Crunching the numbers

There's more local teams alive for a berth in the upcoming District 3 football playoffs than some may realize.

Maybe the best story of the year, Cedar Cliff's turnaround under new coach Jim Cantafio, will officially end after the Colts' trip to Landis Field to meet Central Dauphin East on Friday at 7 p.m. in a Mid-Penn Keystone Division game.

A victory against the winless Panthers will help Cedar Cliff to its first non-losing season since 2001. The Colts, as they did in 01, have a shot at finishing 5-5 with a win.

Unfortunately for Cantafio's boys, there will be no bonus points from the win, making it nearly impossible to catch Red Lion and Manheim Twp., a pair of teams with at least 20 more bonus points than Cedar Cliff. If both lose, they'll still likely snare enough bonus points to hold off the Colts.

A quick look at where the local teams stand heading to Week 10:

Class AAAA

In: Cumberland Valley (8-1)

In with a win: Red Land (6-3)

In with a loss and help: Red Land

Class AAA

In: Mechanicsburg (9-0) and Northern (6-3)

In with a win and some help: East Pennsboro (4-5)

In with a win and lots of help: West Perry (3-6) and Shippensburg (4-5)

Class AA

In: Trinity (7-2)

Class A

In: Camp Hill (7-2)