1. Lewisburg (8-1): If Lewisburg can win tonight it would produce its best regular since its 2010 Class AA state semifinal season when it finished the year 14-1. It’s been an impressive turnaround for a team which went 2-9 two years ago.
2. Muncy (8-1): Both Landyn Wommer and Austin Johnson averaging more than 15 yards per carry is pretty astounding. It also is a testament to Muncy’s offensive line and how effective they have been this season.
3. Jersey Shore (6-3): If Elijah Jordan can throw for 118 yards tonight he would join his brother Brady among the 2,000-yard passers Jersey Shore has produced since 2014. That also includes Logan English, Tanner Lorson and Branden Wheary. No area team has produced more 2,000 yards passer in the 2000s than Jersey Shore.
4. Montoursville (5-4): Watching Christian Banks run a week ago reminded of me playing with Christian Okoye in Tecmo Super Bowl and watching tacklers bouncing off him. No doubt, Banks is emptying his tank every time he runs.
5. Warrior Run (6-3): James Keifer is involved in quite a three-way battle for the area passer rating crown. Jordan, Canton’s Ben Fitch and Keifer all are within 1.2 points of each other. Keifer also has a shot at giving Warrior Run two straight 20-touchdown quarterbacks after Ryan Newton threw 22 last season.
6. Loyalsock (5-4): There may be no District 4 team more battle-tested based off its last two games than Loyalsock. The Lancers faced undefeated Danville and Shamokin squads, so if they reach the postseason they likely will be ready for anything.
7. Hughesville (5-4): Conor Knight became the first Hughesville player of the 2000s to reach 60 catches in a season last week. He also is battling North Penn-Mansfield’s Luke Kreger for the area reception title and leads 60-59 entering tonight’s regular-season finale.
8. Montgomery (6-3): secured its first winning season since 2001 a week ago. A win Saturday at Cowanesque Valley would give the Red Raiders their first seven-win season since 2000. All this after consecutive 1-9 campaigns. What a resurgence it has been and a strong core will return next season as well.
9. Williamsport (4-5): Williamsport showed exactly how dangerous it can be last week against the state’s 10th-ranked 5A team. If that Williamsport team shows up the next few weeks it has legitimate district championship potential.
10. Canton (5-4): Canton made its final home game a memorable one last week, controlling all facets and excelling in all three phases. Give the seniors a lot of credit for helping navigate a young team through some tough times this season when injuries decimated the roster.
11. Milton (3-6): Despite missing parts of four games, quarterback Izayah Minium still has a shot at a 1,000-yard season. He has been particularly strong the last three weeks, throwing for 567 yards and eight touchdowns.
12. South Williamsport (4-5): Fighting through injuries, quarterback Tadd Lusk has provided South strong senior leadership and has gone over 1,000 total yards. Scoring a team-high eight touchdowns, Lusk has combined for 1,184 yards and 13 scores.
13. Cowanesque Valley (4-5): One of the area’s smallest schools has done some really nice things the last four years. This was a program that never won more than three games in a season during the 2000s prior to 2021. Now it has won at least four in three of the past four and has all but three senior starters coming back from a team which has surged down the stretch.
14. Wellsboro (2-7): Along those lines, Wellsboro has shown massive growth throughout the season and has most of its starters returning next fall. That includes quarterback Griffin Morral and running back Ryder Bowen, both who have shots at reaching 1,000 yards in their respective categories tonight.
15. North Penn-Mansfield (2-7): Cooper Shaw went from wide receiver to becoming one of the area’s top dual threat quarterbacks this season. He went over 2,000 total yards last Saturday and is third among area passing yards leaders.
16. Central Mounain (0-9): It’s easy to pack it in when things aren’t going well, so kudos to Central Mountain for continuing to work hard throughout the season against a brutal schedule. Here’s thinking it will pay big dividends next year.
17. Bucktail (0-7): The same applies to the Bucks. Standout quarterback Brody Pentz plays his final scholastic game tomorrow. He has totaled 4,904 total yards and 53 touchdowns during his outstanding high school career.