Six Times News area teams will be participating in the upcoming District 11 football playoffs, which begin on Thursday.

In addition, another club will play for an Eastern Conference championship.

Northwestern, which finished regular season play as the only undefeated team in the district, is the top seed in a loaded Class 3A and will be looking to defend its title.

Josh Snyder’s club will face a talented Saucon Valley team on Friday. The Panthers posted an 8-2 record, with their only losses to Notre Dame and Southern Lehigh.

If the Tigers get past Saucon, they will play the winner of Notre Dame and North Schuylkill next week in the finals.

Marian and Northern Lehigh both enter the postseason as the No. 3 seed in their respective classes.

The Colts, whose rating points the past few weeks had them out of the playoffs, picked up a huge upset win over Nativity this past Friday that not only secured a berth but also moved them up to the third seed.

Billy O’Gurek’s squad will take on Tri-Valley in the semifinals on Friday. The Bulldogs shut out Marian 24-0 during the second week of the season, and the Colts will look to avenge that loss and advance to play either Nativity or Lackawanna Trail in the title game of the District 11/2 Class 1A subregional. If Lackawanna Trail wins its contest against Nativity, the winner between Marian and Tri-Valley will be declared the District 11 champion.

While Northwestern and Marian are part of a four-team field, Northern Lehigh’s No. 3 seed comes within an eight-team Class 2A tournament. The Bulldogs will host Pen Argyl on Saturday in a quarterfinal contest.

The two clubs met on Sept. 7 in the third week of the season with Nolehi gaining a 26-14 victory.

Joe Tout’s team is 7-3, having only lost to 3A playoff schools that have a combined 27-3 record.

If the Bulldogs get past the Green Knights, they will face the winner of Williams Valley-Mahanoy Area in the semifinals next week.

Both Lehighton and Jim Thorpe will be competing in the Class 4A field, which also had eight teams qualify for districts.

The Indians ended with a 4-6 mark and are seeded seventh. Tom McCarroll’s club will travel to take on second-seeded Blue Mountain on Thursday.

This is another regular season rematch, as the two played on Oct. 4 during the seventh week with the Eagles posting a 55-14 win.

Lehighton, however, has won two of its last three games and is coming off a 42-26 victory over rival Jim Thorpe. An upset of Blue Mountain would allow the Indians to reach the semifinals and play the winner of Bethlehem Catholic and East Stroudsburg North.

The Olympians, despite the loss, still earned a berth in the 4A playoffs as the eight seed.

Mark Rosenberger’s squad, with a 3-7 mark, will hit the road on Thursday and make the trip to Center Valley to take on No. 1 seed Southern Lehigh.

The Spartans defeated Thorpe by a 56-12 margin in Week Six. The victor advances to the semis to take on the Central Catholic-Pottsville winner.

Finally, Pleasant Valley is the No. 4 seed in the Class 5A playoffs. The Bears went winless, but with only four teams in the class and four teams qualifying, they automatically received a spot in the postseason.

PV can erase the memories of a difficult regular season if it can shock top-seeded East Stroudsburg South in the semifinals on Thursday. The pair faced each other on Sept. 20 with the Cavaliers gaining a 54-14 win.

Besides the district playoffs, the Eastern Conference will also hold its championship games this weekend.

Tamaqua, which started the season with six wins only to end with four losses, was bumped out of districts but secured a berth in the EC postseason.

The Blue Raiders, coached by Sam Bonner, will host Pequea Valley on Friday. Tamaqua last played in the Eastern Conference playoffs in 2011.

Below is the complete schedule of the upcoming District 11 and EC playoffs.

DIST. 11 FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS

CLASS 1A (sub-regional with Dist. 2)

Semifinals

Friday, Nov. 1

No. 4 Nativity at No. 1 Lackawanna Trail, 7 p.m.

No. 3 Marian at No. 2 Tri-Valley, 7 p.m.

Championship

Friday, Nov. 8

Nativity/Lackawanna Trail winner vs. Marian-Tri Valley winner, TBA

CLASS 2A

Quarterfinals

Saturday, Nov. 2

No. 8 Palisades at No. 1 Schuylkill Haven, 6 p.m.

No. 5 Executive Education at No. 4 Minersville, 6 p.m.

No. 6 Pen Argyl at No. 3 Northern Lehigh, 6 p.m.

No. 7 Mahanoy Area at No. 2 Williams Valley, 6 p.m.

Semifinals

Saturday, Nov. 9

Palisades/Schuylkill Haven winner vs. Executive Education/Minersville winner, TBA

Pen Argyl/Northern Lehigh winner vs. Mahanoy Area/Williams Valley winner, TBA

Championship

Saturday, Nov. 16

Semifinal winners, TBA

CLASS 3A

Semifinals

Friday, Nov. 1

No. 4 Saucon Valley at No. 1 Northwestern, 7 p.m.

No. 3 North Schuylkill at No. 2 Notre Dame-GP, 7 p.m.

Championship

Friday, Nov. 8

Saucon Valley-Northwestern winner vs. North Schuylkill-Notre Dame GP winner, TBA

CLASS 4A

Quarterfinals

Thursday, Oct. 31

No. 8 Jim Thorpe at No. 1 Southern Lehigh, 6:30 p.m.

No. 5 Pottsville at No. 4 Allentown Central Catholic (J. Birney Crum), 7 p.m.

No. 6 ES North at No. 3 Bethlehem Catholic (BASD Stadium), 7 p.m.

No. 7 Lehighton at No. 2 Blue Mountain, 6:30 p.m.

Semifinals

Thursday, Nov. 7

Jim Thorpe-Southern Lehigh winner vs. Pottsville/Allentown Central Catholic winner, TBA

ES North-Bethlehem Catholic winner vs. Lehighton-Blue Mountain winner, TBA

Championship

(Date to be determined)

Semifinal winners, TBA

CLASS 5A

Thursday, Oct. 31

Semifinals

No. 4 Pleasant Valley at No. 1 ES South, 6 p.m.

No. 3 PM East at No. 2 Whitehall, 6 p.m.

Thursday, Nov. 7

Championship

Pleasant Valley-ES South winner vs. PM East-Whitehall winner, TBA

CLASS 6A

Quarterfinals

Friday, Nov. 1

No. 8 Stroudsburg at No. 1 Easton, 7 p.m.

No. 5 Nazareth at No. 4 Emmaus, 7 p.m.

No. 6 Liberty at No. 3 Parkland, 7 p.m.

No. 7 Northampton at No. 2 Freedom (BASD Stadium), 7 p.m.

Semifinals

Friday, Nov. 8

Stroudsburg-Easton winner vs. Nazareth-Emmaus winner, TBA

Liberty-Parkland winner vs. Northampton-Freedom winner,TBA

Championship

Friday, Nov. 15

Semifinal winners, TBA

Eastern Conference Championships

CLASS 1A/2A

Friday, Nov. 1

Holy Cross at Old Forge, 7 p.m.

CLASS 3A

Friday, Nov. 1

Pequea Valley at Tamaqua, 7 p.m.

CLASS 4A

Friday, Nov. 1

Hamburg at North Pocono, 7 p.m.

CLASS 5A/6A

Friday, Nov. 1

Muhlenberg at William Allen (J. Birney Crum), 7 p.m.