A lot is at stake in the Intercounty League North during the final week of the MIAA high school football regular season. 

In the North on Friday, Athol travels to Greenfield to face the Green Wave and Franklin Tech plays host to Mahar. On Saturday, Ware goes on the road to play Palmer. 

All three games have major league title implications. 

It looked like Franklin Tech was heading toward a league title, starting 3-0 with wins over Athol, Palmer and Greenfield. Athol beat Ware — winner of the Intercounty North each of the last three years — along the way, leaving the Eagles as the lone unbeaten team going into last Friday’s slate. 

Ware wasn’t going to go down that easy, however. Hosting Franklin Tech last Friday, Ware was the first team to hold down what had been a dominant rushing attack from the Eagles. Josiah Little entered the game having already rushed for 1,000 yards, averaging 197 per game through six games, but Ware held the senior to a modest 56 yards on 15 carries. That defensive effort from Ware held Tech to six points, with Ware handing the Eagles their first loss of the season with a 20-6 triumph. 

That Franklin Tech loss opened the door for a slew of league title possibilities. As it stands, Franklin Tech, Ware and Athol are all tied at 3-1 in league play. Palmer is 2-2 while Greenfield (1-3) and Mahar (0-4) are out of the race. 

The path to a title for each team is relatively simple. If Franklin Tech, Athol and Ware each win, the three teams would share the league title. If any of those three want to win the league outright, it would need the other two teams to lose. 

The true chaos scenario involved Palmer knocking off Ware along with Greenfield and Mahar pulling off upsets, which would put Franklin Tech, Athol, Ware and Palmer in a tie for first with 3-2 records. 

The Intercounty League South isn’t as close of a race. Lee has dominated from the jump, outscoring its opponents 130-0 in its first three league contests before taking on Hoosac Valley — the defending league champs — last week in a battle of 3-0 teams. 

It didn’t go well for the Hurricanes, as the Wildcats pulled away with a 47-15 win to go in the drivers seat for the Intercounty South championship. 

Lee hosts Frontier on Friday, and a win would give the Wildcats the title. If the Redhawks can pull the upset, the winner of Easthampton and Hoosac would enter into a tie for first place in the league, as each would finish with 4-1 records. 

More than just league titles are on the line this week on the gridiron. For Athol and Franklin Tech, earning wins on Friday is paramount to getting into the MIAA Div. 8 state tournament. 

The Bears clock in at No. 15 in the latest Div. 8 power rankings while the Eagles hold the final spot, sitting at No. 16. 

When looking at the power rating (the formula that combines the average margin of victory and strength of schedule) Athol has a rating of -8.15 while Franklin Tech’s rating is -8.59. Old Colony RVT is No. 14 in the rankings with a rating of -6.73, making it hard to catch them at No. 14. 

The concerning thing for both the Bears and the Eagles is the ratings of the two teams positioned below them. Tech Boston Academy (5-2) is ranked No. 17 with a rating of -8.74 while Hoosac Valley is ranked No. 18 with a rating of -8.85, not far behind either Athol or Tech. 

Both Tech Boston and Hoosac are playing Div. 7 teams to close out the regular season and both opponents — East Boston and Easthampton — have higher ratings than both Greenfield and Mahar. It’s going to be a very close finish to see who can earn those final two playoff spots.