Two weeks of high school football — one-fifth of the regular season — are in the books and it’s clear who the top teams around the state are and figure to be all season long.
Pittsburgh Central Catholic is already considered the clearcut favorite to win the PIAA gold in December and teams like Pine-Richland (5A), Bonner-Prendergast (4A) and Southern Columbia (2A) are also likely to end their seasons at Cumberland Valley High School.
In terms of the Lehigh Valley, Northwestern Lehigh remains ranked No. 1 and figures to have at least a solid shot of making it four straight appearances in the state finals. Notre Dame-Green Pond, currently ranked No. 3 in 3A, might be the Tigers’ biggest obstacle.
And while Southern Lehigh is not ranked No. 1 in 5A, the defending 4A state champs keep racking up wins and figure to play long past Halloween.
In 6A, Parkland is the only local representative in the rankings, staying at No. 7.
Here are the latest rankings, courtesy of Eric Epler of Pennlive.com:
Class 6A
Rank – Team – District – Record – Previous rank
1.; Pittsburgh C.C. (7); 2-0; 1
2.; St. Joseph’s Prep (12); 1-0; 2
3.; Harrisburg (3); 2-0; 3
4.; State College (6); 2-0; 5
5.; Bishop McDevitt (3); 2-0; 6
6.; La Salle College HS (12); 0-2; 4
7.; Parkland (11); 1-1; 7
8.; Central York (3); 1-1; 9
9.; Central Bucks West (1); 2-0; NR
10.; Plymouth-Whitemarsh (1); 2-0; NR
Teams to watch: Downingtown East (1) 1-0, Manheim Township (3) 2-0, North Penn (1) 1-1, Roman Catholic (12) 0-2, Wilson-West Lawn (3) 1-1.
Class 5A
Rank – Team – District – Record – Previous rank
1.; Pine-Richland (7); 2-0; 1
2.; Imhotep Charter (12); 1-1; 2
3.; Springfield-Delco (1); 2-0; 3
4.; Southern Lehigh (11); 2-0; 4
5.; Penn-Trafford (7); 2-0; 5
6.; Twin Valley (3); 2-0; 6
7.; Upper St. Clair (7); 2-0; 8
8.; West Chester Rustin (1); 1-0 ; 9
9.; Hollidaysburg (6); 2-0; 10
10.; Garnet Valley (1); 2-0; NR
Teams to watch: Chester (1) 2-0, Solanco (3) 2-0, Spring Grove (3) 2-0, Thomas Jefferson (7) 1-0, Trinity (7) 2-0.
Class 4A
Rank – Team – District – Record – Previous rank
1.; Bonner-Prendergast (12); 1-1; 1
2.; Shamokin (4); 2-0; 2
3.; Montour (7); 2-0; 5
4.; Pope John Paul II (1); 2-0; 4
5.; McKeesport (7); 1-1; 3
6.; Jersey Shore (4); 2-0; 6
7.; West York (3); 2-0; 7
8.; North Pocono (2); 2-0; 8
9.; Cardinal O’Hara (12); 2-0; 4
10.; General McLane (10); 2-0; 10
Teams to watch: Bethlehem Catholic (11) 2-0, Blue Mountain (11) 1-1, Cathedral Prep (10) 2-0, Dallas (2) 2-0, South Fayette (7) 2-0.
Class 3A
Rank – Team – District – Record – Previous rank
1.; Northwestern Lehigh (11); 2-0; 1
2.; Aliquippa (7); 1-0; 2
3. Notre Dame-Green Pond (11); 2-0; 3
4.; Hopewell (7); 2-0; 4
5.; Wyomissing (3); 0-1; 5
6.; Avonworth (7); 1-1; 6
7.; Scranton Prep (2); 1-1; 7
8.; Hickory (10); 1-1; 8
9.; Mount Carmel (4); 2-0; 9
10.; Propel Braddock Hills (7); 1-1; 10
Teams to watch: Archbishop Wood (12) 2-0, Elizabeth-Forward (7) 2-0, Central-Martinsburg (6) 2-0, Western Wayne (2) 2-0.
Class 2A
Rank – Team – District – Record – Previous rank
1.; Southern Columbia (4); 2-0; 1
2.; Bishop Canevin (7); 2-0; 2
3.; Seton LaSalle (7); 2-0; 3
4.; Dunmore (2); 2-0; 4
5.; Farrell (10); 2-0; 5
6.; Richland (6); 2-0; 6
7.; Westinghouse (8); 2-0; 7
8.; Greenville (10); 2-0; 8
9.; Karns City (9); 2-0; 10
10.; West Catholic (12); 2-0; NR
Teams to watch: Apollo-Ridge (7) 2-0, Bald Eagle Area (6) 2-0, Bellwood-Antis (6) 2-0, Lakeland (2) 2-0.
Class 1A
Rank – Team – District – Record – Previous rank
1.; Washington (7); 2-0; 3
2.; Bishop Guilfoyle (6); 1-1; 1
3.; Belmont Charter (12); 1-0; 6
4.; Fort Cherry (7); 2-0; 7
5.; Clairton (7); 0-2; 2
6.; Steelton-Highspire (3); 1-1; 5
7.; Wilmington (10); 2-0; 8
8.; Williams Valley (11); 1-1; 4
9.; Montgomery (4); 2-0; 9
10.; Line Mountain (4); 2-0; 10
Teams to watch: Homer-Center (6) 2-0, Laurel (7) 1-1, Mercyhurst Prep (10) 1-1, Meyersdale (5) 2-0, Ridgway (9) 2-0.