With apologies to Jim Mora, I'd like to talk about playoffs. No Jim, I'm not kidding.
These teams are currently in: Class AAAA -- William Penn (No. 3), Central York (No. 6), Dallastown (No. 10) and Red Lion (No. 15); Class AAA -- West York (No. 4) and Kennard-Dale (No. 15); Class AA -- Delone Catholic (No. 2), Bermudian Springs (No. 6), Biglerville (No. 7) and Littlestown (No. 8); Class A -- York Catholic (No. 5).
These teams are not far behind: Class AA -- York Suburban (No. 10) and Class A -- Fairfield (No. 10).
So there's plenty at stake for several teams this week. Beyond watching the scoreboard for the critical games, here are some quick takes to keep in mind for Week 9.
Most muddled division title race: Division III. William Penn and West York are the respective favorites in the top two divisions, with Central York not too far behind the Bearcats in Division I. All those three teams need to do is win out and they secure a title outright. All it takes is one glimpse at the standings to see it's more complicated in The Tres. Biglerville has the easiest path to a 5-1 divisional record with only a game against York County Tech remaining. York Catholic has to play both Delone and Bermudian. All four squads can claim at least a share of the title and as many as three could end up tied at the top.
Most symbolic torch-passing game: Susquehannock at West York. The Bulldogs did hand the Warriors their first loss in Division II in more than three years with an October victory in 2007 and went on to win the division title to end Susquehannock's three-year grip on the trophy, but the Warriors finished only a game behind the Bulldogs in the standings. Susquehannock was still a successful program that may have just had a single slip-up and still lurked close behind West York. Not so this year, with the Warriors already dropping two Division II games. With a win in this matchup, the Bulldogs will guarantee themselves at least a share of the Division II title for the second straight year and slam the book on the Warriors' past divisional dominance.
Toughest final two-game stretch for a playoff-contending team: Red Lion. The Lions (5-3) have to play at Central York (7-1) and then host Dallastown (6-2) to end the season and will almost certainly have to win at least one of those games to secure a playoff spot. Red Lion has the fewest number of points among 5-3 teams in Class AAAA and 4-4 squads Manheim Township, Cedar Cliff and Harrisburg are fighting with the Lions for the final two postseason slots. Last year it was Dallastown that came into the regular-season finale needing a victory to ensure a playoff berth. This year, it will probably be Red Lion in such a position.
Best opportunity to rejuvenate playoff hopes: Eastern York. Facing a 6-2 Littlestown team at home, the Golden Knights would dramatically improve their postseason prospects with a win over the Thunderbolts. After eight games, Eastern (3-5) in currently ranked 23rd in the playoff standings, needing to hurdle at least seven teams to get into the postseason. But, the Golden Knights close the season at home against 1-7 Northeastern and currently there are two squads at .500 (Kennard-Dale and East Pennsboro) in the top 10 of the Class AAA standings.
Have any thoughts to add? Pontificate away in the comments section until the first kickoff at 7 p.m. In the meantime... remix!
i feel so bad for this team cause they know as well as every else that after this year Real is gone and lets be honest he is the team the only reason their record is 9-1 is becuase of this i think 37 touchdowns.... the rest of their team is a joke after this year they will be nobody kinda like when chaz powell left susquehannock