Three 8-Man teams (Eldred, Sullivan West and Tri-Valley) reached the post season this year, and the latter two will be playing this weekend while the Yellowjackets, who earned the top seed, will have a bye.

Just because a team didn’t make it to the playoffs doesn’t mean that their season is over, as many teams compete in crossover games to extend the regular season.

With the weather cooling off and the action ramping up, let’s take a peek at this week’s matchups. 

Friday Night Lights

Tri-Valley at Ellenville, 7 p.m.

The Bears and Blue Devils are set for the first round of the playoffs in 8-Man. Tri-Valley opened their season against Ellenville at home, with an overtime victory to set the tone for the year. Since then, Ellenville has stormed out to a 4-3 (3-1) record, good for 2nd in their division. Tri-Valley took third place in their division, but tied the leaders with a 3-1 record. 

The Bears’ defense has been on a tear these past few weeks, allowing less than 10 points a game in their last three outings, and will look to get past Ellenville for another shot at Pawling next week.

Pine Plains at Sullivan West, 7 p.m.

The Bulldogs are no strangers to the playoffs, and are headed back into November ready to defend their championship crown.

The Bombers finished their regular season 2-4 (2-2), while the Bulldogs finished 7-1 (3-1).

The two teams met earlier this season, and the Bulldogs won by a convincing score of 38-8.

Sullivan West, despite their loss to Eldred, has been a top 8-Man team this year, and look poised to make it through this week and earn a rematch against the Yellowjackets.

Saturday Showcase

Red Hook at Liberty, 1 p.m.

The 2-6 Redhawks are looking to defend their home field this weekend as they take on the 1-7 Raiders in a crossover matchup.

Last weekend, Red Hook lost 33-0 against Chester, while the Redhawks defeated the Dover Dragons 34-28.

It’ll be a good week for the Redhawks to stay on track and get some extra work in before the offseason.

Monticello at Dover, 6 p.m.

The Panthers (3-5) have a chance to get their fourth win of the season tomorrow as they’re on the road against the Dragons (2-6).

Dover, coming off a loss against Liberty, will be back home and looking for their third win of the season.

Monticello struggled in their last outing, with Highland winning handily 54-14.

It will be a good opportunity for the Panthers to show how much they have grown this season as they build closer to a playoff caliber team.