Northwestern Lehigh, Parkland lone area teams still getting top-10 attention

Unbeaten Northampton and Quakertown are among the teams to watch

The football season has ended for a majority of area high school teams.

In the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference, just seven teams remain in the District 11 tournament and that number will be trimmed by at least three on Friday night, and possibly four depending on what happens in the District 11 Class 4A title game.

Of the original Colonial League teams in the merged Colonial-Schuylkill League, just three remain alive in districts and that number will be trimmed by at least one on Saturday when Palmerton and Northern Lehigh play at noon for the 2A championship.

But there are still some very good Lehigh Valley-area teams left and they are again recognized in the latest Pennsylvania football rankings compiled by Eric Epler of Pennlive.com.

In Class 6A, Parkland remains at No. 8 entering its second game in three weeks against Emmaus in the district semis, while Freedom and Northampton, who play in the other semifinal, are listed under “teams to watch.”

In Class 4A, Northwestern Lehigh is holding firm at No. 5, while the Tigers’ opponent in Friday’s district final, Allentown Central Catholic, is listed as a “team to watch.”

In Class 3A, District 11 powerhouse North Schuylkill, which had been ranked No. 1 most of the season until losing to Pottsville, is No. 4. Jim Thorpe, North Schuylkill’s opponent in Saturday night’s district final, is another “team to watch.”

Here is the complete list:

Class 5 A

Team (District)

Class 4 A

Team (District)

Teams to watch:

Class 3 A

Team (District)

Record Previous

Record Previous

Record Previous

APRIL GAMIZ/THE MORNING CALL 9. Coatesville (1) 10-1 9 10. Pittsburgh C.C. (7) 8-2 10 Teams to watch: Bethlehem Freedom (11) 9-1, Hempfield (3) 7-4, McDowell (10) 7-1, Northampton (11) 11-0, Quakertown (1) 11-0. 1. Governor Mifflin (3) 8-0 2. Imhotep Charter (12) 7-1 3. Moon (7) 10-0 4. Cathedral Prep (10) 9-1 5. Manheim Central (3) 9-1 6. Unionville (1) 10-1 7. Shippensburg (3) 11-0 8. West Chester Rustin (1) 9-1 9. Penn-Trafford (7) 8-1 10. Academy Park (1) 8-2 Teams to watch: Gateway (7) 7-3, Plymouth-Whitemarsh (1) 9-1, Spring Grove (3) 9-1, Strath Haven (1) 10-1, Upper Dublin (1) 9-2, Waynesboro (3) 9-2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Northwestern Lehigh’s Justin Holmes runs with the ball against Wilson during a District 11 Class 4A semifinal game last week. The Tigers area holding firm at No. 5 in the state 4A rankings while their opponent in Friday’s district final, Allentown Central Catholic, is listed as a“team to watch.”.

KINTZEL/MORNING CALL RICK 5. Steel Valley (7) 10-0 6 6. Richland Township (6) 9-2 7 7. York Catholic (3) 10-0 8 8. Laurel (7) 11-0 9 9. Karns City (9) 9-1 10 10. Upper Dauphin (3) 9-1 NR Teams to watch: Bald Eagle Area (6) 9-2, Beaver Falls (7) 7-3, Bellwood-Antis (6) 10-1, Mount Carmel (4) 9-2, Serra Catholic (7) 10-1. Class 1 A Team (District) Record Previous 1. Old Forge (2) 10-0 1 2. Canton (4) 10-0 3 3. Muncy (4) 10-1 2 4. Tri-Valley (11) 9-1 4 5. Redbank Valley (9) 9-1 5 6. Clairton (7) 7-2 6 7. Steelton-Highspire (3) 7-2 7 8. Juniata Valley (6) 8-1 8 9. Williams Valley (11) 8-2 9 10. Bishop Canevin (7) 10-1 10 Teams to watch: Bishop Guilfoyle (6) 64, Delone Catholic (3) 6-4, Homer-Center (6) 7-3, Leechburg (7) 9-2, Northern Bedford (5) 8-3, Rochester (7) 8-2. Emmaus linebacker David Lobst takes down Parkland quarterback Ty Tremba in an Oct. 29 game at Parkland School District Stadium. The teams meet again Friday night in the District 11 6A semifinals. Parkland is ranked No. 8 in the state among 6A teams.