Nine down. One to go.

It seems like we were just writing about heat acclimation and pre-season practices, and now we’re already gearing up for the postseason.

This week’s Overtime column will look at the playoff possibilities for area teams heading into the 10th and final weekend of the regular season.

Despite the fact that only four of our nine local teams have winning records - two of which are 5-4 - the possibility of eight of them qualifying for postseason play is extremely real.

We talked to District 11 football chairman and Northwestern Athletic Director Jason Zimmerman to get help narrowing down the possibilities for the three area teams who have already clinched postseason berths - Northwestern, Palmerton and Tamaqua - and the five area teams who can clinch berths this weekend - Marian, Northern Lehigh, Jim Thorpe, Lehighton and Pleasant Valley.

“There are too many variables to make concrete calculations in a lot of the classes,” said Zimmerman. “But what I can do is give likely results without entering wins/losses for all opponents and recalculating strength of schedule figures.”

In addition to the District 11 football projections, Rod Heckman will provide some interesting touchdown information about unbeaten powers Palmerton and Northwestern.

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One of the main reasons the PIAA expanded its classifications in numerous sports prior to the 2016 season was to give more schools the opportunity to compete for championships.

That season, football in Pennsylvania expanded from four classes to six. In District 11, the additional classes have increased the postseason field from 20 teams in 2015 to 32 this season.

Those additional spots have been a huge benefit for area programs - especially this season when a number of schools who have either already qualified for postseason play or are still in position to do so - might not have been prior to the expansion.

Here’s a breakdown of all eight teams from the area whose championship dreams are still alive heading into this weekend.

CLASS 1A

(Marian, Northern Lehigh)

Marian (5-4) is currently seeded third, while Northern Lehigh (3-6) is fifth in a field where the top four teams qualify.

Marian controls its own destiny. The Colts will get in with a win over visiting Pine Grove (2-7). Even if it loses, Marian will get in if Northern Lehigh loses to Palmerton (9-0).

A Marian win and a Tri-Valley loss to Williams Valley (7-2) should bump the Colts into the No. 2 seed and give them a home game for the semifinal round.

Northern Lehigh’s path to districts is much more difficult, The Bulldogs need to upset unbeaten Palmerton, and also hope Nativity falls to Minersville (7-2).

“Even with a win, I believe the highest Northern Lehigh can go is the No. 4 seed, and that would also require Nativity to lose,” said Zimmerman. “If Nativity wins, I don’t believe Northern Lehigh can get in - although a Northern Lehigh win and a Marian loss could make it close between those two teams.”

CLASS 3A

(Northwestern, Palmerton,

Tamaqua, Jim Thorpe, Lehighton)

Northwestern (9-0), Palmerton (9-0) and Tamaqua (4-5) have all clinched berths.

Northwestern will be the top seed with a win over unbeaten Southern Lehigh. If the Tigers lose and Palmerton beats Northern Lehigh, the Bombers will be the No. 1 seed. Neither Northwestern nor Palmerton can fall lower than the No. 2 seed regardless of results this weekend.

Jim Thorpe (3-6) will host Lehighton (2-7) on Friday night, with the winner clinching a district berth. Whichever team falls will also qualify if Pine Grove loses to Marian. But a Pine Grove win could make things interesting for the final spot in the eight-team playoff field.

“The winner of the Jim Thorpe/Lehighton game is in,” said Zimmerman. “But if Jim Thorpe wins and Pine Grove wins, it will be very close, but I believe Lehighton would be out and Pine Grove in. On the other hand, if Pine Grove wins and Lehighton wins, I don’t believe Pine Grove can overtake Jim Thorpe, although that could be close as well.”

Tamaqua is currently seeded sixth. The Blue Raiders will more than likely stay in that spot, although there is a slight chance they can get as high as the fifth seed with a win, and drop to as low as seventh or eighth with a loss.

CLASS 5A

(Pleasant Valley)

Pleasant Valley (5-4) currently holds the fourth and final playoff spot.

The Bears are another local team who control their own destiny. A win on Friday night against Stroudsburg (5-4) puts them in, and could move them all the way up to the No. 2 seed and give them a semifinal round home game if things break right in other games involving Class 5A playoff contenders.

If Pleasant Valley loses and fifth-seeded East Stroudsburg South (4-5) beats East Stroudsburg North (1-8), the Bears would more than likely be out.

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SELL DOES IT AGAIN ... In last week’s Overtime column, Tamaqua’s Damon Sell was recognized as just the sixth Times News area player over the past 30 years to have back-to-back games with an interception return for a touchdown.

Sell not only did it for a third straight week last Friday, but he did it in grand fashion - covering 93 yards on his pick-six.

The Blue Raider defensive back became the first TN player to have three straight games with a pick six. He’s also one of four area players to have at least three interception returns for scores in the same season. He joins Northwestern’s duo of Austin Bleam (2002) and Taylor Breininger (2014), who both had three, and Pleasant Valley’s Nyiem Nevarez, who had four in 2013.

Also, in the last 30 years there have only been seven other pick-sixes that covered more yards, with the longest a 102-yarder by Dalton Nunemacher in 2001.

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THIRTY-SOMETHING ... Palmerton’s Matt Machalik scored three touchdowns last Friday against Tamaqua in a 34-14 win, raising his season total to 30.

That marked just the seventh time since 1969 that an area player has reached 30 touchdowns in a season. Machalik also did it a year ago, with 31, becoming the first to do it in multiple seasons.

The five other times were by Northern Lehigh’s Cody Remaley (39 in 2010), Tamaqua’s Nate Boyle (33 in 2019), Northwestern’s Brett Snyder (33 in 1995), Northwestern’s Cade Christopher (30 in 2022) and Marian’s Mike Tracy (30 in 1980).

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TIGER TOUCHDOWNS ... In Saturday’s victory over Wilson, Northwestern’s Ben Walters, Blaine Snyder and Braxton Lakatosh all reached the end zone.

With those three scoring, the Tigers have now had 15 different players register touchdowns this season.

The last time Northwestern had that many players score touchdowns was 2003, when it had 16. Pete McCauley led the way that season with eight, while Ryan Oxley was next with seven.

As for the most in the area over the past 30 years, Marian holds that distinction. The Colts had 17 different players score TDs during the 2007 season.

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NO FIFTH QUARTER ... The name of this column is Overtime, but so far this season none of our area teams have been forced to play an overtime period.

Last season, there was only one OT contest among TN clubs, and that came during the first week of the year when Jim Thorpe dropped a 27-26 decision to Blue Mountain.

So, which area school has gone the longest without being tied at the end of regulation? That distinction goes to Pleasant Valley, who last played an overtime game on Sept. 23, 2005 - 189 games ago - when it lost a 28-27 contest to Lehighton.