YAIAA football power rankings, Oct. 4
Some tough decisions this week. I shuffled a few teams around in the top five. But for the fifth straight week, our number one team stays the same.
Last week's rankings here. As always, chime in with your own thoughts in the comments section.
1. Delone Catholic (1) -- For the first time this season, we saw the Squires sputter a bit. Delone trailed Biglerville heading into halftime of their matchup Friday night. The Squires (5-0) responded, reeling off four scores in a row en route to a 26-13 win. Maybe Delone was looking ahead to this Friday's showdown with Bermudian Springs, a game that will probably decide Division III. Still, it got things together in time to earn a tough, away win.
2. Bermudian Springs (3) -- Lot of similarities between the Eagles and Squires this weekend. Both trailed by seven points at halftime. Both scored 26 unanswered to take control. In other words, good luck choosing between these two, when they meet in McSherrystown on Friday. Good thing I don't have to pick that game. Oh wait...
T-3. Dover (2) -- It took a half, but the Eagles (5-0) eventually pulled away from William Penn on Friday. Senior tailback Tanner Link is averaging an incredible 11 yards per rush this season, a number which went up after a 19-carry, 257-yard performance against the Bearcats. The defense struggled in the first half Friday, but didn't allow a score after halftime and forced three turnovers. Those are good signs.
T-3 West York (5) -- The power rankings are largely based on a team's body of work. But they're also about which team is playing the best right now. And no team played better this week than the Bulldogs (4-1) did in a 49-14 thrashing of South Western. For that reason, I'm willing to put West York ahead (for now, at least) of a Central York team that beat them in Week 1. Mike Bell, who was ineligible the first two weeks of the season, has made a huge difference for the Bulldogs at tailback. His gamebreaking speed is a perfect compliment to Brock Snellbaker's power.
5. Central York (4) -- The Panthers ended up breezing past an overmatched Susquehannock side, but it took them a while to get going. The offense still has bouts of inconsistency, which is a cause for concern heading into the start of division play. Still, Central can create points in other ways -- it has scored either a defensive or special teams touchdown in each of its last four games.
6. Red Lion (7) --The Lions won their third in a row Friday, and earned the program's 400th win in the process. The passing game hasn't been quite as crisp as it was last season, but it also hasn't had to be. Running back Jason Milton continues to impress; he's up to 736 rushing yards on the season, and boasts a 9.1 per carry average.
7. Littlestown (10) -- Time for your weekly Dustin Crouse update. The Thunderbolts junior became the first YAIAA quarterback to hit 1,000 yards this season; he's up to 1,098, with 11 touchdowns and three picks, after a 204-yard effort against York Catholic. More important for Littlestown (3-2), it was able to run the ball effectively (270 rushing yards), something which had been an issue this season. "I didn't think they'd be able to run the football on us like they did," York Catholic coach Eric Depew said Friday. "That was really the key.
8. South Western (6) --This week should tell us a lot about the Mustangs (3-2). After that ugly loss to West York, they have a testy bounce-back game against Dallastown. South Western will be at home, which helps. Still, fair to wonder how the Mustangs will respond from some adversity. This is where having a senior-heavy team should help.
9. York Suburban (8) -- Two losses in a row now for the Trojans (3-2) who, to be fair, have faced quite a pair of challenges the last few weeks. But Suburban gets Fairfield this week and, barring some unforeseen turn of events, you'd expect to Trojans to get back on track .
10. Dallastown (NR) -- This team is still very much a work in progress. But the Wildcats (2-3) have scratched out a pair of wins, gave West York all it could handle and should get better as the year goes on. Not sure Dallastown can compete for a Division I title at this point, but it can definitely put a big dent in another team's hopes.
Honorable mention: Biglerville, Northeastern