Perched at the top of the table

Mechanicsburg's dream football season got a lot better in the moments following the Wildcats' 45-6 rout of Wayensboro on Friday night.

The same evening, Garden Spot beat Lebanon, 35-21. Why was that result important? The Cedars were the only team ahead of Mechanicsburg (5-0) in the District 3 Class AAA playoff power rankings. Thanks to that loss, the Wildcats head into Week 6 as the top dog and one of only two unbeaten teams in the district -- Greencastle-Antrim is the other.

Mechanicsburg has a healthy 90-point edge on the Blue Devils, who have a difficult assignment this week at Red Land, and are 150 points in front of West York, which checks in at No. 3.

That doesn't mean a district title and a spot in the PIAA semifinals is certain for Mechanicsburg. The biggest threat to a team that has won every conceivable way so far could be a team seeded way down at No. 12: Manheim Central.

The Barons, which own 15 District 3-AAA titles, have lost twice this year but neither team was in Central's classification. Wilson, a favorite in 3-AAAA, squeaked out a 20-15 win Sept. 5 and Class AA Lancaster Catholic beat the Barons, 21-8, a week later.

In Mechanicsburg's second appearance in the 3-AAA final, Manheim Central beat the Wildcats, 27-6, in 2004. Mechanicsburg has never won a 3-AAA football championship.

The unofficial District 3 rankings can be found here, courtesy of the Pennsylvania Football News.