Palmerton and Northwestern Lehigh are both 8-0 and in Class AAA in the District 11 playoff bracket.

We still have two weeks left in the regular season, and Northwestern has unbeaten Southern Lehigh to play, but wow, that would be must-see playoff action if the two met in the playoffs with unblemished records.

Let’s hope.

9 - Panther Valley

It’s been a rough two weeks for the Panthers, losing 73-8 to Schuylkill Haven two weeks ago and 55-6 to Catasauqua last week. It’s homecoming tonight, so the Panthers will be fired up and Pen Argyl, at 4-4, is beatable if the Panthers play a near-perfect game and get a few breaks. It’s always nice to win on homecoming.

8 - Jim Thorpe

After getting walloped by Notre Dame of Green Pond 63-14 last week, the Olympians have a real chance of getting in the win column tonight against Northern Lehigh. This promises to be a close game, but Jim Thorpe (2-6) has a legitimate shot at finishing 4-6 with Lehighton up next week.

7 - Lehighton

The Indians are coming off a 54-12 loss to undefeated Southern Lehigh, but tonight’s game against Saucon Valley could heal some of that pain. The Panthers are 3-5 and if the Indians win here, that sets them up for a final season matchup with rival Jim Thorpe.

6 - Northern Lehigh

The Bulldogs are 3-5 and would love to beat Jim Thorpe tonight so they have some momentum going into the season finale against unbeaten Palmerton.

5 - Pleasant Valley

The Bears hung with an excellent Nazareth squad, 7-1, last week in the first half, but the talented Eagles showed with their second-half scoring deluge that a possible matchup with unbeaten Parkland in next month’s district playoffs could be a thriller. Pleasant Valley has Pocono Mountain East tonight in the Old Oaken Bucket Game and then finish with Stroudsburg - two winnable games.

4 - Tamaqua

Winners of four straight, the Blue Raiders have a head of steam going into tonight’s game against Palmerton. Unfortunately, they will need more of a hurricane force behind them to knock off the Blue Bombers, who are 8-0, just dispatched of a good North Schuylkill team and are eyeing an undefeated season and then a deep run in the playoffs. Tamaqua has to do everything right, get a few breaks and have Palmerton make several turnovers in order to have a chance.

3 - Marian

Tonight’s game against Tri-Valley promises to be a doozy. If the Colts can win this one, they have a shot at wrapping up the regular season at 7-3 (Pine Grove is the season finale) and going into the District 11 playoffs brimming with confidence.

2 - Northwestern Lehigh

There is no doubt, none whatsoever, that the Tigers are very good. At 8-0, they are one of the four best teams in the Colonial League. The question is: Are they better than Notre Dame of Green Pond? Are they better than Palmerton? Are they better than Southern Lehigh? In the regular season, we won’t know about the first two, but if the Tigers dispatch of Wilson Saturday, and they should, we will find out about the latter. They should be 9-0 going into the season finale against the Spartans, who should also be 9-0 after beating Pottsville tonight.

1 - Palmerton

It wasn’t surprising that the unbeatan Blue Bombers (8-0) beat North Schuylkill last week, but the score, 48-24, did give some pause. To double up the Spartans is saying something. If they keep their focus, the Bombers will head into the district playoffs at 10-0 - Tamaqua is up tonight followed by Northern Lehigh next week.

In case you missed it: Nine times this season Pine Grove and Salisbury have combined to play Times News area teams and came away a collective 0-9 - more often than not the games going into the mercy rule. The two met last week, with Pine Grove winning 31-0. The Cardinals’ other win this season was in Week 1 against Northern Lebanon. It’s a long drive for Salisbury, but the Falcons (0-8) might want to think about adding Northern Lebanon to next year’s schedule.