Power Rankings (Week 4)

Below are what the playoff pairings would look like if the District 3 playoffs started this weekend:

Class A
Carson Long (8, 0-3) at Upper Dauphin (1, 4-0)
Holy Name (5, 2-2) at York Catholic (4, 2-2)
Millersburg (6, 2-2) at Steelton-Highspire (3, 2-1)
Camp Hill (7, 1-2) at Central Catholic (2, 3-1)

Class AA
Wyomissing (8, 2-2) at Lancaster Catholic (1, 3-1)
York Suburban (5, 3-1) at Delone Catholic (4, 3-1)
Littlestown (6, 3-1) at Trinity (3, 3-1)
Schuylkill Valley (7, 2-2) at Middletown (2, 3-1)

Class AAA
Upper Bracket
Kennard-Dale (16, 2-2) at Manheim Central (1, 4-0)
New Oxford (9, 3-1) at Daniel Boone (8, 4-0)
Susquenita (13, 3-1) at ELCO (4, 4-0)
Northeastern (12, 3-1) at Susquehanna Twp. (5, 4-0)
Lower Bracket
Twin Valley (15, 3-1) at West York (2, 4-0)
Cocalico (10, 3-1) at Conestoga Valley (7, 3-1)
Palmyra (14, 3-1) at Greencastle-Antrim (3, 4-0)
Hershey (11, 3-1) at Northern (6, 4-0)

Class AAAA
Upper Bracket
Governor Mifflin (16, 2-2) at Bishop McDevitt (1, 4-0)
Cumberland Valley (9, 3-1) at Manheim Twp. (8, 3-1)
Cedar Cliff (13, 2-2) at Chambersburg (4, 3-1)
Spring Grove (12, 3-1) at Wilson (5, 3-1)
Lower Bracket
Lower Dauphin (15, 2-2) at Penn Manor (2, 4-0)
Muhlenberg (10, 3-1) at South Western (7, 4-0)
Central York (14, 2-2) at York William Penn (3, 4-0)
Warwick (11, 3-1) at Central Dauphin (6, 3-1)

What we learned: Week 4

First off, Big Spring is a legimate threat. Maybe not for a division or a district title, but if any team sleeps on Brent Stroh's Bulldogs, they'll bite. Big Spring came up short to Red Land on Friday, 23-20, in overtime. That result is more impressive than the 56-7 rout of West Perry last week. It wasn't a win but the boys from Newville represented well.

We only have one thing to say for Central Dauphin East: wow. We understand the program is in a downward cycle but allowing 73 points is just awful. Knowing the type of person, not just coach, that CV's Tim Rimpfel is, we can promise you he wouldn't deliberately run up the score. East might just be that bad this year.

Another area feel-good story, Susquenita, took one on the chin tonight in a 47-7 loss to Trinity. How the Blackhawks respond is key with a trip to Palmyra on the horizon.

Arrow up: East Pennsboro and Northern. The Panthers took a rivalry win from Camp Hill (26-7) while the Polar Bears did likewise against Mechanicsburg in a 26-22 win. Being the victor in these emotional games means good vibes all week.

Arrow down: Boiling Springs, Carlisle, Cedar Cliff, West Perry. We'll start with Carlisle and Cedar Cliff. Tough losses tonight as both teams were looking to start 3-1. That makes next week's collision at Ken Millen Stadium between the two huge.

Boiling Springs showed heart in a seven-point loss to Milton Hershey but it's unlikely that four losses will allow the Bubblers to make the 3-AA palyoffs.

As for West Perry, this might be Al Ream's toughest assignment yet. How he convinces this team to show up every day and compete is vital after losing its last three games by a combined 166-32. Even worse news is that the team has allowed more points and scored fewer in consecutive games since Week 2. Short memories on key with a trip to Northern on tap Friday.

Week 4 Predictions: Born Power Index

Below are the predictions for this weekend's area games courtesy of the Born Power Index.

Non-division

Camp Hill* by 2 over East Pennsboro

Cedar Cliff by 3 over Chambersburg*
Cumberland Valley* by 46 over Central Dauphin East

Harrisburg by 11 over Carlisle*

Milton Hershey by 21 over Boiling Springs*
Northern by 13 over Mechanicsburg*
Red Land* by 11 over Big Spring

Shippensburg* by 2 over Gettysburg

Susquehanna Twp.* by 55 over West Perry

Trinity* by 15 over Susquenita

Some other big games across Pennsylvania:

Upper St. Clair* by 11 over Pittsburgh Central Catholic (Thursday)

Central Dauphin* by 1 over Bishop McDevitt

Erie Cathedral Prep* by 4 over Erie Strong Vincent

Hopewell* by 2 over New Castle

LaSalle College by 2 over St. Joseph's Prep*

Manheim Central* by 25 over Cocalico

Neshaminy by 3 over Abington*

Parkland* by 17 over Nazareth

Pennsbury* by 14 over Council Rock South

A meaningless weekend?

Need proof that the six-division format doesn't work for the Mid-Penn conference?

Look at this weekend's schedule. There are more a few games that should always be division affairs. Bishop McDevitt at Central Dauphin; Harrisburg at Carlisle and Milton Hershey at Boiling Springs come to mind. Unfortunately, the only thing that these games will help determine is playoff positioning.

That, in our opinion, is a shame. It's the second year of this format and Year 2 hasn't been any easier to stomach. Last week wasn't an issue as division games were all over the docket. But weeks like this, it's simply tough to get excited about a game that has no bearing on any regular season race.

Week 3 Predictions: Born Power Index

We're hoping that this becomes a weekly post. We used to publish predictions each week that MaxPreps provided. That site has changed and no longer offers predictions. So we're using the Born Power Index. Below are the spreads for area games.

For our staff picks, capsules on each game and our take on each game pick up Football This Week in Friday's edition of The Sentinel.

*-denotes home team

Mid-Penn Commonwealth
Cumberland Valley* by 37 over Altoona

Mid-Penn Keystone
Lower Dauphin by 2 over Cedar Cliff*

Mid-Penn Colonial
Red Land by 6 over Gettysburg*
Susquehanna Twp. by 16 over Mechanicsburg*

Mid-Penn Capital
Greencastle-Antrim* by 8 over Shippensburg
West Perry* by 9 over Big Spring

Mid-Penn Liberty
Middletown by 14 over Boiling Springs*
Palmyra by 8 over East Pennsboro*
Susquenita* by 14 over James Buchanan

Mid-Penn Patriot
Trinity by 5 over Camp Hill*

Non-division
Northern* by 6 over Milton Hershey

Non-conference
Hempfield* by 3 over Carlisle

And now for a few other games we deem to be fairly big this weekend.

Berwick by 27 over Wyoming Area
Bethlethem Freedom* by 6 over Emmaus
State College by 11 over Central Dauphin*
Manheim Central by 4 over Lancaster Catholic*
Parkland* by 23 over Easton
Harrisburg* by 17 over Chambersburg (Saturday)
North Penn by 4 over St. Joseph's Prep* (Saturday)

Warwick still smarting from loss to CV

Glancing through the preview tab for the Lancaster-Lebanon League revealed a few mentions of Cumberland Valley. The Eagles ended the seasons of L-L Section I members Warwick and Penn Manor before falling to Wilson in the District 3 Class AAAA final.

CV's first victim, Warwick, used a 49-13 setback in the first round of the playoffs at Chapman Field for motivation heading into this season.

Gordie Jones, a correspondent who wrote the season preview on the Warriors, stated that CV is a "perennial power and the type of team Warwick (among many others) hopes to become."

Dimitri Gerard, a guard-defensive end told Jones that playing CV was "an eye-opener."

Fullback-middle linebacker Chris Schaffer went a step further when recounting the season-ending loss: "It shows that you're not as good as you think you are," Schaffer told Jones. "We went in thinking, 'All right, we can give these guys a game.' We thought we were prepared. Obviously, they play some good ball up there. We got handled."

Week 1 projections

It's that time of year again. The first football tab of year doesn't include the Week 1 game capsules, which are accompanied by predictions for each area game. So this is the only place to find what we're thinking about the opening-week game. Our staff picks are available in our season preview tab (page D47) but if you can't wait for Friday, here's an early look:

MID-PENN LIBERTY DIVISION
Middletown 21, East Pennsboro 16 -- Might be the de facto Liberty Division title game. Rodney Ramsey's presence in the backfield gives the Blue Raiders the edge. If the Panthers can respond from this early loss, good things could be ahead.

NON-DIVISION

Boiling Springs 33, Big Spring 6 -- The goal of Big Spring's new offense is keep its defense off the field by running the Wing-T and making the game shorter. That's all well and good but we like the Bubblers to cruise past the rival 'Dawgs on the new carpet at Ecker Field.

Mechanicsburg 27, Carlisle 8 -- Both teams are young and inexperienced but Mechanicsburg isn't as woeful as you'd expect for a team with just one returning starter, which is running back Tarik Leftenant (above). Carlisle will rely on Travis Mease to pound the ball but one man can only do so much. On the other side, Mid-Penn meet Mechanicsburg QB James Rusenko. The name will be familiar soon enough.

Red Land 12, Cedar Cliff 0 -- Those defenses of Frank Gay sure are something. With Cedar Cliff QB Tim Kelly out with a broken collarbone, Gay's defense will go crazy and Cedar Cliff will lose its ninth straight to Red Land. If this score comes to fruition, it will be the second time in three years the Patriots hung a shutout on their rival.

NON-CONFERENCE

Biglerville 19, Camp Hill 14 -- It's a tough opener for the fresh-faced Lions, who replace just about everybody from last year's District 3 Class A runner-up squad. One thing that didn't change was the fact that Frank Kindler coaches the team. Anytime that name is involved, the team will come to play. Don't be surprised if Camp Hill wins this game.

Cumberland Valley 31, Red Lion 14 -- Another home game for CV and another blowout. Red Lion might come around as the year goes along but this is a rough opener. CV, on the other hand, is gearing up for a return to the postseason party and the Lions are simply victim No. 1.

Indian Valley 21, West Perry 9 -- A perennial power in District 6 -- what are there, five AAA schools up there? -- Indian Valley has had West Perry's number recently. A win sure would be good for the confidence in Elliottsburg but we just don't see it this week.

Lancaster Catholic 29, Trinity 14 -- A good measuring stick for the new-look Shamrocks. We're fairly confident that if Trinity can stay within two scores of a high-powered Lancaster Catholic side, better things will soon follow.

Northern 35, Bermudian Springs 12 -- Joe Tuschak starts his second year under center and promptly lights the Eagles up. Not many are talking about Northern but they will be soon enough.

Shippensburg 22, Halifax 6 -- The Greyhounds have some big, experienced boys in the trenches. Halifax? Not so much. Shippensburg should be able to do whatever it wants in this one.

Susquenita 18, Newport 7 -- A good start for new coach Bart Miller at Susquenita. Key is keeper QB Derec Sauve, who threw for over 2,000 yards last year, happy as a Wing-T quarterback.