YAIAA football Week 3 power rankings

For the most part, it was a comfortable week for our top four teams, which stayed the same as last week. The exception was West York, which gutted out a late, comeback win against Red Lion.

For the second straight week, the majority of the movement in our rankings came in the bottom half of the Top 10, with two new teams moving up to replace Week 3 losers Dallastown and Northeastern.

But with Division play looming, expect more than a few shake-ups to the Top 10 in the next few weeks.

Editor's note: Number in parentheses represents last week's ranking.

1. West York (1) -- The Bulldogs (3-0) dug deep at Red Lion, erasing a pair of fourth-quarter deficits before prevailing, 26-21. Even when they aren't at their best, West York's players seem to find a way to get the job done. And that's one of the hallmarks of a good team.

2. South Western (2) -- Another convincing win at Burmudian Springs cements the Mustangs (3-0) status as the Division I favorites heading into league play. In the days leading up to Friday's win against Bermudian, Eagles coach Jon DeFoe called South Western senior linebacker Jake Myers one of the best defensive players his seen in his years of coaching.

3. Littlestown (3) -- Three games, three blowout wins for the Bolts. Littlestown scored more than 40 points and allowed only a touchdown in each of those contests. The start of league play will present more of challenge -- the Bolts visit York Suburban on Saturday afternoon.

4. William Penn (4) -- An advantageous early schedule has given 17 new starters a chance to settle into their roles. Can the Bearcats hold up in Division I? A Friday meeting with a strong-looking Red Lion team will provide some sort of clue.

5. Spring Grove (6) -- The Rockets continued their strong start to the year with a 31-0 win against Biglerville Friday. But as is the case with William Penn, the league schedule will provide a much truer measure of Spring Grove's talent.

6. Delone Catholic (7) -- A 40-0 win against Dover sends the Squires (2-1) into their Division III slate with a lot of confidence. The real question right now is: Can anybody in the division challenge Delone's dominance?

7. New Oxford (8) -- The triple-option has been a hit with the unbeaten Colonials, who are averaging 299.7 rushing yards per game this year (388.5 yards per game the last two contests). All of a sudden, a Friday visit to Dallastown (1-2) looks difficult to predict.

8. Red Lion (5) -- No, the Lions 1-2 record isn't pretty. But the first of those losses was to Class AAAA powerhouse Cumberland Valley, and last Friday, Red Lion outplayed West York for three quarters before eventually faltering.

9. Eastern York (NR) -- The Golden Knights (3-0) have opened eyes so far. But two of those wins came against Class A strugglers Columbia and Fairfield. Friday night's home matchup with Kennard-Dale - fresh off a win over Dallastown - will be Eastern's first true test.

10. York Suburban (NR) -- A second-straight blowout win against a Class A school - this time, York Catholic - gets the Trojans (2-1) back onto the list. Including Week 2's win over Columbia, Suburban has now outscored its opponents 101-12 the last two weeks and rushed for a total of 554 rushing yards in those games.