YAIAA football Week 11 power rankings
And then there were six.
Twelve YAIAA teams entered the first round of District 3 playoff play this Friday. Six emerged victorious. And naturally, those teams have to occupy the top six spots in our power rankings.
In what order should those teams go? That's up for debate. I certainly had a few hesitant moments myself while arranging this week's Top 10 -- teams 1 through 5 are just so close to one another.
In any event, this is what I came up with. Check it out.
1. Delone Catholic (1) -- Wow. That's all you can say about the 436 rushing yards the Squires (10-1) rolled up Friday against Wyomissing. It's not every game you get two running backs with more than 180 yards. That said, Delone will have to be as good, if not even better, in its rematch with Littlestown on Friday.
2. West York (2) -- Last Friday's 35-28 win over Mechanicsburg wasn't exactly vintage-West York. But the Bulldogs (10-1) moved on, and at this point that's the name of the game. What's more, Corey Harris (258 rushing yards, 4 TDs) showed he can put the Bulldogs on his back if he needs to.
3. Littlestown (3) -- The Bolts (9-2) survived a close shave with Milton Hershey last Friday, needing a late field goal to secure a two-point victory. Now, Littlestown gets a rematch with Delone, and this time they'll have quarterback Matt Zuber at the helm -- he missed the first matchup with the flu.
T-4. South Western (T-4) -- The Mustangs (10-1) moved on in exhilarating fashion last week, using a late interception return for a touchdown to outlast Cedar Cliff. South Western would be well-served not to dig themselves such a hole this week against No. 5 Penn Manor.
T-4. Central York (T-4) -- Still too hard to distinguish between these two teams. The Panthers (8-3) face quite the test in second-seeded Wilson this Friday, but don't count Central out just yet. When that defense is on, it's really good, and the Bulldogs, though an excellent team, aren't the world-beaters they were last year.
6. York Catholic (10) -- The Irish won a thriller against Reading Holy Name on Friday, and head into this Friday's matchup with District 3-A top seed Upper Dauphin with plenty of momentum. Quarterback-receiver combo Adam Sentz and Gary Laucks give Catholic (7-4) a dangerous, big-play duo.
7. Kennard-Dale (8) -- The Rams (6-5) were oh-so-close to a first-round upset of Hershey last week. Kennard-Dale's strong showing wasn't all that surprising either, considering how impressive the Rams were down the stretch. Another solid season from Doug Wilkinson and co.
8. York Suburban (7) -- A quality Trojans team ran up against a juggernaut last week, in the form of District 3-AA No. 1 seed Lancaster Catholic. That shouldn't cloud an otherwise positive season by Suburban (7-4), which will move up a class to AAA next year.
9. Dallastown (6) -- The Wildcats' impressive revival ended with a loss at Central York Friday. Dallastown (6-5) has a lot of returning talent next year, so expect them to be back in this position again.
10. Spring Grove (9) -- A fine turnaround campaign by the Rockets (6-5), who ran into a impressive Central Dauphin side on Friday. Now the trick will be trying to build on this winning season.