We’re officially in the home stretch of the regular season. Eight weeks down, two to go. I can’t tell if I’m catching playoff fever, or if it’s just the early stages of the swine flu, but either way I’m ready to go.

Here are the power points standings heading into Week 9. Thanks to the good folks at Pennlive.com for providing them — they’re much better at math than I am.

Before I get started here, I’d like to point out a mistake I made in this week’s Two-Minute Drill for the Hempfield-Warwick game. I said in the video that Hempfield was ranked No. 16 in the power points standings, and Warwick was 17th. That’s wrong. Due to an early deadline on the vids this week, I had to cobble the standings together pretty fast, and in doing so I neglected to include Cumberland Valley. When you add the Eagles to their No. 4 spot, it bumps everyone down a notch — including Hempfield, which now finds itself on the outside looking in. Which makes Friday’s game even more important to the Black Knights.

OK, enough of that. Here are the standings:

AAAA

1. Bishop McDevitt (8-0), 131.25 rating

2. Wilson (7-1), 121.25 rating

3. Penn Manor (7-1), 111.25 rating

4. Cumberland Valley (7-1), 108.75 rating)

5. South Western (7-1), 103.75 rating

6. Central Dauphin (6-2), 101.25 rating

7. Central York (6-2), 96.25 rating

8. Muhlenberg (6-2), 86.75 rating

9 (tie). Manheim Township (5-3), 81.25 rating

9 (tie). York (6-2), 81.25 rating

11 (tie). Governor Mifflin (5-3), 77.50 rating

11 (tie). Cedar Cliff (5-3), 77.50 rating

13. Reading (4-4), 75.00 rating

14. Spring Grove (5-3), 73.75 

15. Chambersburg (4-4), 70.00 rating

16. Dallastown (4-4), 60.00 rating

On the outside: Hempfield (4-4, 53.75); Warwick (4-4, 52.50); Red Lion (3-5, 47.50); Harrisburg (3-5, 43.75); Elizabethtown (3-5, 37.50); Red Land (3-5, 36.25).

Analysis:The top six teams have all clinched playoff berths, and three others — Central York, Muhlenberg and York — will do the same with wins on Friday. So Wilson and Penn Manor are already in the playoffs no matter what happens in their showdown Friday night, but the winner will move a long way toward locking up a No. 2 seed and home field through the district finals. Townshipneeds to win its last two games to guarantee itself a playoff berth; the Streaks face McCaskey on Friday and close the season with arch-rival Hempfield. Readingfaces Cedar Crest on Friday and McCaskey in the season finale, so the Red Knights’ path to the playoffs seems clear. Hempfield and Warwickare currently on the outside looking in, but one of them still has a shot at getting in. They square off Friday, and the loser is out of the hunt. Hempfield then closes with Township, while Warwick faces Wilson. I wouldn’t want to face either of those teams with my playoff hopes on the line. Yikes.

AAA

1. Manheim Central (8-0), 147.50 rating

2. West York (8-0), 141.25 rating

3. Susquehanna Township (7-1), 118.75 rating

4. Northern (7-1), 116.25 rating

5. Conrad Weiser (6-2), 110.00 rating

6. Hershey (6-2), 108.75 rating

7. Conestoga Valley (6-2), 105.00 rating

8. Greencastle-Antrim (6-2), 101.25 rating

9. Elco (7-1), 98.75 rating

10. Cocalico (6-2), 96.25 rating

11. Daniel Boone (6-2), 88.75 rating

12. New Oxford (4-4), 75.00 rating

13. Kennard-Dale (4-4), 67.50 rating

14 (tie).  Lampeter-Strasburg (5-3), 66.25 rating

14 (tie). Northern Lebanon (5-3), 66.25 rating

16 (tie). Mechanicsburg (4-4), 65.00 rating

16 (tie). Solanco (4-4), 65.00 rating

On the outside: Twin Valley (4-4, 62.50); Palmyra (4-4, 62.50); Lebanon (3-5, 48.75).

Anaylsis: Congrats to Manheim Central and the next four teams in the standings — their playoff tickets have already been punched. Hershey, Conestoga Valley, Greencastle-Antrim, Elco and Cocalico can follow suit with one more win, either this week or next. That’s especially good news for Elco, which gets struggling Donegal (1-7) this week before closing the season with Class AA powerhouse and defending district champ Lancaster Catholic next week. The Raiders should probably close the deal this week, if they know what’s good for them. CV and Cocalico square off this week, with the winner clinching a berth. Next week, the Buckskins take on Ephrata (1-7) and Cocalico has a winnable game with Solanco (4-4), so Friday’s loser still has a good shot at a berth. Meanwhile, Lampeter-Strasburg continues its late-season surge toward a berth. The Pioneers know they have to win out from here, but they’ve been playing under that same scenario for the last month. That makes their clash with Northern Lebanon on Friday even more interesting, because the Vikes are playing for their playoff lives as well. Solancoand Mechanicsburg are tied for the final playoff spot; Solanco closes with Garden Spot and Cocalico, while Mechanicsburg has an easier road against James Buchanan (1-6) and Red Land (3-5).

AA

1. Lancaster Catholic (7-1), 121.25 rating

2. Delone Catholic (7-1), 117.50 rating

3. Middletown (6-2), 107.50 rating

4. Trinity (6-2), 106.25 rating

5. York Suburban (6-2), 100.00 rating

6. Littlestown (6-2), 92.50 rating

7. Wyomissing (5-3), 85.00 rating

8. Milton Hershey (5-3), 81.25 rating

On the outside:Bermudian Springs (5-3, 77.50); Juniata (5-3, 71.25); Boiling Springs (5-3, 67.50).

Analysis: Lancaster Catholic, the defending district champ, has locked up a playoff berth. The Crusaders take on Annville-Cleona and Elco in the final two weeks, and will be favored in both games. Delone Catholic is already in the big show as well. Middletown and Trinity can follow with one more win. Middletown has Milton Hershey and Palmyra (4-4), while Trinity closes with Palmyra and Milton Hershey. Tough road for the Shamrocks. York Suburban closes with Kennard-Dale (4-4) and Biglerville (2-6), Wyomissing ends the season with Fleetwood (0-8) and Pottsville (5-3) and Milton Hershey gets Middletown and Trinity. With so many of the bottom four teams facing off against one another, it’s tough to predict who Lancaster Catholic will see in the first round (but easy to predict the outcome).

A

Columbia, the L-L League’s lone Class A representative, is 0-8 on the season. Surprisingly, that will actually prevent the Crimson Tide from entering Class A’s ridiculous eight-team playoff field this year.

For the record, eight teams have already clinched berths, so it’s just a matter of who plays whom. The eight teams in the playoffs this year are Upper Dauphin (7-1), Steel-High (5-2), Millersburg (5-3), Reading Holy Name (5-3), York Catholic (5-3), Reading Central Catholic (4-4) and Camp Hill (2-5). I’m sure those matchups will be riveting.