For Marian, the goal is to ride the momentum of a Week 10 rivalry game victory into a second straight trip to the District 11 title game.

For Tri-Valley and Nativity, the objective is to flip the switch after a string of losses to close the regular season.

The four-team District 2/11 Class A subregional playoffs get under way Friday with a pair of semifinals. No. 4 Nativity (6-4) travels to No. 1 Lackawanna Trail (9-1) while No. 3 Marian (6-4) treks to Hegins to take on Tri-Valley (6-4).

Both games start at 7 p.m., with tickets only available online at www.districtxi.hometownticketing.com. The Nativity-Lackawanna Trail game can be heard live on WPPA 1360 AM and A-106 FM.

Friday’s winners will advance to the subregional championship game next Friday at 7 p.m. at a site to be determined. Should Lackawanna Trail defeat Nativity, the Marian-Tri-Valley winner would be declared the District 11 champion.

Here’s a breakdown of each game:

Nativity at Lackawanna Trail

The Green Wave limped into the postseason, literally.

After a 6-1 start, Nativity dropped its final three regular-season games to Minersville (49-28), Schuylkill Haven (29-28) and Marian (21-18). After looking like a lock to get a semifinal home game, the Green Wave slid to the No. 4 spot and was forced to travel to Factoryville in Lackawanna County to take on perennial District 2 power Lackawanna Trail.

Pat Mason’s club battled some major injuries along the way, with standout running back/linebacker Sam Spolski missing a pair of games and fellow seniors Noah Dolbin, Sam Walborn, Nick Wagner, Barry Jenkins, Drew Seaman and Mike Stank all sustaining some type of injury.

Junior lineman George Shimko, who suffered a dislocated elbow in the loss to Marian, is out for Friday. The others are listed as day-to-day, according to Mason.

If the Green Wave are at relatively full strength, it gives Nativity a fighter’s chance to do something that’s never been done in program history — win a district playoff game.

Nativity’s last postseason victory came in 2011 with a 17-0 win over Bucktail in an Eastern Conference Class I semifinal. The Green Wave then lost to Mahanoy Area in the title game. Nativity also won Eastern Conference semifinal playoff games in 2000 and 1989 but fell in the finals.

Nativity is 0-10 all-time in District 11 or subregional playoff games, dropping first-round games in seven of the last eight years. The Green Wave came close last season, falling to Minersville in overtime. This year gives Nativity’s group of 16 seniors one more shot.

“We have a large group of seniors and honestly, they all know how important this game is and the opportunity they have,” Mason said. “Practice went well all week and they are all really positive. There was nothing to gain from coming in this week and being negative, we still have a chance to accomplish our goals.

“I was very pleased with the team’s effort and attitude all week. I’m very fortunate to have such a great group of kids who give me their best.”

Nativity is led by the 1-2 rushing duo of Walborn (105-763, 20 total TDs) and Spolski (74-611, 11 TDs), while senior quarterback Ben Kreitzer has completed 65-of-123 passes for 1,528 yards and 15 touchdowns. The Army-bound Dolbin is second in the area in receiving yards with 35 catches for 818 yards and seven touchdowns, while Stank and Wagner give the Green Wave two speed weapons in the arsenal.

Lackawanna Trail, meanwhile, has won eight in a row since a Week 2 loss at Western Wayne. The Lions average 37.2 points per game and give up only 12, scoring 39 or more points in their last five games. Last week, Lackawanna Trail knocked off previously unbeaten and Class AA state-ranked Riverside 42-20.

Junior Isaac Ryon paces a wing-T ground game with 1,150 yards and 18 touchdowns on 109 carries, while Demitrius Douglas has carried 79 times for 612 yards and 11 scores. Junior QB Tyler Jervis has only thrown 39 passes but has seven TDs. Max Kimmel (11-291, 4 TDs) is his top target.

The Lions blanked Minersville 40-0 in the opening round of the PIAA Class A playoffs last season.

“Trail is a traditional wing-T team with three very good running backs,” Mason said. “They were 13-1 last year and 9-1 this year so the group they have has experienced a great deal of success. They are a well-coached team that is technically sound at everything they do on both sides of the ball.

“We need to play fast and physical on defense and stop their running backs from stretching the field. They are a very good football team.”

Marian at Tri-Valley

The Colts and Dawgs met Aug. 30 in Hegins, with Tri-Valley using a punishing defense to capture a 24-0 victory. It’s also a rematch of last year’s District 11 Class A semifinal, which Marian won 14-6.

The Colts enter Friday’s contest on a two-game win streak, building momentum with a 21-18 win over Nativity that allowed Marian to get into the district playoffs. It’s the first time Marian won at least six games and qualified for the district playoffs in back-to-back years since 2015-16.

“From a big picture perspective, we are excited to reach six wins and clinch a winning record and qualify for the district playoffs for the second straight season,” Marian coach Billy O’Gurek said. “It shows that the progress we have been making as a program is starting to pay off.

“For our team, we’ve been preaching a post-season attitude the past two weeks and I believe it’s showed in the way we’ve played. Our kids knew our backs were against the wall because of some missteps along the way earlier this season. But we told them, all our goals were still attainable but only if we started to play our brand of football.”

That brand of football centers around running the football with sophomore tailback Rory Dixon, who is third in the area in rushing yards with 1,199 and has scored 14 touchdowns, and playing stingy defense. The Colts have allowed 18.1 points per game, which is fifth among our area’s 16 teams.

Linebacker Jah Bushati leads the region with 112 tackles, with Charlie Hower (83 tackles), Michael Gelatko (75) and Tyler Price (71) also leaders on that side of the ball.

“It starts with great defense,” O’Gurek said. “When we play defense like we did the past two weeks, we can be in any game.”

Marian’s defense will have to contain Tri-Valley’s running game to be successful. Cole Gemberling (120-649, 15 TDs) and Parker Hatter (77-528, 5 TDs) give the Dawgs a 1-2 punch in the backfield, while quarterback Blake Schwartz has thrown for 910 yards and seven scores.

Tri-Valley enters Friday’s game on a two-game slide, suffering lopsided losses to Minersville (42-14) and Schuylkill Haven (66-16). Head coach Jeff Sampson hopes getting to the postseason breathes new life into his squad.

“We’ve continued to tell our players to forget the last two weeks and move forward and concentrate on Marian because winning districts was one of our team goals at the beginning of the year,” Sampson said. “We have one game to focus on, the others are in our rear-view mirrors.

“We beat them once which means we know how to prepare for them again but beating them once does not mean you automatically beat them again. They are extremely talented and well coached which means we have to play a great game to win.

“We’ve lost games to some outstanding football teams … how we respond Friday night will ultimately determine how far we have come as a team and how we have grown.”

Both O’Gurek and Sampson said a big key to Friday’s clash is controlling the line of scrimmage. Whichever team can win the battle up front will most likely win the game.

“We need to control the ball and the lines of scrimmage,” Sampson said. “Minimize our mistakes and capitalize on their mistakes. It’s the ultimate line in the sand. We cannot allow them to cross that line on D and on O.”