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YAIAA football power rankings, Sept. 20


Pretty stagnant week, in terms of upsets. For the most part, all the teams that were expected to win, did. That means there wasn't too much movement in our power rankings.

Check out the newest Top 10 -- which looks a lot like the last Top 10 -- after the jump.

1. Delone Catholic (1) -- If it seems like we've talked about Squires quarterback Brett Smith a lot, it's with good reason. The junior has been simply phenomenal; he completed 8 of 10 passes Friday against Littlestown for 210 yards and five (!) touchdowns. On the season, Smith has thrown for 445 yards and eight scores on just 25 pass attempts, good for an average of 17.8 yards per pass attempt. The Squires (3-0) can still run it, and now they can throw it. They look more dangerous every week.

2. Dover (2) -- Surprise, surprise. Look who's on top of the YAIAA rushing charts: Eagles senior Tanner Link, the league's leading rusher last season. Link exploded for 202 yards and two scores -- on just 17 carries -- in a win against Red Land last Friday. He's up to 486 yards for the season for Dover (3-0). The defense also chipped in a score against the Patriots, on Sean Finley's 30-yard interception return.

3. Bermudian Springs (3) -- The Eagles (3-0) dynamic tailback duo continued its unbelievable start to the season. Together, Tyler Fitzkee and Adam Berryman have now combined for 1,104 offensive yards and 14 touchdowns. (No, those aren't misprints.) And Bermudian's defense held Eastern York star tailback Alex Cooley to 65 yards.

4. Central York (4) -- The Panthers' defense and special teams have been strengths so far; they've produced a combined four touchdowns the past two weeks. Central's offense has only scored two touchdowns in that same span. Bottom line: The Panthers (2-1) can win in a lot of different ways, as they showed against Hempfield last weekend.

5. West York (5) -- The Bulldogs (2-1) were far from perfect Friday, but eventually pulled away to a comfortable win against Spring Grove. West York fans will be happy to see that offense finally light up the scoreboard -- the Bulldogs had been limited to 21 total points over their first two games.

6. South Western (6) -- It took all 48 minutes, but the Mustangs (2-1) gutted out an important win against Lower Dauphin. Mike Felton continued his brilliant start to the season; he had a receiving touchdown, a rushing touchdown, and even returned a kickoff 97 yards for a score.

7. York Suburban (7) -- After a slow start, the Trojans (3-0) were able to overwhelm York County Tech on Saturday. Still there were concerns -- a nonexistent passing game, the aforementioned sluggishness -- that will have to be ironed out by this Friday. That's when the Trojans head to McSherrystown to play Delone.

8. Red Lion (T-10) -- The Lions (1-2) steered themselves back onto the winning path Saturday, with a 36-20 win at Carlisle. The running game was solid once again, and Tanner Klinefelter (13-for-25, 242 yards, 3 TDs) looked more like himself.

9. Littlestown (8) -- The Thunderbolts (1-2) hung with Delone for a while, but the Squires were a little too strong and a little too experienced. Littlestown has some injury concerns right now; luckily, the two toughest games left on its schedule (York Suburban and Bermudian) take place in Weeks 8 and 9, respectively.

T-10. Biglerville (NR) -- Really, this team isn't all that far from being 3-0. Two straight wins following a Week 1 loss to Camp Hill have the Canners (2-1) right in the muddled middle of the Division III pack. A visit to Littlestown on Friday looks daunting, though.

T-10. Northeastern (T-10) -- Yes, the Bobcats (1-2) lost last week, dropping a tight 14-12 decision to Shippensburg. But Northeastern dominated the contest, for the most part, and unbeaten Shippensburg is no pushover. The Bobcats are close ... they just need a few more plays here and there. Their game against William Penn this week looks too close to call.