Shamokin and Mount Carmel are deeper into the playoffs than they have been for a couple years. Southern Columbia is a district champ for the 20th time in 21 years.
All three can thank their defenses, and no group of players more so than the middle linebackers.
Shamokin's Andrew Hasuga, Mount Carmel's Tommy Hynoski and Southern Columbia's Jamie Slotterback are not household names, but all three have been solid, at times sensational, for their respective teams.
Shamokin plays Clearfield at DuBois High School in the PIAA Class AAA playoffs. Southern Columbia plays host to Old Forge at Shamokin's Kemp Memorial Stadium, and Mount Carmel hosts Bloomsburg at the Silver Bowl for the District 4 Class AA title. All three games are Friday at 7 p.m.
To assess the team's chances, look no further than the middle.
Hasuga, Hynoski and Slotterback have a fair amount of similarities, including their tenacity and impact on the game.
Their coaches have praised their ability to soak up as much as they can in the film room and use that during the game.
"Andrew is reading things so well right now, reacting and getting to where he needs to be," Shamokin head coach Dan Foor said. "He's very coachable and is always asking questions, really becoming a student of the game."
If it seems like Hynoski has been around for a while, it's because he's in his fourth year of being on the varsity squad. He and Cody Shustack, another Tornadoes' linebacker, are the only players still on the squad from the last time Mount Carmel won a district championship.
"That year, I learned that the atmosphere around town is great when you're playing in a game like this," Hynoski said. "The seniors on that team told us to cherish every moment and you don't believe how fast it goes."
The experience Hynoski has gained the last four years has been instrumental in his success.
"You learn a lot of tricks playing as long as I have," Hynoski said. "I've watched a lot of film, and I know the keys to watch for. The keys are the most important part of being a linebacker. It makes us feel more comfortable."
Hynoski leads the team in tackles with 89, has four sacks and has been solid in coverage, as shown by his two interceptions.
"He's going to play some coverage on Friday (against Bloomsburg)," Mount Carmel head coach Carmen DeFrancesco said. "He'll stand up or put his hand on the ground. He's just a very versatile kid. We ask a lot of him and we expect him to do a good job for us."
While Hynoski has been a linebacker from the start, Southern's Slotterback was bounced around from position to position early in the season, but found a home in the middle around the fourth week.
There he has flourished, making 36 tackles, 3.5 sacks and an interception.
It wasn't until Slotterback was moved, allowing a string of other adjustments, that the Tigers really found their rhythm defensively.
"We were trying some different things in the beginning of the year," Southern Columbia head coach Jim Roth said. "We had Jamie at end and Matt Moore at linebacker and neither seemed to be adapting as fast as we'd like. So, we moved them back to where they'd originally been playing and it sparked our defense.
"They're both good enough to adapt, but Jamie was really comfortable at linebacker and it showed right away."
Slotterback is the perfect mix of aggression and fearlessness that allows him to diagnose and attack, and after playing linebacker since he was a kid, the reads just come more naturally.
"I'd been playing linebacker since midgets, so I was just more comfortable there," Slotterback said. "I was used to seeing things develop and reading plays from the position.
"You can't be scared and definitely can't worry about anything else."
Hasuga echoed those sentiments.
"I think being tough comes with being a linebacker," he said.
While the toughness of the Indians' defense was never questioned, the results were not always what Foor envisioned when he turned the reigns over to new defensive coordinator Mike Gurski.
But suddenly, after eight weeks of the season, something clicked.
"We knew early on that Andrew could play because he played in the middle last year for us," Foor said. "But it wasn't until week nine that the defense really started gelling, and Andrew has made a lot of tackles in these last four weeks."
It's true. Nearly every time Shamokin needs a big play of defense, Hasuga is in the thick of it.
"I really like this defense," Hasuga said. "We like to go after teams, and we've really been clicking. We have momentum and we're playing for something. And I couldn't do my job if all my teammates weren't playing as hard as I am."
All three will be in action Friday night, reading, reacting and doing what they all like best about the position - hitting.