It seems hard to believe.

Tonight marks the final week of the regular season for high school football.

With the postseason just around the corner, now is a good time to look at the playoff picture — especially for the teams in the Times News area.

Northwestern Athletic Director Jason Zimmerman is the chairman for District 11 football and has stated that some of the races for those last playoff spots are extremely tight and it’s difficult to know for sure who gets in and who is left out until all the games are played and all the rating points have been calculated.

“There are so many variables it becomes impossible to run every single scenario,” said Zimmerman. “Even if we run (scenarios), there are so many variables that I would not guarantee the result.”

With the information he has supplied, though, and the knowledge from past seasons, we’ll give our thoughts as to how the playoffs might shake out.

Below is a breakdown of each class, along with the local team(s) that are involved in those classes.

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Class 1A

(Marian)

This class is the only one to have a sub-regional, joining with District 2 to form a four-team playoff tournament.

Lackawanna Trail, from District 2, has clinched a berth and will likely be the top seed.

Tri-Valley and Nativity currently sit in the Nos. 2 and 3 spots, with Marian fourth and Old Forge (from District 2) in fifth.

The Colts face Nativity this week and a win would probably assure them making districts, although that isn’t guaranteed, as an Old Forge victory over Carbondale could possibly allow it to pass Marian.

If both Marian and Old Forge lose, the scenario once again would be amazingly close and the difference could come down to the results of their opponents.

What is safe to say is if Marian wins and Old Forge loses, the Colts will be in districts. If they lose and Old Forge wins, Marian will probably be headed to an Eastern Conference playoff game.

“The Old Forge/Marian is tough to predict because I cannot plug in a result (into the District 11 rating system) for Old Forge since they are in District 2,” said Zimmerman. “I am fairly confident a Marian win gets them in but if Old Forge also wins, they will get some significant points beating a 5-4 3A team.

“A Marian loss drops them below Old Forge without entering Old Forge’s result. It is so close, I really cannot tell what happens if both lose. In theory, Marian could hold onto the fourth spot as they would lose to a 6-3 team however Old Forge would lose to a 5-4 3A team. I just can’t tell and the points are so close.”

Class 2A

(Northern Lehigh)

Eight out of 10 teams will qualify for districts.

Northern Lehigh has already secured a berth and is solidly in the No. 3 spot behind Williams Valley and Schuylkill Haven, and in front of Minersville. More than likely, the Bulldogs will remain third whether they win or lose tonight against Saucon Valley.

Nolehi’s likely opponent would then be No. 6 Pen Argyl in the district quarterfinals, although there is a slight chance Executive Education could drop into sixth.

Three teams — Mahanoy Area, Catasauqua and Palisades — are fighting for the final two spots.

Class 3A

(Northwestern, Tamaqua, Palmerton, Panther Valley)

Northwestern, the only undefeated team left in District 11, will probably be the No. 1 seed with Notre Dame right behind in second.

Palmerton and Panther Valley have already been eliminated and will hope to close their season tonight on a positive note.

The situation for the Blue Raiders, however, is rather murky. With only four teams making districts, one of North Schuylkill, Tamaqua and Saucon Valley, will miss out and end up playing for an Eastern Conference title.

Zimmerman did a number of calculations with the three schools (without factoring in the results of their opponents) and the results showed:

• NS, TAM, & SV all win, then looks like NS 3, TAM 4, and SV out

• NS, TAM, & SV all lose then looks like NS 3, TAM 4, and SV out

• NS & TAM loses, SV win then SV 3, NS 4, and TAM out

• NS loses, TAM & SV win then TAM 3, SV 4 and NS out

• NS & SV loses, TAM win then TAM 3, NS 4, and SV out

• SV & NS wins, TAM loses then NS 3, SV 4, and TAM out

• NS wins, TAM & SV loses then NS 3, TAM 4 and SV out

Simply put, a Tamaqua win over Blue Mountain should punch its ticket to districts and could vault them as high a third. Even after a loss, the Raiders could still end up making the playoffs if Saucon falls to Northern Lehigh.

“Three-A is extremely close and I did not enter the result for the opponent (i.e. only entered a TAM L but not BM W),” said Zimmerman. “This is very tricky ... teams on the bubble need to win to have a chance, which is essentially stating the obvious. A loss for any of these bubble teams increases their chance of being on the outside looking in.”

Class 4A

(Lehighton, Jim Thorpe)

The eight-team field is set, but the matchups aren’t.

Lehighton and Jim Thorpe are both in but tonight’s outcome — when they face one another — could change their order. The result of East Stroudsburg North’s contest with Eastburg South may also affect the rankings.

The Indians are seventh right now, with the Olympians trailing in eight. More than likely they stay in the same spot if Lehighton wins, or they’ll flip if Thorpe triumphs.

On the top half, Southern Lehigh is a lock at No. 1, but second through fifth (Blue Mountain, Bethlehem Catholic, Central Catholic and Pottsville) is close and there will probably be some movement after this weekend’s games.

Class 5A

(Pleasant Valley)

With four teams in 5A and four teams making the playoffs, Pleasant Valley was assured a postseason berth when the season began.

The winless Bears will probably face top-seeded East Stroudsburg South (the only team in 5A with a winning record), although PV could move into the third spot and face Whitehall if it upsets Stroudsburg and Pocono Mountain East loses to PM West.

Class 6A

There are no area teams in this class, but the competition there is pretty fierce. Three teams (Easton, Parkland and Freedom) currently have 8-1 records and three others (Nazareth, Liberty and Emmaus) have 7-2 marks. All six have already qualified with three teams — Stroudsburg, Northampton and Dieruff — battling for the final two spots.

This weekend’s results will surely shuffle the order in finalizing matchups for their quarterfinals next week.

Final Note

A reminder that next week’s playoff games will be held on three different days.

Both Class 4A and 5A games will take place on Thursday, Oct. 31, while 1A, 3A and 6A are scheduled for Friday, Nov. 1. Teams from Class 2A will play on Saturday, Nov. 2.

There are no set dates for Eastern Conference playoffs. Participating teams can opt to play on Thursday, Friday or Saturday.