Unbeaten Palmerton will host a resurgent Tamaqua team in one of two matchups of area teams this week, while the other sees Jim Thorpe traveling to Northern Lehigh.

Tamaqua (4-4)

at Palmerton (8-0)

Friday, Oct. 20, 7 p.m.

Storyline of the Week

: A hot Tamaqua team that has won four straight games will go on the road to face off with an undefeated Palmerton squad that came away with an impressive 24-point win over North Schuylkill last week.

Quote

: “Tamaqua is a physical football team, and you know you’re going to see a physical battle in the trenches up front when you compete against them. They’re also a team that you can see has gotten better each week, and is continuing to get better. But this game comes down to the line of scrimmage. That’s where the game is won or lost. No matter how many skill players you have, the game is still always won up front, and I was really happy with our physicality in that area last week. We need to bring that same mentality to the field this week.” - Palmerton head coach Chris Walkowiak.

Quote

: “I’m sure most teams say the same thing every week coming into a game against Palmerton, but that doesn’t change the fact that it’s true, and that is you have to try and limit their big plays. Sustaining drives will be key for us. The longer we keep their offense off the field the better, so we have to try and control the tempo of the game in order to accomplish that. We have to do that by obviously establishing the run, but we also have to be balanced and mix in the pass as well. Again, I’m proud of where we’re at right now, and I want to give our kids credit for staying the course. Our guys are playing with confidence and practicing hard, and their understanding of what we’re trying to do both offensively and defensively is growing week to week.” - Tamaqua head coach Sam Bonner.

Jim Thorpe (2-6)

at No. Lehigh (3-5)

Friday, Oct. 20, 7 p.m.

Storyline of the Week

: Both teams will try to get back on track in what could be a close matchup.

Quote

: “We have to take care of the ball on offense, and that will allow us to finish drives. The past few weeks, we continue to move the ball, but turnovers take us out of the game. Ball security will be of high importance against a quality team like Northern Lehigh. On defense, we need to be more physical. We’ve been losing the line of scrimmage, and giving up too many big plays. Against Northern Lehigh, we have to match their physicality. We expect them to establish the running game, but we will have to be aware of their play action with our second and third level defenders who have to watch for a tight end flag or a fullback waggle route. Offensively, we’ve been doing some nice things, but we have to finish drives and score points to try to take their offense out of what they do best.” – Jim Thorpe head coach Mark Rosenberger.

Quote

: “We had a winnable game last week, but we didn’t execute our game plan. We gave up two touchdowns on a pick six and a Hail Mary, and we lost by 10. Thorpe is a scary team that starts with No. 13 (Justin Yescavage). We’ve played against (Joey) Flail from North Schuylkill and (Damian) Tyminski from Pen Argyl, but this kid is the best route runner we will see. He and the quarterback (Cole Lazorick) can make big plays and score from anywhere on the field. We have to control what they do. If somebody else has a big game against us, we can live with that. We need to get better at what we do, especially our play action game. We’re not a) big-play team and when we’re going well, we’ll move the chains and finish drives.” – Northern Lehigh head coach Joe Tout.

Northwestern (8-0)

at Wilson (0-8)

Saturday, Oct. 21, 12 p.m.

Storyline of the Week

: If the Tigers can maintain their focus against winless Wilson, a Week 10 matchup of unbeatens is likely when Southern Lehigh visits.

Quote

: “Obviously, Wilson is struggling. There is no denying that. They’re down this year. But our kids are going to get the same message from us coaches and that’s, ‘Take every week as an opportunity to get better regardless of an opponent.’ We want to play our best at the end of the season, and the only way to do that is to get better every day at practice to complete that mission at the end of the season. So, we’re looking forward to getting better each week, and going over to Wilson on Saturday and playing another football game. It’s another opportunity for our kids to play. You never want to overlook an opportunity just to get to the next game. We feel fortunate to be playing Saturday, and we’re going to do everything in our power this week to get a little bit better.” – Northwestern head coach Josh Snyder.

PM East (2-6)

at Pleasant Vy. (4-4)

Friday, Oct. 20, 7 p.m.

Storyline of the Week

: Pleasant valley and Pocono Mountain East meet in the annual Old Oaken Bucket rivalry game. The Beats have won the last meeting between the teams, and hold a 36-26 all-time series lead.

Quote

: “This is the one. They learn how important this one is really quick. It’s for the whole community. That’s what I stress to my kids, that you’re playing for a whole lot more than yourselves this weekend. You’re playing for ages, generations of guys that played in this game, and for some guys that won it, and for some that lost it. I have guys on my coaching staff that played in it. Just making sure they understand a little bit of the history and the importance of it. If you win one game a year, it’s this one. People are happy. We’re putting everything we got into it. It’s our big one. Coming off a couple tough games to Valley teams, we’re very excited to play. No matter what the situation is, it’s always going to be huge for us. A lot of hoopla. Bonfire. Pep rally. All kinds of stuff. A lot of people rallying around us and pushing for us in this one. So, it will be a great night, and I’m very excited. It’s the Bucket game. That’s all that needs to be said down there.” – Pleasant Valley head coach Blaec Saeger.

Lehighton (2-6)

at Saucon Vy. (3-5)

Friday, Oct. 20, 7 p.m.

Storyline of the Week

: Despite a four-game losing streak, Lehighton still finds itself in the hunt for a District 11 playoff berth. The Indians are battling Jim Thorpe and Pine Grove for the final two spots in the Class 3A field.

Quote

: “We’re trying to instill the mentality that it’s kind of playoff football right now. I know we got an outside shot, but we must play our best football no matter what, either if we want a shot, or if we can win some games and maybe adjust some seedings and things along those lines. So, the message to our kids is right now we need to have a sense of urgency in the way we play regardless of our opponent. Certainly, with the last two here, we got to make the most of it.” - Lehighton head coach Tom McCarroll.

Pen Argyl (4-4)

at Panther Vy. (2-6)

Friday, Oct. 20, 7 p.m.

Storyline of the Week

: The Panthers look to end a four-game losing streak against the Green Knights.

Quote

: “We’ve been pushed around the last few weeks. That said, we were 6-6 last week, and a bad snap put us back and we never recovered. We have a good week of practice. A lot of young kids are getting better, and we’ve had to ask them to play different positions as well. Pen Argyl is probably better than their record. They’re big and physical up front. They have multiple weapons, and are very diverse from their spread and single wing formations. We need to stand toe-to-toe with them to have a chance. We have to be wary of their short pass and play action off the run. We have to keep drives going when we’re on offense, and avoid second and third and long.” - Panther Valley head coach Mark Lavine.

By Brad Hurley, Rich Strack and TJ Engle.