Whether it finished as the No. 7 or No. 8 seed in the District 11 Class 3A rankings, the opponent that awaited Salisbury in the playoffs was going to be a very strong team.

The bright spot for Salisbury, however, is the fact that it has qualified for the district playoffs. It’s what head coach Andy Cerco and the Falcons hope is a turning point in the right direction toward becoming a regular visitor to postseason football in future years.

Kickoff for Saturday’s district quarterfinal game between No. 7 Salisbury (4-6) and No. 2 Lehighton (10-0) is set for 7:10 p.m. on the Indians’ home field.

“The players’ biggest thought is that [qualifying for districts] is going to be normal in the next few years here,” head coach Andy Cerco said. “This is what our football team is about. It’s about winning games, about being successful, and about qualifying for playoffs. Two of the past three years we qualified for the district playoffs, and that’s not a normal occurrence here. Their thing is that we’re working to make that a normal thing.”

The Falcons ended their district drought two years ago with a matchup against fellow Colonial League foe Northwestern, a team that Salisbury was very much familiar with. This matchup will be a bit different as the Falcons travel to the Schuylkill League champions’ stadium in search of that elusive district victory.

After seeing one of the Colonial League’s top offenses in Southern Lehigh just days ago, the Falcons will have their hands full once again with a Lehighton offense that may be just as dangerous. The Indians average over 400 yards of offense and 40 points per game through 10 weeks.

The Indians’ offense, in fact, reminds Cerco of one that the Falcons have seen this season much closer to home.

“Lehighton is a pretty good team,” Cerco said. “They have big dudes up front. They’ve got a running back that is pretty good. He is probably pretty similar to the running back from Wilson [Job Goodman]. Actually collectively they are fairly similar to Wilson, which is a good way to put it. They have a big offensive line which Wilson has, their quarterback is mobile, and their running back runs hard.”

That running back is TaQuon Bradley-Chambers. The Indians’ workhorse has totaled 1,769 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns on the ground, and it’s no secret that he’ll handle a majority of the work out of the backfield.

But Salisbury is well aware of dual threat quarterback Cody Scherer, who showed just how dangerous he could be in both facets in Week 10s victory over previously-unbeaten Jim Thorpe. Sherer threw for 215 yards, ran for 214 yards and accounted for five touchdowns for the Indians last Friday.

Scherer has eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark both through the air (1,143) and on the ground (1,105). He leads the Indians with 34 total touchdowns.

“At this point in the season, you’re doing what you do,” Cerco said. “So the past two games are going to be pretty much what they are. Their whole entire plan and how they operate is pretty evident in the past two games on both sides of the ball.”

“It’s a different mentality,” said Salisbury senior quarterback Cam Vaka said. “We’re playing for a district title now. It’s one and done now. If you lose you’re out. We’re definitely going to have that mentality at practice.”

Scherer’s top target through the air is wideout Zach Crum, who leads the Indians with 447 receiving yards and eight touchdowns.

Whether anyone gives Salisbury much of a chance will not phase the visiting Falcons as they prepare for their second district game in three years. Win or lose, they’ll give their best effort in an attempt to upset one of the district’s premier teams.

“We don’t normally go play Lehighton or Jim Thorpe or any of these other teams outside of our league,” Cerco said. “We don’t have an open league, so that whole concept is really exciting for our kids. I think that helps a little bit, too. There is no preconceived notion about the team. We just go in and play the team.”

“We’re all excited that we get to play Lehighton,” Vaka said. “We get to play a different team that’s not in our league. It’s a different type of offense. We’re excited to see how we match up against them.”