We’re roughly 24 hours away from one of the most — if not the most — anticipated regular season game in the area in the last quarter century.

Friday’s Jim Thorpe-Lehighton showdown not only has the followers of both schools excited, but it has high school football fans throughout the region anxiously anticipating the game.

With all the hype surrounding the battle of unbeatens, we thought it would be a good time to look back at some of the other big matchups between Times News area teams in the last 25 years.

We’ve created the list using the following criteria:

• Records of the teams when they met.

• How late in the season the game was played.

• How close the game ended up being

• The final records and postseason accomplishments of the teams.

• Intangibles associated with the game.

After considering all those factors and weighing the importance of each, here’s our list of the top seven games — counting backwards to the eventual No. 1 game.

No. 7

DATE

— Saturday, Oct. 27, 2007

TEAMS

— Marian vs. Jim Thorpe

WHY IT’S ON THE LIST

— Both teams entered game with 7-1 records ... Jim Thorpe won, 28-0 ... The Olympians finished the season with a 9-3 record. The Colts finished 11-3 ... Jim Thorpe beat Northern Lehigh in the District 1/11 sub-regional quarterfinals before falling to powerful Lansdale Catholic in the semis ... Marian won the District 11 Class 1A championship, beating Minersville, 20-0, in the title game. The Colts lost to Bloomsburg in the opening round of the PIAA tournament.

No. 6

DATE

— Friday, Oct. 23, 2009

TEAMS

— Panther Valley vs. Tamaqua

WHY IT’S ON THE LIST

— Both teams entered the game with 6-1 records ... Panther Valley won, 20-2 .... The Panthers finished with a 9-3 record. Tamaqua’s final record was 8-3 ... It turned out to be the first of two meetings between the teams as they met again in the District 11 Class 2A quarterfinals, with the Panthers pulling out a much tighter 32-26 overtime win ... Panther Valley lost the following week in the district semis to North Schuylkill in three OTs, 35-28.

No. 5

DATE

— Saturday, Nov. 3, 2012

TEAMS

— Marian vs. Tamaqua

WHY IT’S ON THE LIST

— Tamaqua entered the game with a 9-0 record. Marian was 8-1 ... Tamaqua won, 12-0 ... After capping their unbeaten regular season with a win over Marian, the Raiders fell in the following week in the District 11 Class 3A semifinals to Pen Argyl ... Marian lost to Tri-Valley in the D-11 1A semis.

No. 4

DATE

— Friday, Nov. 6, 2015

TEAMS

— Jim Thorpe vs. Lehighton

WHY IT’S ON THE LIST

— Lehighton entered the game 9-0. Jim Thorpe was 8-1 ... Lehighton won, 35-14 ... The Indians finished the season 11-1. Jim Thorpe finished 8-3 ... The game was the last one played at the old Lehighton Stadium ... The win over Jim Thorpe capped an unbeaten regular season for the Indians. They then beat Blue Mountain in the District 11 Class 3A semis, before falling to Saucon Valley in the district title game ... After starting the season 8-0, the Olympians lost their final three games, dropping regular season contests to Blue Mountain and Lehighton, before losing to Southern Lehigh in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

No. 3

DATE

— Friday, Oct. 18, 2002

TEAMS

— Northwestern vs. Northern Lehigh

WHY IT’S ON THE LIST

— Both teams entered the game with 6-1 records ... Northern Lehigh won, 10-7 .... The Bulldogs finished the season with a 10-2 record. The Tigers finished 11-3 ... Less than a month after their regular season meeting, the two teams met again in the District 1/11 sub-regional Class 2A championship game. Northwestern was able to avenge its regular season loss with 21-3 victory ... The Tigers followed that up with a victory over Trinity in the first round of states, before falling in the PIAA semis to Mt. Carmel ... Northern Lehigh beat Springfield Montco in the District 1/11 sub-regional semis, before falling to Northwestern.

No. 2

DATE

— Friday, Oct. 17, 2003

TEAMS

— Northern Lehigh vs. Northwestern

WHY IT’S ON THE LIST

... Northern Lehigh entered 7-0 and Northwestern was 6-1 ... Northern Lehigh won, 24-0 ... The Bulldogs finished 14-1. The Tigers were 9-3 ... Just one year after falling to Northwestern in the district playoffs after beating them during the regular season, the Bulldogs pulled off a season sweep, beating the Tigers 20-3 in the D-11 Class 2A title game ... Vaulting this game to near the top of the list was Northern Lehigh’s incredible postseason run. After beating NW for the district title, the Bulldogs won state playoff games against Delone Catholic and Lakeland, before falling to Aliquippa in the state championship game ... Northwestern’s only loss other than the pair to No. Lehigh was a one-point setback to Saucon Valley in the second week of the season.

No. 1

DATE

— Friday, Sept. 25, 1992

TEAMS

— Marian vs. Panther Valley

WHY IT’S ON THE LIST

... Marian entered with a 3-0 record. Panther Valley was 2-1 ... Marian won, 30-28 ... The Colts finished the season 12-1. Panther Valley finished 9-3 ... Despite being played so early in the season, this game earns the top spot based on the closeness of the game, the fact that the teams ended up playing again in the postseason, and the amount of Division 1 college talent on the field ... Back in the days when the District 11 playoffs were in their infancy and the district champ didn’t automatically advance to the state playoffs, the prestigious Eastern Conference playoffs were the postseason choice of both the Colts and Panthers. Both teams won their semifinal game to set up a rematch for the EC title, which the Colts won 22-19 ... Marian, whose only loss came in Week 8 of that season by two points to Hanover, failed to qualify for the four-team state playoffs based on a rating system ... A total of ten players who took part in that game ended up playing at either the Division 1 or Division 1AA level, including Marian’s Brian Kennedy (Navy), Mark Makovec (Wake Forest), Jack Piericini (Fordham), Jim Magda (Hofstra), Tom McCarroll (Colgate), Dan LaBert (Buffalo) and Chris Lewis (Fordham);  along with Panther Valley’s Brad Miller (Army), Cazzie Kosciolek (Boston University) and Greg Kosciolek (Delaware).

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STILL PERFECT ... As everyone knows, Jim Thorpe and Lehighton are still undefeated heading into their Week 10 showdown.

In the last 40 years, there have been only 10 other times that area teams have been perfect after nine weeks.

Those teams that started 9-0 include Lehighton (2015), Tamaqua (2012), Northern Lehigh (2010), Northern Lehigh (2005), Jim Thorpe (2004), Northern Lehigh (2003), Northwestern (1996), Marian (1990), Marian (1986), and Lehighton (1984).

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PLENTY OF POINTS ... Palmerton won a shootout last Friday against Salisbury, using a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns to post a 56-42 victory.

The combined 98 points are believed to be the most ever in a Blue Bombers game in their history.

Among Times News area teams, the 98 points are tied for the third most in the past 40 seasons. The most are 108 (Minersville 66, Jim Thorpe 42 on Oct. 7, 2011), followed by 103 (PM East 62, Lehighton 41 on Oct. 1, 2010).

The 42 points allowed are the most an area team has allowed and still won since Jim Thorpe defeated Shenandoah Valley, 48-47, on Sept. 29, 2000.

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PALUCK FOR SIX ... Seth Paluck scored all three of his team’s touchdowns last week during Marian’s Schuylkill League contest against Minersville.

The junior has accounted for 17 of the Colts’ 27 TDs this season, or 63 percent of his team’s scores.

Over the last 25 years, only one Marian player has scored more than half of the team’s touchdowns in a season. In 1998, Justin Barrasso finished with 22 of the Colts’ 43 TDs, a percentage of 51.2

In the Times News area, only five players (in that 25-year span) have scored at least 60 percent of their team’s touchdowns (with a minimum of 20). They include Tamaqua’s Bud Moyer (2015) and Alex Zukus (2003), Lehighton’s Robbie Frey (2006 and 2005), Pleasant Valley’s Chris Jacobs (1998), and Northwestern’s Brett Snyder (1995 and 1994).

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RIVALS MEET AGAIN ... Palmerton and Northern Lehigh will renew their long rivalry Friday when they meet in the regular-season finale.

The schools have the longest consecutive series in the area, with tomorrow being the 83rd straight year they’ve played each other.

The Blue Bombers currently hold a 44-36-2 advantage in the series, having won the last three meetings.

The next longest ongoing rivalry among two Times News area teams is believed to be the Tamaqua-Panther Valley series, which is now at 54 straight years. The Blue Raiders lead that series, 32-22-1 (the teams played twice in 2009).