HS Football Week 9 recap: Teams to jockey for positioning in Week 10
Blue Mountain's Josh Hoover tackles Pottsville's Nick Huda after a short completion in Friday's Clash of 61 game (Photo by Brook Koch-Guers).
Week 10 has often been called “Rivalry Week” since it features several long-standing rivalries.
This season it can be called “Positioning Week.”
The top four teams in all three Schuylkill-Colonial divisions were victorious in Week 9 as there were no upsets among the 14 games. Seven teams scored 49 or more points and there were five shutouts.
Notre Dame-Green Pond (White Division) and Schuylkill Haven (Blue Division) have secured division crowns, while the winner of Friday’s Southern Lehigh at Northwestern Lehigh battle of unbeatens will claim the Red Division title.
Of our 16 area teams, 13 will make the postseason in some fashion. Twelve area squads have already clinched District 11 playoff berths, while Nativity is on the Class A bubble. If the Green Wave don’t make the District 2/11 Class A subregional field, they will qualify for the Eastern Conference Class A/AA championship game.
What’s left in Week 10 is for teams to solidify their district seeds. Which teams will earn home games? What are the Week 11 matchups going to be?
Here are some things to watch in each classification heading into Week 10:
CLASS A — Lackawanna Trail, Marian and Tri-Valley have wrapped up berths, with Nativity (4-5) and Holy Cross (3-6) battling for the final spot. Nativity is currently fourth, with Holy Cross fifth.
Nativity travels to Marian on Thursday night and would clinch a berth with a win. If the Green Wave lose, it opens the door for Holy Cross to get in if it can beat winless Susquehanna.
Marian enters Week 10 in second, with Tri-Valley third. That becomes a factor if Nativity makes the field, as the No. 2 seed would get a home game in the Friday, Oct. 31, semifinals. If Nativity doesn’t make the subregional field, Marian and Tri-Valley would play for the District 11 championship at a neutral field, mostly likely North Schuylkill.
CLASS AA — Schuylkill Haven, Williams Valley and Minersville are 1-2-3 and will stay that way with wins this week. That would earn each team a quarterfinal home game Saturday evening, Nov. 1.
The major question is who will be No. 4?
Palisades (.581423) leads Northern Lehigh (.576886) for that spot entering Week 10. The Pirates have a winnable game with Salisbury, while Northern Lehigh visits Class 3A Saucon Valley (5-4). If the Bulldogs beat Saucon, could they leap Palisades? If they lose and Pen Argyl (.548712) beats Bangor, would Northern Lehigh fall to No. 6?
Executive Education is No. 7, with Catasauqua at No. 8. The power ratings haven’t given Catasauqua an official spot, meaning there could be a chance Mahanoy Area gets in if the Bears beat Shenandoah Valley.
CLASS 3A — North Schuylkill is in the No. 3 spot and figures to stay there. Saucon Valley, Tamaqua, Palmerton, Panther Valley and Salisbury should round out the eight-team field. As it stands, North Schuylkill would host Palmerton and Tamaqua would travel to Saucon Valley in the quarterfinals Thursday, Oct. 30.
The major question here is does Northwestern Lehigh (.743968) leapfrog Notre Dame-Green Pond (.794875) for the No. 1 seed if the Tigers beat unbeaten Southern Lehigh?
CLASS 4A — Southern Lehigh, Bethlehem Catholic, Allentown Central Catholic and Blue Mountain enter Week 10 in the top four spots with a good distance between each one.
In Week 10, Southern Lehigh visits Northwestern Lehigh, Bethlehem Catholic takes on Northampton, ACC faces Whitehall and Blue Mountain hosts Tamaqua. I don’t think that top four order changes, regardless of this week’s outcomes.
The bottom four entering Week 10 are Lehighton, Jim Thorpe, Pottsville and Bangor. That should also remain the same unless East Stroudsburg North (0-9) beats East Stroudsburg South (1-8), which could vault them past Bangor for No. 8.
The Class 4A quarterfinals are slated for Thursday, Oct. 30. As of right now, Blue Mountain would host Lehighton, Jim Thorpe would travel to ACC and Pottsville would trek to Bethlehem Catholic.
District 11 will finalize its playoff pairings Sunday, Oct. 26. Complete brackets will appear on this website when they are released.
Here’s the Schuylkill-Colonial standings entering Week 10:
Schuylkill-Colonial Football Cooperative Standings
| *** Standings for games played through Saturday, Oct. 18*** | ||||
RED DIVISION |
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| Team | League | Overall | Last Week’s game | This week’s opponent |
| Northwestern Lehigh | 7-0 | 9-0 | W, Tamaqua, 56-16 | Southern Lehigh |
| Southern Lehigh | 7-0 | 9-0 | W, Saucon Valley, 56-20 | at Northwestern Lehigh |
| North Schuylkill | 5-2 | 6-3 | W, Lehighton, 36-14 | at Pottsville |
| Blue Mountain | 4-3 | 5-4 | W, Pottsville, 49-14 | Tamaqua |
| Lehighton | 3-4 | 4-5 | L, North Schuylkill, 14-36 | at Jim Thorpe |
| Jim Thorpe | 2-5 | 4-5 | W, Bangor, 35-21 | Lehighton |
| Pottsville | 2-5 | 3-6 | L, Blue Mountain, 14-49 | North Schuylkill |
| Tamaqua | 2-5 | 3-6 | L, NW Lehigh, 16-56 | at Blue Mountain |
| Bangor | 0-8 | 0-9 | L, Jim Thorpe, 21-35 | Pen Argyl |
WHITE DIVISION |
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| Notre Dame-Green Pond | 7-0 | 9-0 | W, Palmerton, 56-0 | Wilson Area |
| Northern Lehigh | 5-2 | 6-3 | W, Salisbury, 27-7 | at Saucon Valley |
| Palisades | 5-2 | 6-3 | W, Wilson Area, 56-0 | Salisbury |
| Pen Argyl | 5-3 | 6-3 | W, Catasauqua, 37-20 | at Bangor |
| Saucon Valley | 4-3 | 5-4 | L, Southern Lehigh, 20-56 | Northern Lehigh |
| Palmerton | 3-4 | 3-6 | L, Notre Dame-GP, 0-56 | at Catasauqua |
| Catasauqua | 2-5 | 3-6 | L, Pen Argyl, 20-37 | Palmerton |
| Salisbury | 1-6 | 2-7 | L, Northern Lehigh, 7-27 | at Palisades |
| Wilson Area | 0-7 | 0-9 | L, Palisades, 0-56 | at Notre Dame-Green Pond |
BLUE DIVISION |
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| Schuylkill Haven | 8-0 | 9-0 | W, Nativity, 57-0 | Tri-Valley |
| Williams Valley | 7-1 | 8-1 | W, Shen. Valley, 55-6 | Pine Grove |
| Minersville | 6-2 | 7-2 | W, Tri-Valley, 34-17 | Panther Valley |
| Marian | 5-3 | 6-3 | W, Pine Grove, 35-0 | Nativity (Thurs) |
| Tri-Valley | 5-3 | 6-3 | L, Minersville, 17-34 | at Schuylkill Haven |
| Panther Valley | 4-4 | 4-5 | W, Mahanoy Area, 20-0 | at Minersville |
| Nativity | 3-5 | 4-5 | L, Schuylkill Haven, 0-57 | at Marian (Thurs) |
| Mahanoy Area | 1-7 | 1-8 | L, Panther Valley, 0-20 | at Shenandoah Valley |
| Pine Grove | 1-7 | 1-8 | L, Marian, 0-35 | at Williams Valley |
| Shenandoah Valley | 0-8 | 0-9 | L, Williams Valley, 6-55 | Mahanoy Area |
