Looking for a resolution? How about seeing one of the area's four undefeated basketball teams?
The William Penn boys and Northeastern girls teams are still perfect this season and hold the top spot in the power rankings for the second consecutive week. The Eastern York boys and York Suburban boys are also undefeated, although one of them has to lose when they face each other at Suburban on Monday.
Nonetheless, it's been a solid first few weeks of the season for a whole bunch of YAIAA teams and from what I've seen, I think there will be three or four district champions crowned from this league in February.
But that's enough speculation from me. Check out the full rankings and rationale after the jump. Chime in with your thoughts in the comments section.
Boys
1. William Penn (11-0): Nothing has been able to slow the Bearcats just yet. Wins over Red Lion and West York next week would solidify their spot as Division I frontrunner and make an undefeated regular season a real possibility.
2. Eastern York (9-0): The Golden Knights have not only been winning, but they have been winning decisively on a regular basis. Nobody wants to play Eastern York right now.
3. York Suburban (10-0): The Trojans have done everything they have needed to do this season and have a perfect record to show for it. Now they have probably the toughest stretch of the season with the next three games against West York, Eastern York and Delone Catholic.
4. Central York (7-3): The Panthers can hang their hat on a late December victory over Red Lion, but finished third at the East Pennsboro tournament. The Panthers are still far from the top three teams in the rankings but have quietly racked up a bunch of wins.
5. Red Lion (7-2): The Lions fell to Altoona last week for their second loss of the year, but still looks like a squad that has the defensive prowess and experience to make a lot of noise in Division I.
6. West York (4-3): Give credit to the squad for playing tough opponents, but losses on back-to-back days is rarely ever a good sign. The Bulldogs can only hope that they learned a few lessons from this Harrisburg Slam Fest to use over the next few weeks.
7. New Oxford (6-4): After a 1-3 start, the Colonials have now won five of their last six, including a pair of wins earlier this week to claim their hosted tournament. Momentum is always a good thing to have.
8. Delone Catholic (6-2): It's not that the Squires have had a bad start, but they had not been very impressive over the first few weeks. An 11-point victory over Trinity a few days ago may be a sign that Delone are stepping up.
9. Dallastown (5-5): Putting a four-game losing streak behind them, the Wildcats managed to earn a pair of victories to win the Hound Invitational Tournament in Shippensburg and get back onto the radar screen.
10. Hanover (7-3): The schedule hasn't been remarkably difficult, but it's still noteworthy that the Nighthawks have been racking up plenty of wins. Now they have to hit the road for the next three games, including contests at Bermudian Springs and Biglerville.
Girls
1. Northeastern (11-0): The Bobcats keep winning and Autumn Lau keeps getting closer to her 2,000th career point. Expect her to get there during Monday night's home game against Dover.
2. Delone Catholic (8-1): Watch out for the Squires, who have been picking up wins left and right. They enter a telling stretch next week, taking on York Catholic, Kennard-Dale, West York and Trinity over their next four games.
3. Red Lion (7-2): The Lions dropped their most recent game against Altoona, but have still looked dominant against YAIAA competition this season, as usual.
4. Eastern York (10-1): The Golden Knights had to work for it, but they won their hosted holiday tournament to continue their impressive run to start the season and further make the argument that they are a team with which to be reckoned.
5. York Catholic (6-2): The season started with consecutive losses, but It's back to business as usual for the Fighting Irish, including the recent holiday tournament at Central York.
6. West York (7-3): The Bulldogs have lost three of their last four after a strong opening stretch. As long as it can return to early-season form, West York should be fine.
7. York Suburban (7-3): The Trojans are starting to turn some heads, taking down defending District 3 champion Lancaster Mennonite last week to earn their seventh win of the season. It doesn't get any easier for Suburban, which faces Eastern York and Red Lion in its next two games.
8. Kennard-Dale (7-3): The Rams played Eastern York tough earlier this week and showed they can at the very least contend with some of the area's best. Maintaining strong defensive play could help Kennard-Dale secure a postseason berth and maybe even win a playoff game or two.
9. New Oxford (5-4): Half of the Colonials' losses this season have come against undefeated Northeastern, so New Oxford has had a stronger season than it might seem at first glance.
10. Spring Grove (6-4): The Rockets played well enough on defense to hold Hershey to only 26 points a few days ago. Unfortunately for Spring Grove, it only scored 20 and lost the game.
I'd say it would be very difficult to argue your power rankings, especially since the only ones that really matter are the top 3. The top 3 teams have fully asserted themselves in a position to be 1a, 1b, and 1c and then it really doesn't matter who follows in the YAIAA. I don't see York, Eastern, or Suburban losing to anyone else in this league (except obviously to each other). I see the Bearcats holding on to the number one spot by weeks end.
I can't wait for the Eastern and Suburban matchup. With these two teams being very well coached, I don't see these two looking ahead and having an upset loss. I do, however, feel that Eastern is the better all around team. However, I feel Suburban has the most go-to guys and if the officials decide to blow their whistles often, it could spell trouble for the Golden Knights. It seems as if Suburban has more playmakers (Kinard, McIlnery (sp?), and Kemp) as opposed to the two headed attack of Eastern (Tillotson and Nicholas). However, that is the only way that Suburban can win.
Prediction: Homecourt advantage does not help the Trojans - Eastern York 63 York Suburban 52
I must admit I was wrong.....Suburban surprised me....but it still doesn't change my prediction. I feel as if Eastern is still going to beat them every time they play down the road