YAIAA football power rankings, 9/11
Well, I said I expected to see some big changes to the power rankings. Sure enough, that played out this week.
Interesting to note that, with two weeks in the books, there are already just five YAIAA teams with 2-0 records. That's out of 22 teams, mind you. Included in those five teams are Biglerville (two wins last year) and Dover (zero wins last year). What exactly that all means, I'm not sure.
Now, the rankings (previous week's rank in parentheses)...
1. Dallastown (4) -- The Wildcats (2-0) make the big leap to the top spot. It wasn't necessarily pretty for Dallastown this week against Red Land, especially on offense. But this defense has matured into one of the best in the league, and should keep the Wildcats in every game they play.
2. Littlestown (3) -- I keep them at No. 2 because I need to see the Bolts (2-0) play somebody. And Littlestown certainly will get a challenge this Friday, when it pays a visit to Delone Catholic. This past weekend, Littlestown scored 48 more points in a breezy win over Hanover.
3. Delone Catholic (6) -- Even with the early-morning start time, the Squires (2-0) had no problem with York County Tech Saturday. Delone will have the homefield edge against Littlestown next week -- important, considering just how much this game could figure into who walks away with the Division III title.
4. West York (1) -- Tough week for the Bulldogs (1-1), who couldn't quite hang with Governor Mifflin Friday night. Hard to get too down on West York for this one. The Mustangs are legit, and the Bulldogs were bound to have a hiccup or two during this early-season stretch.
5. South Western (2) -- The Mustangs (1-1) couldn't keep up with Cedar Cliff's high-flying aerial attack Thursday night. The good news for South Western is that it almost certainly won't see another team that throws the ball like that for the rest of the regular season.
6. Spring Grove (5) -- The Rockets (1-1) may not have won Friday night, but they sure can take away a lot of positives from their near-miss against Susquehanna Township. The Indians are a big-time program, and Spring Grove had every chance to beat them. Right now, this looks like a team than can make some noise in Division I.
7. Red Lion (NR) -- The Lions (1-1) catapult into the top 10 thanks to a gutsy, overtime win against Manheim Township. The Blue Streaks, remember, were rated highly by many coming into the season. Now, Red Lion needs to take the momentum from this win and use it. If they do that, this team could be in the mix come early November.
8. Dover (NR) -- Say hello to the surprise of the season so far. Dover trounced Garden Spot this week, and showed this Eagles team is a far cry from the one we've seen the last two years. Considering Dover's next opponent -- Red Land -- hasn't exactly set the world on fire recently, a 3-0 start isn't out of the question.
9. Kennard-Dale (10) -- The Rams didn't beat Shippensburg on Saturday. In fact, they made a lot of mistakes. But Kennard-Dale (1-1) has shown enough in these first two weeks to indicate if it can put a full game together, it can be a really tough team to play.
T-10. York Catholic (NR) -- The Irish sneak onto the list, after a convincing win over Bermudian Springs. York Catholic (1-1) seems to have shelved that opening-night upset at the hands of Kennard-Dale. What's more, sophomore running back Matt Lehr has looked good filling in for the injured Nick Full.
T-10. Biglerville (NR) -- Have to put the Canners (2-0) on here. Though Camp Hill and Fairfield hardly represent the best District 3 football has to offer, Biglerville has all the looks of a rejuvenated program. With a game against Hanover coming up, 3-0 looks like a good possibility.