Sports Line Power Rankings, Week 9
With the 2015 state playoffs under way, Sports Line reveals its final power rankings for the regular season, and the top 10 was solidified with championship contenders. Aberdeen and Snake River kept pace with each other, remaining in a tie for No. 1 for the second-straight week. The top eight remained the same as well, with West Jefferson and North Fremont jumping into ninth and 10th, respectively.
Sports Line’s power-rankings formula measures a team’s total performance using win-loss record, point differential and strength of schedule. In 2014, the top five teams in SL’s rankings all played their way into their respective state championship games. Three of those teams; Highland, Snake River and West Side, ultimately won their titles. Blackfoot and Aberdeen were the only two inside the top five to lose in the final weekend.
Considering the previous paragraph: All five teams in last year’s top five played in a state title game. Which schools in this year’s top 10 could make it to the final weekend? The defending 5A champion Highland Rams have a bye week in the first round of the tournament. The Rams’ path doesn’t look too hard, with the exception of possibly meeting Rocky Mountain in the semifinals. Could Madison get hot? The ‘Cats host Timberline in the first round for the second year in a row. The winner of that game travels to face Coeur d’Alene in the quarterfinals.
Snake River is tied for first in our rankings. Sugar-Salem exploded into the top five and sits at No. 4. The Panthers and the Diggers sit on opposite sides of the bracket, so it’s possible we could see these two play for the title. Snake River dispatched every 3A team from District Six during the regular season, including a 35-27 victory over the Diggers on September 11.
How about the Aberdeen Tigers in the 2A tournament? Jeff Duffin’s squad spent six weeks atop our power rankings a year ago, but the Tigers lost the state title to district foe West Side. Here in 2015, Aberdeen has been in first, or tied for first, for five consecutive weeks. The Tigers even beat West Side two weeks ago, avenging their title-game loss. Aberdeen hasn’t lost on it’s home field since 2012. Not surprisingly, Aberdeen lost to West Side in that game. Alas, the Tigers have elected to host Firth in the first round Friday night. A victory, and the Tigers could host again because they’re on the top part of the bracket in the quarterfinals.
An intriguing team, to me, is West Jefferson. The Panthers have won five in a row since losing to West Side 22-20 in Terreton on September 18. The Panthers could be itching for another shot at the Pirates, the same team that knocked West Jeff out of the playoffs a year ago in the state quarters at Holt Arena. But, the Panthers and Pirates are on opposite sides of the bracket. West Jefferson would have to knock off Aberdeen in the semifinals to get to West Side, assuming all three teams get to that point.
While the Century Diamondbacks aren’t in our top 10, Travis Hobson’s ball club has won five of its last six, including four in a row to close out the season. However, Century’s opponents’ combined record in those four straight wins was just a mere 12-23. The one team with a winning record in that stretch? Twin Falls (7-2). The Diamondbacks beat the Bruins two weeks ago at Holt Arena. Should Century beat Wood River Friday night, the Diamondbacks would travel to Twin Falls to play the Bruins in the state quarterfinals.
Can Eastern Idaho put at least one team in each of the 11-man state title games again, just as it did in 2014? Let’s hope so!
