Sports Line Power Rankings
As week 8 of the high school football season gets under way, there is a new No. 1 in Sports Line’s weekly power rankings. One loss was all it took for the Aberdeen Tigers to fall out of the top spot. The Tigers drop to No. 3 after losing to Bear Lake in Montpelier. Now, the Blackfoot Broncos take over the top seed with West Side sticking right behind them at No. 2.
The Tigers let their guard down against the Bears. Now, Aberdeen has to go to Dayton to face an undefeated West Side club. It could have been one of the most anticipated games of the week had both teams been undefeated. Now, the Tigers need to win at least one of their final two to make sure they get a playoff spot when the postseason didn’t seem to be much of a question just a week ago.
The biggest jumps of the week belong to Madison and Century. Both teams picked up four spots in the rankings. The Cats make it into the top 10 for the first time this season after spending most of the year hovering just outside. Century has won two in a row, and the Diamondbacks still have a shot at the playoffs. Century beat Pocatello, so the Diamondbacks have a head-to-head tie-breaker over the Indians. That won’t matter, though, if Pocatello falls to Blackfoot this week, and Century beats Preston in the final game of the season.
The North Fremont Huskies have won three in a row and find themselves at No. 17 after dropping as low as No. 26 this year. More importantly, the Huskies are undefeated in the conference at 2-0, and they travel to face Firth this week. The Cougars are the only other 2-0 team in the league. Four of the five 2A teams in District 6 will make the state playoffs. A win for North Fremont could go a long way to getting a better seed come postseason.
How fun is the 5A classification shaping up to be this season? Six teams are vying for three guaranteed spots. The Highland Rams have all but gift-wrapped the top seed to themselves. That leaves two spots left.
Realistically, it’ll come down to Hillcrest, Madison and Skyline. Skyline must beat Madison on Friday night in order to keep its postseason hopes alive. A loss gives the Grizz three in conference play. Assuming Hillcrest falls to Highland Friday, the Knights and Cats will both be 3-1 in conference and fighting for the second bid to state in the final game of the regular season. We’ll see if the Grizz play like their backs are against the wall in Rexburg.
Enjoy the games!
