them from guys like Dunstan and Sabo, and other guys who have quietly had great seasons,” said Tigers coach Josh Snyder. “Even [kicker] Luke Benvin, who is playing football for the first time this season, helped us out against Pottsville with that big field goal, and he’s done really well on extra points for us.” Snyder and his Tigers team will look to those players and more to keep the winning going as they travel to Saucon Valley (4-4) this week for their final road game of the season. Coming after an emotional win over the Tide - and a week before their season finale against a good Catasauqua football team - the game against the Panthers is one of those that coaches lose sleep over. The truth is that Saucon Valley has reason to believe that it could be the one to end the perfect season for Northwestern, which hasn’t gone lost on Snyder. “They’ve got a quarterback [Dante Mahaffey] who can throw the ball, and can also pick up yards on the ground, and a kid in [Ty] Csensits, who is an all-around athlete, and can make things happen and picks up a lot of yards after the catch.”

Players to Watch:

Justin Holmes, Northwestern Lehigh

Yes, watch him on offense, but pay some extra attention to his play on defense. In last week’s win over Pottsville, Holmes had seven tackles, three of them for losses. He also forced a fumble and picked off a pass.

Taylor Wikert, Northwestern Lehigh

The Tigers defense shut down an explosive offense last week, and Wikert played a leading role. The senior had three solo tackles, and eight assisted tackles, while breaking up two passes in the game.

Ty Csensits, Saucon Valley

The senior wide receiver has over 1,300 career receiving yards, and is having a big season for the Panthers. He has set career highs in catches (39) and yards (615). He also has three touchdown catches, just two off his career mark set last season.

Northern Lehigh

at Salisbury

When: Friday, Oct. 22 at 7 p.m.

Storyline of the Week

: Northern Lehigh looking to take care of business against Salisbury

The Bulldogs are headed to Allentown for what Joe Tout is calling a “business trip” when they take the field at Salisbury High School. He knows the Falcons are fresh off a 42-0 loss to North Schuylkill last week, but he wants his Bulldogs to walk in with that business-oriented mentality with what happens on the field. “We’re going down there, so let’s take care of business,” said Tout, on what he’s telling his Bulldogs. “Let’s do that. It’s going to be their homecoming. So, we just must go down there, hold onto the football, and take care of business, and we should be all right on Friday night.” The Falcons had a two-game winning streak going with wins over Palisades (13-10) and Pen Argyl (28-26), but that came to a halt against North Schuylkill. The Bulldogs are in the midst of a two-game winning streak themselves, with wins over Pen Argyl (62-30) and Jim Thorpe (27-17). “So, the last two weeks that has been the big key, our defense,” Tout stated. “We’re starting to get a little bit of an attitude that we don’t want to give up points. As earlier in the season, we were in a couple of track meets against Notre Dame, North Schuylkill, and Northwestern. Our defense has that confidence now since we played those teams … all three of them are ranked top-10 in the classification they’re in. Our guys have that confidence that we’re playing well, and they’re buying in to what we’re doing now.” The Bulldogs have done their homework on Salisbury this week, and are ready to throw down that attitude against the Falcons’ offense. “The big one with Salisbury is stopping their quarterback,” said Tout, of the Falcons’ fearless leader. “They’re going to give us multiple sets. They’re going to give you wing-T, traditional wing-T splits, and they’re going to run some traditional wing-T plays, … and they’re going to then jump out of it, and they’re going to be in trips, and two-by-two. Plus, they’re doing some of the RPO stuff. You can’t go low with that, but at the end of the day, we got to make sure he (Nicholas Beck, No. 5) doesn’t beat us.” Tout also is aware of what the Falcons will bring on “D” when the Bulldogs have the ball. “Offensively for us, we’re going to see jumping around,” Tout said. “They’re in a 3-3 look. So, we kind of expect them to be locked up and sending the house against us. That’s kind of where we feel a little bit different from where we have been in the past, as we had that ability to throw very, very well. So, we will see what they give us at first. If they’re going to load up on us, we’ll probably throw. If not, I guess we’re going to start getting the run game going, as we have been doing the last couple of weeks as well.”

Players to Watch:

Izaiah Ramos, Northern Lehigh

The Bulldogs feature a three-man backfield with the likes of Matt Frame, Trevor Amorim and Ramos. Ramos takes advantage of his opportunities when he has a chance. Last Friday night, Ramos just missed out on the century mark with 90 yards on 11 carries, and also hit pay dirt once. Ramos has six touchdowns and a two-point conversion on the year for the Dawgs.

Ben Krauss, Salisbury

The Falcons’ linebacker can be a force on the opposite side of the ball, as the 5-10, 180-pounder is a hawk on defense. Krauss, who wears No. 54, is second on the Falcons’ defense with 20 solo tackles, but doesn’t mind helping to finish the tackle off as he leads the way with 36 assisted tackles. Overall, he leads the team with 56 total tackles.

Nicholas Beck, Salisbury

Coach Tout knows what Beck brings to the Falcons, as he quickly pinpointed “their player is the quarterback, and you got to contain him.” He’s correct, as Beck is a threat in so many ways and so many formations, and it shows in the statistics. Beck has distributed the ball to seven different Falcons for 608 yards and two touchdowns through the air. Bece can also tuck and run, as he leads the Falcons with 425 yards rushing on 94 carries.

Lehighton

at Southern Lehigh

When: Friday, Oct. 22 at 7 p.m.

Storyline of the Week

: With a win in reach a week ago, Indians don’t want to let another chance slip away

The Tribe fell to Saucon Valley 20-14 last week. Lehighton posted a 55-42 win over backyard rival Tamaqua in Week 2, but haven’t broken into the win column since. In a back-and-forth contest with Saucon Valley, Indians’ head coach Tom McCarroll saw his team on the doorstep of breaking through again. “Last week was probably one of the toughest losses that I have ever been part while I’m here at Lehighton simply because of the way the kids played their hearts out,” he said. “It’s one of those games that you just want it so badly for the kids for them to win because of the way they played, because of the way they bounced back, and the way they handled the adversity. It was one of the most gut-wrenching losses that I ever had because of how badly we wanted it for those kids. My big thing though is I was so proud of the way our kids played last week.” This week, the Tribe play a Southern Lehigh program that struggled at the beginning of the season. However, the Spartans enter Friday night’s matchup in Coopersburg with a two-game winning streak in which they have scored victories over Blue Mountain (16-13) and the same Saucon Valley program (31-17) in the last two weeks. “They’re a team that struggled early just like we did, and they have been able to push through that and get some wins under their belt,” McCarroll said. “And I think that’s something to be recognized. But, as we go into the last two weeks of the season, even though they have two wins under their belt the last two weeks, we still know they did struggle, and we know they did have some trouble with some other teams, and we might be able to still take some advantages of some of those things.”

Players to Watch:

Ricky Houser, Lehighton

Houser had been sidelined for a few weeks after sustaining an injury entering the week of the first game. The Indians’ offensive/defensive tackle played only his second game of the season last week, but the Indians’ team captain is glad to be back, and according to their head coach, has “injected a different mentality and energy” that the Indians needed in the worst way. “You’re not going to see stats from lineman usually, but it’s really kind of an intangible kind of feeling and energy that he is bringing to our team that is great for this program right now.”

Hunter Crum, Lehighton

Crum has also been a little banged up, but that doesn’t stop him from leading the Indians with 11 touchdowns. Last week, the Indians’ receiver hauled in seven catches for 100 yards and a touchdown. On the season, Crum leads the Indians in receptions (27), yards (337) and touchdowns (five).

Blaze Curry, Southern Lehigh

The senior running back took 25 carries for a total of 103 yards last week in a 16-13 victory over Blue Mountain. He also ran in a two-point conversion for the Spartans last week.

Minersville at Palmerton

When: Friday, Oct. 22 at 7 p.m.

Storyline of the Week

: Palmerton faces potent passing attack this week as Battlin’ Miners look to make waves in District 11 2A playoff rankings.

Strap in, because on Friday night at Palmerton (7-1), big plays could be the difference in this one. Minersville (6-2) - which has been known throughout its history to be a power run offensive football team - hardly runs the football at all. In fact, the Miners have quite the disparity when it comes to passing and rushing yards - with 1,983 passing yards on the season compared to 469 rushing yards. There’s no doubt Minersville is going to look to air it out, and has a formidable group of wide receivers to do so, with three receivers at 20 or more receptions and 500 or more yards receiving. “Their passing game presents a challenge, there is no doubt about that, and they’re going to look to spread you out and get the ball out quick. We have to do a few things, and it starts with getting pressure. If we’re not able to get pressure - as is the case with any good passing offense - that will be an issue, and then obviously we have to be disciplined. One missed tackle or blown assignment, and that could equal a big play,” said Palmerton head coach Chris Walkowiak. “One advantage I do believe we have is that we see this type of offense every day at practice, unlike last week against Mahanoy and the triple option; that’s not something we see much. But we’re just going to go into this week and keep our goals the same. Force turnovers, take care of the football, move the sticks on offense and try to be explosive on offense.” A bit of foreshadowing in this one could come by way of the Bombers’ rushing attack. Minersville has struggled at times against teams who run the football, and perhaps no one in the Times News area has been running the ball better of late than Palmerton. The Bombers are averaging 269 rushing yards per game at an extraordinary 9.50-yard per clip, with 38 rushing touchdowns. Palmerton has five runners with 180 yards or more rushing on the season.

Players to Watch:

Matt Machalik, Palmerton

Machalik set the single-season Palmerton touchdown mark last week and now has 22 on the season. He’s rushed for 1,028 yards and 20 scores, and also has thrown for 938 yards and seven scores.

Daniel Lucykanish, Palmerton

Lucykanish has 598 total yards of offense and eight scores on the season.

John Adams, Minersville

Adams has thrown for just under 2,000 yards on the season, and has compiled 21 passing touchdowns. He also leads the team in rushing, with 215 yards and five scores.

Palisades at Jim Thorpe

When: Friday, Oct. 22 at 7 p.m.

Storyline of the Week

: Olympians looking to build off momentum, coming off shutout victory from a week ago.

Thorpe (4-4) got back to basics last week with a 34-0 victory over Tamaqua. The Olympians are known for their play in the trenches, and looked good there against the Raiders. Thorpe ran the ball 37 times and averaged nearly eight yards per attempt. Defensively, it allowed Tamaqua just 95 yards in total offense, and held the Raiders to (0 yards or negative yards on 13 of their 36 rush attempts). “I think we got better last week, and that’s the goal every week is to improve and get better as a football team,” said Jim Thorpe head coach Mark Rosenberger. “This week, we have another challenge in Palisades (2-6), which is a team that has gotten healthier over the past few weeks and is starting to play some good football. I told our kids to not look at their record, because that’s not indicative to who they are as a football team. They played a good Notre Dame football team tough last week and they’re fast, athletic and physical. For us, we just need to play solid, fundamental and disciplined football. In the games we’ve not done things to hurt ourselves, we’ve been a pretty successful football team this season.” The Pirates have been playing better football recently, defeating Tamaqua two weeks ago, before losing a tough one to Notre Dame Green Pond 24-14.

Players to Watch:

Brett Balliet, Jim Thorpe

Balliet has thrown for 846 yards and eight touchdowns this season.

Bryson Heydt, Jim Thorpe

Heydt has been a weapon both on offense and defense for Thorpe. The senior has been a nice option in the passing game, catching 11 balls for 169 yards and two scores. Defensively, he’s collected nine tackles for loss, three sacks and an impressive 14 quarterback hurries.

Steven Lilly, Palisades

Lilly had 125 yards rushing and three touchdowns two weeks ago against Tamaqua.

Capsules compiled by Brad Hurley, TJ Engle, Chuck Hixson and Kyle Magda.