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YAIAA football power rankings, 11/2


It's our Election Day edition of the power rankings, and while it may not stack up to Sestak-Toomey, the race for No. 1 in our top ten continues to be incredibly tight. Have a look, and feel free to leave your own take in the comments section. 1. Dallastown (1) -- The Wildcats survived quite a test this week, scoring 21 fourth-quarter points to drop Spring Grove. As a result, Dallastown (9-0, 4-0 Div. I) clinched a share of its first Division I title in 30 years. A win against Red Lion this week would wrap up the outright championship. Don't look now, but the Wildcats' defense hasn't allowed a point in more than eight quarters. 2. Littlestown (2) -- I know I'm tempting the ire of Bolts fans here. Bottom line: It's simply tougher to go undefeated against quad-A opposition. Just about every week, Dallastown has had to play a team that it could lose to. Littlestown (9-0, 8-0 Div. II), meanwhile, has played about four of those games. There is simply more talent in quad-A, and that talent is more evenly spread across the schools (as it should be with larger enrollments). That's not a knock on Littlestown or their scheduling -- they can't control their division. It's just the reality of the situation. Commenter Dale, who was a great contributor to our live chat tonight, was right when he said both teams deserve to be No. 1. But if I have to pick one, I just think Dallastown has traveled a bit tougher road so far. If it's any consolation, Littlestown fans, I'm still picking your team to make the District 3-AA title game. 3. West York (3) -- Is it possible for a 7-2 team and the league's most recent district champion to fly under the radar? The Bulldogs (7-2, 4-0 Div. II) may be doing just that. A win Friday would lock up a top four district seed, although West York will have to deal with a loaded top half of the bracket in Class AAA. 4. Red Lion (6) -- The Lions (7-2, 3-1 Div. I) are right where they want to be: Coming off two wins and with a chance to clinch a share of the Division I title when they play Dallastown on Friday. Red Lion's passing attack -- keyed by QB Tanner Klinefelter -- will be one of the most efficient the Wildcats have seen all year. 5. Delone Catholic (5) -- The Squires 68-35 scoreline against Eastern York looked gaudy. It also masked the fact that Delone (8-1, 7-1 Div. III) struggled to put Eastern away for two-and-a-half quarters. The Squires will need to fine tune a bit in time for the playoffs. 6. Spring Grove (4) -- The Rockets have nothing to be ashamed of when it comes to Friday's loss to Dallastown. Spring Grove (5-4, 2-2 Div. I) pushed the Wildcats as few have this season. But how will Gregg Trone's team bounce back mentally this week against South Western? 7. York Catholic (7) -- The Irish are in a good place heading into their season finale against York Suburban. York Catholic (6-3, 6-2 Div. III) moved up to No. 2 in the District 3-A rankings, and also got injured tailback/linebacker Nick Full back in last Friday's win. 8. Dover (NR) -- The Eagles (5-4, 2-2 Div. II) have won two straight, and are one victory away from clinching a district playoff spot. Talk about a turnaround from last season's 0-10 campaign. 9. Bermudian Springs (10) -- The Eagles (6-3, 5-3 Div. III) afforded themselves decently well against Littlestown on Friday. Bermudian darted to a 10-0 lead (something nobody had done to Littlestown this year) and was within seven in the third quarter. Ultimately, the Bolts' superior talent was too much. 10. Hanover (NR) -- Time to give the Nighthawks some love (plus, I had a hard time justifying putting a 4-5 team from Division I on this list). Not so sure about Hanover's chances against Delone Friday, but win or lose the Nighthawks (5-4, 5-3 Div. III) have a real shot at a district playoff spot. In the mix: Biglerville, Central York, Kennard-Dale, South Western, William Penn