Several area teams will close regular season play with rivalry games on Friday night.

Palmerton (9-0)

at No. Lehigh (3-6)

Friday, Oct. 27, 7 p.m.

Storyline of the Week:

“The Battle for the Blue Mountain” features a young Northern Lehigh team trying to upset an undefeated Palmerton team that is looking to finish a regular season 10-0 for the first time in school history.

Quote: “We’re going to need to continue to focus on playing a physical brand of football this week against a tough Northern Lehigh team. They like to run the football, and they have a veteran and experienced group up front, so we’re going to need to play physical up front and win the battle in the trenches. And on offense, just continue to be true to our identity. Look to establish the run game early and take what they give us. Look to mix in timely pass plays and get the ball out to our guys in space, so they can make plays with the football. But No. 1 for us, first and foremost as I said is we have to come out and play physical right from the start.” – Palmerton head coach Chris Walkowiak.

Quote: “It all starts with No. 2. We have to do our best to try and contain Machalik. Make sure we take the right angles, and make sure that we read our keys and put ourselves in position to make plays. You could do all the right things defensively and Machalik can still make plays, so you need to do all you can to put yourself in the best position. And it’s no secret we’re going to be content to slow the game down as much as we possibly can. We need to also play a clean game. Penalties have killed us the last few weeks, and red zone offense as well. We need to be clean in those areas this week.” – Northern Lehigh head coach Joe Tout.

Lehighton (2-7)

at Jim Thorpe (3-6)

Friday, Oct. 27, 7 p.m.

Storyline of the Week:

Throw the records out the window. This game for the Route 209 trophy will break a 22-year-old tie in which each team has won 11 times. Thorpe had won four in a row until last year, when the Indians captured the trophy.

Quote: “It was tough to lose a game by one point last week, especially when we got within 19 yards of a winning touchdown with five minutes to go, and gained 180 yards to their 40 yards in the second half. Once again, costly turnovers have been the story of our season. This week, the rivalry with Jim Thorpe is always a lot of fun, and it looks like it’s a must-win for us to make the playoffs. They have a dual threat quarterback (Cole Lazorick) who can make big plays with his arm and his legs, and the wide receiver (Justin Yescavage) is talented. He jumps out on the films we’ve watched. For us, Dylan Moyer has been great, gaining near 800 yards this season with three or four games where he’s rushed for over 100. Coming from being behind early is no big deal, but second-half momentum will be key to the outcome.” – Lehighton head coach Tom McCarroll

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Quote:

“We were well-balanced last week in our win over Northern Lehigh. Josh James and Ben Goldberg and of course, Cole Lazorick got our running game going and when they double- teamed Yescavage, we had other passing options. The blocked punt by Noah Rosahac was a game changer. Defensively, we tackled much better than we have been.

“We see Lehighton as a balanced offensive team with a big physical line, a good running back, and a quarterback who can get the ball to playmaking receivers. We will count on our run game to set up our pass and of course, turnovers will be a huge factor. Our kids are excited to play this rivalry game ,and are looking forward to winning back the trophy. It’s the last home game for our seniors, which adds some extra motivation.” – Jim Thorpe head coach Mark Rosenberger

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Tamaqua (4-5) at

Panther Valley (2-7)

Friday, Oct. 27, 7 p.m.

Storyline of the Week:

For one, the postseason is just around the corner. For the other, it’s the end of the road for the 2023 regular season. But expect each of the programs to bring their “A” game Friday night under the lights in Lansford.

Quote:

“We look to improve every week. We just want to get better. And, we said that to the kids this week. Especially with the second half of the season and on, we feel like we have improved. To play probably the best team in the league last week, and play them tough, still came up short, our goal still is to improve this week. Panther Valley is a rival. This will be the last time we play them in a couple of years. So, we want to try and make the most of it. I know Mark Lavine has done a good job. I know he’s looking to improve off last week and have another good week this week.” – Tamaqua head coach Sam Bonner.

Quote: “We’re excited. With it being a close game, and being at our place, we’re excited. We feel like coming off of some injuries the last couple of weeks, we played some of our better football this past week versus Pen Argyl. We’re hoping we kind of continue to get better, to continue to develop and play our best game Week 10 and send our seniors off with a positive experience. Tamaqua’s playing really good football right now. They gave Palmerton everything they can handle Friday night. So, we know we have our hands full.” – Panther Valley head coach Mark Lavine.

Pine Grove (2-7) at Marian (5-4)

Friday, Oct. 27, 7 p.m.

Storyline of the Week

: A higher District 11 playoff seed is on the line for the Colts. Thus, a win over the Cardinals is a much-desired outcome for the locals.

Quote: “Without a doubt. We’re still in a position that we want to be in. We did not play a bad game against Tri-Valley. We just didn’t finish. We were inside the 10 twice, and inside the five once and didn’t score. We had over 300 yards offense and didn’t have a touchdown. So, all we have to do is finish. We have got to stop that inconsistency. We’re a little banged up now. We have some people out – that we think are going to be out for the game. I cannot comment right now, but we may have some kids out who are banged up. Pine Grove is going to be interesting because they played a tough schedule. I think their record is deceiving. And I think if they win, they’re in the playoffs too. So, it’s going to be a battle. I like our kids. They’re working hard. We just got to work on finishing our plays offensively.” – Marian Catholic head coach Stan Dakosty

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Stroudsburg (5-4)

at Pleasant Vy. (5-4)

Friday, Oct. 27, 7 p.m.

Storyline of the Week:

Pleasant Valley retains the Old Oaken Bucket against Pocono Mountain East and faces Stroudsburg with a trip to district playoffs on the line.

Quote: “Huge emotional win for us, and one of our goals every year is to make district playoffs. We might have to win to get in with the way the powerpoints are looking. That’s the way we’re approaching it, and treating this week as a playoff week. If we don’t get it done, it could be the end for us. We don’t want it to have to come down to those powerpoints. If we take care of business and able to beat Stroudsburg, then we should almost definitely be in. Tough task, a really good team. They’ve been for many years. It’s going to be a huge task and a great game. They’re talented. When they beat West earlier in the year, it was no fluke. Stroudsburg is Stroudsburg. They’re big and strong and guys that can run. They’re playing two quarterbacks, and both pose different threats, and two of maybe the best receivers in the Poconos on either side. It’s going to be a challenge, but it’s one I think we’ll be up for.” - Pleasant Valley head coach Blaec Saeger

Compiled by Brad Hurley, Rich Strack, Kyle Magda and TJ Engle