Daniel Paulling: Explaining my Week 8 Sun Poll Ballot

By Daniel Paulling

We’ve got a new No. 1 team, but it’s not Bermudian Springs.

1. Spring Grove — Rockets coach Russ Stoner said his team would play for the YAIAA Division I title, and he was right. Whoever wins Friday’s game between Spring Grove and William Penn will likely have the division. The worst thing for opponents: The Rockets are really young and going to be around for a while.

2. Bermudian Springs — Spring Grove beat the Eagles in a preseason scrimmage, and I think the Rockets would do the same if the two played an actual game. What would be interesting is seeing the Rockets’ offense against Bermudian’s defense, which, Fairfield coach Darwin Seiler said, is rarely out of position.

3. South Western — I took about a week too long to drop the Mustangs. Other than junior running back Dillon Thomas, there haven’t been too many highlights. It’ll be interesting to see this offense next year with junior Tyler Sterner at quarterback, Thomas at running back and a year to fix the problems on the line.

4. Biglerville — The Canners have a 6:30 a.m. breakfast Saturday before their bus leaves for York Tech at 7:15. After that, they better rest for next week’s game against Bermudian Springs. A win there could give them a chance at the division title.

5. Delone –The Squires are second in the District 3 Class A power ratings, essentially wrapping up a playoff spot. They haven’t lost two games in divisional play in quite some time, but they are battered by injuries.

6. Littlestown — Quarterback Dustin Crouse appears to be back one week after I said his season has been down. The Thunderbolts will use whatever possible to reach the playoffs. They’re eighth in the District 3 Class AA power ratings, so a loss could end any playoff hopes.

7. New Oxford; 8. Gettysburg — Both are rebuilding, both have two wins and both are likely to win their third game Friday. Both, however, can’t quite reach Littlestown or Delone.

9. Fairfield; 10. Hanover — Same reasoning as last week: Of the two teams at the bottom, Fairfield, even on a 36-game losing streak, looks slightly better than Hanover. Let’s see who wins the game next week.