#1: Bishop Luers
Record: 5-0
Last Week: #1
Week 6: vs Northrop
The Knights are 5-0 to start the season for the first time since 2011, a year they also won a state championship. This year’s team has also played at championship level as Bishop Luers continues to roll, this week reaching their highest point total of the season in a 55-9 win over North Side. Carson Clark added 231 yards and 4 touchdowns to his season statline of 1,335 yards, 16 touchdowns, and only 2 interceptions. Receiver Brody Glenn was also productive with 7 receptions for 136 yards and 2 touchdowns. While that tandem continues to tear teams apart, the defense has been gaining momentum, building their confidence for tougher weeks to come. Northrop’s up next, and then it’s time for the Battle of the Bishops.
#2: Carroll
Record: 4-1
Last Week: #3
Week 6: at South Side
Carroll ended the streak and earned a massive win over Bishop Dwenger at Shields Field. This win didn’t just mean a lot for the season, but the program as well, as Coach Doug Dinan just became the winningest head coach in Carroll football history. This one had to be pretty sweet, as the Chargers dominated through the air, leaving Dwenger with no answer. Jeff Becker made his 327 yards and 6 touchdowns look easy, and it helped that his receivers ran like wild horses, open and free all game long. Jameson Coverstone led this group with 7 receptions, 173 yards, and 3 touchdowns. The Steely brothers were also all over the field on defense, combining for 8 tackles, a forced fumble, and an interception. The last few years, much has been made of the Chargers inability to win the big games. They’ve now won two this year, beating Snider and Dwenger. However, everyone knows that this season will come down to whether or not they can break another streak: 7 straight losses to Homestead. Their season will be defined by that one game, which is coming up after a trip to South Side.
#3: Snider
Record: 3-1
Last Week: #5
Week 6: vs Wayne
In a bit of a shocker, the Snider Panthers came away with a 17-14 win over Homestead. After a 45 yard field goal by Nick Talamantes to put the Panthers up 10, Snider’s defense was able to hold and get a game-ending interception to seal it. As expected, Tyrese Brown was the pulse of the offense, with 157 yards and a score. However, Luke Haupert also played very sound football, going 11 for 15 with 104 yards and a touchdown. But the Snider defense may have been the real story, as they did what few teams have been able to do this year by keeping the Spartans out of the end zone. Looking ahead, Snider may actually have the best chance to win the conference. They have games that they should win against Wayne and Northrop. But, they’ll face Dwenger and Luers in the final weeks of the regular season. This team still controls its own destiny and is beginning to look like the team we had first place to start the year.
#4: Homestead
Record: 3-2
Last Week: #2
Week 6: at North Side
Following an impressive win over Dwenger, the Spartans went back home and could not pull out a victory. Much like their game against Luers, Homestead trailed by double-digits at halftime before making a comeback. However, they fell short once again. Peyton Slaven and Nate Anderson connected for 2 long touchdowns, but a late interception proved costly for the Spartans. In fact, losing the turnover battle 3-0 was a key factor in this loss. While this team has played well, they haven’t been able to win some close games, which moves them back to 4th. They’ll play North Side next week, and then will likely be in another close game with Carroll. Homestead still has an opportunity to defend their conference title, but they’ll need to take care of business and get some help from other teams.
#5: Bishop Dwenger
Record: 3-2
Last Week: #4
Week 6: at Concordia
A week after Homestead defeated the Saints soundly, Carroll just gave Dwenger the worst loss and first losing streak of the Jason Garrett era. The Saints have not been able to do much of anything on offense against the big boys of the SAC this year. Much of that has been due to their predictability. Without a consistent threat at quarterback, the Homestead and Carroll defenses have played run and stopped it on early downs, forcing Dwenger into third-and-long situations. This lack of balance on offense has hurt this team as a whole, as Dwenger only rushed for 109 yards as a team yesterday. The Saints chances of competing for the SAC look very bleak right now.
#6: North Side
Record: 1-4
Last Week: #6
Week 6: vs Homestead
Though Jontae Lambert had a 108 yard rushing performance and quarterback Donovan Williams held his own, passing for 113 yards and a touchdown, North Side could not keep up with Luers. The Legends haven’t been able to hang around with some of the better teams in the conference of late, getting outscored 134-22 in their last three losses. They have yet another tough game this week against Homestead, before their brutal schedule takes a kind turn for the last three weeks of the season.
#7: Northrop
Record: 2-3
Last Week: #9
Week 6: at Bishop Luers
The Bruins managed to grab an impressive win over Concordia on Friday night. Julante Hinton and Mykell Nabors did the scoring, as Northrop stayed in control all game long. Though they may not win the SAC, they have many opportunities to play spoiler in the coming weeks, with Luers, Snider, and Dwenger all on tap for the final weeks of the regular season.
#8: Wayne
Record: 1-4
Last Week: #10
Week 6: at Snider
We said last week that it was only a matter of time before Wayne got in the win column and they finally did on Friday. The running back duo of Lamarion Nelson and Shawn Collins worked to perfection, with Nelson rushing for 267 yards and 2 touchdowns, and Collins racking up 101 yards and 3 touchdowns of his own. This team no longer finds themselves in last place in our rankings, but does have a challenging stretch ahead. They’ll take on Snider this week, who has been terrific defensively and features their own star running back. Wayne will have to be physical and win in the trenches if they want to pull the upset next week.
#9: Concordia
Record: 1-4
Last Week: #7
Week 6: vs Bishop Dwenger
This offense has been stagnant for weeks now. After blowing out South Side 42-20 in Week 1, the Cadets have scored 14, 13, 14, and 14 points in their last four games. Though they still have time to get things turned around, they’ll have to face both Dwenger and Carroll over the next few weeks.
#10: South Side
Record: 1-3
Last Week: #8
Week 6: vs Carroll
Falling to Wayne 36-26, South Side now finds themselves at the bottom of our rankings. They played well and stayed in the game for a while, but they ultimately couldn’t keep up with Wayne in the second half. The Archers, much like Wayne, also have a difficult stretch of games to round out their year, starting with Carroll at home next Friday.
