A Lancaster-Lebanon League division title won’t be on the line Saturday in Wyomissing, but it doesn’t diminish the meeting between the Spartans and the Twin Valley Raiders.
A year ago, Twin Valley beat Wyomissing 28-6 enroute to win the LL Division 4 title, the District 3 Class 4A title and advancing to the state title game.
This season, Twin Valley is bumped up to Section 3 in the LL and 5A in District 3 and PIAA play.
Wyomissing remains in LL Section 4 but drops down to 3A for districts and states.
The ‘non-league’ contest will have eyes on it outside of the conference because of where they stand in the state rankings.
Twin Valley enters ranked sixth in 5A and Wyomissing is fifth in 3A.
The Raiders (2-0) have been impressive again this season, easily beating Middletown in Week 1 before downing a good Susqeuhanna Township team 17-13 in Week 2.
Wyomissing is 0-1 with a Week 1 loss to Southern Columbia, perennially one of the state’s best small schools, and having its Week 2 game against Frankfort canceled.
The only other Berks team to gain recognition is Wilson (1-1), which remains a team to watch in 6A. The Bulldogs lost to Central Bucks West 35-23 in Week 2.
Across all the classes with one-fifth of the regular season in the books, it’s clear who the top teams around the state are and figure to be all season.
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.
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.