Five Downs with Coach Polites

This week, the 6-3 Bears welcome the 6-3 Lebanon Cedars to round out the regular season. E-town is in good shape for the playoffs and should be in win or lose, but can cement their place and possibly improve their seeding with a win. I caught up with head coach Jeff Polites about tonight's regular season finale.

First Down: How are you guys injury-wise?
Coach Polites: We have 3 of the 5 that were out last week. We should be totally healthy for the first round of the playoffs.

Second Down: You've faced several good passing teams all year, but how is Lebanon different from them?
Coach Polites: Lebanon runs a similar offense to most of the teams in the league. They seem to get a lot more offensive plays than the others.

Third Down: How do you plan to contain quarterback James Capello's ability to beat you with his arm and his legs? (Note: Capello has more than 2,200 passing yards and 800 rushing yards).
Coach Polites: We must keep him in the pocket with the DE's and pressure him up the middle with the tackles and LBs.

Fourth Down: Is the running game and chewing time of the clock even more important this week with the caliber of Lebanon's offense?
Coach Polites: That is our plan every week and it is very important this week.

Fifth Down: You could still get into the playoffs with a win or a loss tonight, but how important is it to the players to win and control their own destiny?
Coach Polites: We should be in no matter the result tonight. We are looking for a 7-3 regular season record. That will be our main focus tonight.

Horning qualifies for states

It's been a great season for EAHS senior cross country runner Dustin Horning, and now it will continue at the biggest stage in the state.

Horning finished 10th overall at last Wednesday's District Three Class AAA meet, qualifying him to compete in Saturday's PIAA State Meet. (Note: I apologize to Dustin and the rest of the EAHS boys and girls cross country runners for not covering the district meet. The schedule I have had the meet slated for Saturday, Oct. 25, so you can imagine my surprise when I got the results on Thursday morning, the 23rd. Sorry, back to the post now.) Horning finished in a time of 16:47, and gained familiarity with the course in Hershey, which is where the state meet will take place this Saturday.

Horning has had one of the best individual seasons in E-town cross country history. He won every single meet of the year except for the regular season finale, where he finished second by just one second. You can't do much better than that. In leagues, where he was expected to compete for the L-L title, he came down with some pretty bad cramps and was forced out of the race, which was unfortunate for him. But he made up for that in districts and will now look to earn a medal in states.

The Boys AAA race kicks off at noon at Parkview Cross Country Course in Hershey.

District Three Week 9 Power Rankings and Playoff Thoughts

Wow, is it really week 10 already? Boy, this football season has absolutely flown by. But here we are staring dead into the face of the last week of the regular season with district playoffs on the horizon. Before we get started, though, here are the District Three Class AAAA power rankings after nine weeks. Remember, the top 16 teams get into next week's district playoffs.

1. Wilson, 9-0 record, 144 average points, 1,300 total power points.
2. York, 9-0, 118, 1,070.
3. Bishop McDevitt, 8-1, 115, 1,040.
4. Cumberland Valley, 8-1, 113, 1,020.
5. Central York, 8-1, 108, 980.
6. Muhlenberg, 7-2, 100, 900.
7. Penn Manor, 7-2, 97, 880.
8. Central Dauphin, 7-2, 94, 850.
9. Dallastown, 7-2, 92, 830.
9. Governor Mifflin, 7-2, 92, 830.
9. Hempfield, 7-2, 92, 830.
12. Red Land, 6-3, 78, 710.
13. Elizabethtown, 6-3, 76, 690.
13. Warwick, 6-3, 76, 690.
15. Harrisburg, 5-4, 66, 600.
15. Manheim Township, 5-4, 66, 600.
17. Red Lion, 5-4, 64, 580.

So, as you can see, the Bears are currently locked into that No. 13 slot, meaning they would play Bishop McDevitt or Cumberland Valley in the first round if the rankings remained the same, and depending on how the tiebreaker with Warwick pans out. Red Lion is just on the outside looking in and needs a win and a loss by Township or Harrisburg to get in.

My take is that E-town will get in win or lose this week. However, getting in with a loss isn't as much of a guarantee, especially if Harrisburg, Township and Red Lion all win. That would mean it would come down to some Friday evening math to figure out who gets in and who doesn't. But a win by E-town seals up a district playoff berth. Again, though, they could still make it with a loss, but they might need a little bit of help, which is not something any team wants to rely on.

If E-town does get in, though, they are very likely looking at a road game on either Friday, Nov. 7 or Saturday, Nov. 8. Check back here over the weekend and as SOON as the brackets are released, I'll post them.

In fact, I've got lots of goodies for you today, so come back and check us out in a little bit.

Five Downs with Coach Polites

Tonight, the Elizabethtown Area High School football team travels to Ephrata's War Memorial Field to take on the winless Mounts. E-town is coming off of two straight losses, but is still 5-3 and ranked 13th in the latest District Three Class AAAA rankings. Here is the latest installment of five downs with EAHS head coach Jeff Polites.

First Down: How did the players respond this week after the Central game?
Coach Polites: We had a great week of practice and they are ready to get back to our winning ways.

Second Down: I know the offensive line is dinged up, but is this a good week to get their confidence back?
Coach Polites: They are a tough group of kids and are looking forward to the challenges this week.

Third Down: Have you had to preach to the players not to look past Ephrata, or is the focus there?
Coach Polites: They remember last year in a similar type of game when they out played us. The players have really concentrated on our improvement more than our opponent.

Fourth Down: What did you see from last week's film that you corrected this week?
Coach Polites: We were out of position on defense for most of the game, which gave them opportunities that we could have eliminated. We went back to very basic defensive alignments and reads.

Fifth Down: I know you don't like to look past any week, but is it setting in to the team and coaches the importance of finishing strong in order to make the playoffs?
Coach Polites: We would like to get some momentum going if we are fortunate to make into districts.

Week 8 District 3 Power Rankings

Well, despite losing two straight games, the Bears are still in the running for a District Three Quad-A playoff berth with two games left in the regular season. Here are the power rankings. Remember, the top 16 will get in.

1. Wilson – 8-0, 133 power points.
2. Bishop McDevitt – 8-0, 125.
3. West York – 8-0, 113.
4. Cumberland Valley – 7-1, 106.
5. Penn Manor – 7-1, 105.
6. Central York – 7-1, 100.
7. Muhlenberg – 6-2, 91.
8. Governor Mifflin – 6-2, 87.
9. Central Dauphin – 6-2, 86.
10. Dallastown – 6-2, 85.
10. Warwick – 6-2, 85.
12. Hempfield – 6-2, 81.
13. Elizabethtown – 5-3, 71.
13. Red Land – 5-3, 71.
15. Red Lion – 5-3, 70.
16. Manheim Township – 4-4, 61.

If the season ended today, the Bears would play Cumberland Valley in the first round of the playoffs. If E-town wins out and goes 7-3, it could get a higher seed, but is likely looking at a road game in the first round.

Here's how E-town's Section Two opponents stack up in the Triple A rankings.
3. Cocalico – 7-1, 122.
6. Manheim Central – 6-2, 102.
7. Lebanon – 6-2, 98.
10. Garden Spot – 5-3, 86.
17. Solanco – 4-4, 57 (Mules just 3 power points out of final playoff spot right now.)

Five Downs with Coach Polites

Well, tonight's the night. E-town. Manheim Central. 7 p.m. Be there.

E-town head coach Jeff Polites was nice enough to answer a few questions about tonight's huge game. Here you go:

First Down: All section games are huge, but with Central being a game up in the standings on you, how big is this one tonight?
Coach Polites: It is a big game. The kids have worked very hard to create this atmosphere and make this game a big one. They are looking forward to tonight.

Second Down: How have the players responded so far from last week's tough loss?
Coach Polites: They had a great week of practice. It is nice to have a big game like this right now. The team is really focused and ready to play.

Third Down: Is Alex Kirchner going to play tonight? (He injured his knee last week).
Coach Polites: Alex will play and he will pressure the QB.

Fourth Down: Does playing Central fire the kids up any more?
Coach Polites: They have heard about this opportunity all their life and tonight it comes true for them. The excitement is like none I have ever seen before.

Fifth Down: Central is a tough environment to play in. how important is it to jump out to an early lead on the road tonight?
Coach Polites: We can only control inside the lines one play at a time. Their field is exactly the same size as ours. Our fans will be crazy, so there will be no home field advantage.

Boys Soccer District Playoff Brackets

The EAHS boys soccer team may have missed out on the league playoffs, but they will be the District Three Class AAA playoffs, which begin on Monday with a home game against Manheim Central at 7 p.m.

Here are the first round matchups:
No. 17 Ephrata at No. 16 Daniel Boone. (Winner plays No. 1 Red Land).

No. 25 Mechanicsburg at No. 8 Governor Mifflin.
No. 24 Cocalico at No. 9 Carlisle.
(Winner of these two games meet in next round).

No. 20 Central York at No. 13 Exeter. (Winner plays No. 4 Central Dauphin).

No. 21 Wilson at No. 12 Garden Spot. (Winner plays No. 5 Dallastown).

No. 18 Lampeter-Strasburg at No. 15 Twin Valley (Winner plays No. 2 Red Lion).

No. 26. Spring Grove at No. 7 Conestoga Valley.
No. 23 Gettysburg at No. 10 Hershey.
(Winner of these two games meet in next round).

No. 19 Lower Dauphin at No. 14 Hempfield. (Winner plays No. 3 Warwick).

No. 27 Waynesboro at No. 6 Manheim Township.
No. 22 Manheim Central at No. 11 Elizabethtown.
(Winner of these two games meet in next round).

Here's the schedule:
Play in round (that's the games listed above): Monday, Oct. 20.
First round: Thursday, Oct. 23.
Quarterfinals: Saturday, Oct. 25.
Semifinals: Wednesday, Oct. 29.
Finals at Hersheypark Stadium: Saturday, Nov. 1.

District 3 Power Rankings, week 7

Here are the District Three Quad-A power rankings after Week 7. The top 16 make the playoffs, so that's what's listed. If you would like to view the full rankings, click here.

1. Wilson, 7-0, 127 points.
2. Bishop McDevitt, 7-0, 124.
3. Penn Manor, 7-0, 115.
4. West York, 7-0, 110.
5. Cumberland Valley, 6-1, 98.
6. Central York, 6-1, 92.
7. Muhlenberg, 5-2, 85.
8. Central Dauphin, 5-2, 84.
9. Dallastown, 5-2, 82.
9. Governor Mifflin, 5-2, 82.
11. Elizabethtown, 5-2, 80.
12. Hempfield, 5-2, 75.
13. Warwick, 5-2, 71.
14. Manheim Township, 4-3, 67.
14. Red Lion, 4-3, 67.
16. Cedar Cliff, 4-3, 67.

If the season ended today, which it does not obviously, E-town would play Central York in the first round of the playoffs.

Here's how E-town's Section Two rivals stack up in the AAA rankings:
3. Cocalico, 6-1, 115.
6. Garden Spot, 5-2, 94.
6. Lebanon, 5-2, 94.
9. Manheim Central, 5-2, 90.
19. Solanco, 3-4, 48.

EAHS Football Stats through week 7

Hungry this morning? That's cool, because I'm about to feed you a bunch of stats. Here are the EAHS football team's stats through the first 7 games heading into tonight's HUGE showdown with Central.

Passing:
Kyle McNeil: 45-85 (52 percent), 847 yards, 10 TD, 8 INT.

Rushing:
Conrad Heisey: 93 carries, 622 yards, 6 TD, 6.7 ypc.
Shane Rosenberry: 89 carries, 495 yards, 9 TD, 5.5 ypc.
Mitch Weidman: 60 carries, 444 yards, 6 TD, 7.4 ypc.

Receiving:
Weidman: 12 catches, 210 yards, 1 TD.
Jeremi Jones: 10 catches, 227 yards, 5 TD.
Steven Nunez: 7 catches, 160 yards, 1 TD.
Josh McMasters: 6 catches, 114 yards, 1 TD.
Rosenberry: 4 catches, 62 yards.
Heisey: 4 catches, 39 yards.
Brock Rutherford: 2 catches, 37 yards, 1 TD.
Brendan Kain: 1 catch, 5 yards, 1 TD.

Defensive leaders:
Tackles:
Rosenberry: 66.
Alex Kirchner: 49.
David Kennedy: 45.
Jared Danneker: 28.
Shaun Buller: 27.
Kain: 15.

Sacks:
Kirchner: 8.
Rosenberry: 3.
Buller: 2.
Kennedy: 1.
Danneker: 1.

Interceptions:
Nunez: 2.
Weidman: 2.
Kennedy: 1.
Mitch Light: 1.

Fumble recoveries:
Rosenberry: 3.
Kain: 2.
Kennedy: 2.
Larrian Payne: 1.
Weidman: 1.
Danneker: 1.

Fumbles Forced:
Rosenberry: 2.
Kirchner: 1.
Payne: 1.
Dylan Allison: 1.
Buller: 1.
Rutherford: 1.

Ramble On

"Leaves are falling all around....it's time I was on my way...." Sorry, but whenever I hear the word "ramble" that Zeppelin song comes to my head immediately.

All apologies for the lack of posts this week. I've been having serious headaches due to eye strain and have been trying to limit my time on computer as much as possible. Bad times. But excuses aren't welcome here at the Den and I don't intend to make any, so I'm sucking it up and making up for lost time with a bunch of random thoughts on everything from "Frank TV" to the baseball playoffs to, of course, some E-town sports. Buckle in Den Dwellers and let's go for a ride.

• Watching Game 5 of the NLCS right now (Rollins just led off with a home run, 1-0 Phils). Joe Buck (who I just find awful as an announcer) just said that five of the eight starters for Philly are batting under .200 for the series, yet the Phils are up 3-1. I've watched every game (except for Friday when I was covering the Bears), and from what I've seen, yes, a bunch of them are struggling, but all have come up with big hits when they've needed to. There isn't one guy carrying this offense, but a total team effort. I think the Phils are going to take care of business tonight, especially with Hamels on the bump. His change up is Bugs Bunny, seriously. Gives me shivers. That said, I'm not sure if anyone can beat these Tampa Bay Rays. I mean, they are absolutely embarrassing the Red Sox. As an Oriole fan, I couldn't be happier about that. Hamels may be able to shut Tampa down, but what are the rest of Philly's staff going to do? And even more important, how in the heck is Tampa on the verge of the World Series? Seriously. A real seamhead with no allegiance to any of the teams left, like this lowly blogger, has to root for Tampa. They built their team the right way. No money + awful stadium + competing in the AL East = impossible to sign big name free agents. So Tampa went out and built themselves a great team the old fashioned way, through the draft and growing the farm system. They don't thrown $200 million at people. They just grow GREAT talent (Evan Longoria is disgusting, and I mean that in a good way), and it's working. Hard to root against them. Well, except if your a Boston fan.

• Memo to Tim McCarver:
Go away. Please.

• Say what you want about Manny, but dude can rake. I'm glad he's out of my life, though, and playing in the NL.

• If I see one more House of Payne or Frank TV commercial, I will light myself on fire.

• Casey Blake's up right now. I love playoff beards.

• Good news: Tony Romo's out and Pacman is suspended. Bad news: The Cowboys just got Roy Williams. Dude is the real deal. Going from the Lions to the Cowboys is like upgrading from a '72 Pinto to an '09 Lexus. If TO was crying because he didn't get the ball enough before, wait until he has to share catches with Williams, while both realize how awful it is to have Brad Johnson throwing to you.

• In the Chronicle in the NFL offseason, I said the Skins were going 12-4. If they do it, I'm giving myself a raise. Wait...I don't have the authority to do that. Maybe I'll just buy myself some Swedish Fish. Mmm.

• The EAHS football team is two points away from being 7-0 right now. Wow.

• Speaking of the Bears, that game against Cocalico last Friday was awesome. Cocalico is the real deal, and Kyle Fisher is the fastest kid in pads I've seen in my time in Pa. The only kid faster I remember is a guy I went to high school with named Darius Wilmont. That kid could complete a 50-yard pass. To himself.

• I'm working on a new feature to this little blog: Journalist vs. Jocks. What it would be is me going against various EAHS athletes in their sports: A game of HORSE vs. a boys basketball player, trying to get a hit off of one of the softball pitchers, wrestling a period against a wrestler, etc. All I need to figure out is how to film it. If nothing else, it'll give you all something to laugh at as I embarrass myself and it might give me a chance to try out my health insurance. Stay tuned.

• Tough break for the EAHS boys soccer team. The Bears missed out on the L-L playoffs by losing to CV in a game that decided the Section Two title on Saturday. But the Bears will still be in Districts starting Oct. 20.

• Speaking of tough breaks, cross country runner Dustin Horning went into yesterday's L-L meet as the top ranked boys runner in the league, but came down with cramps that made it impossible for him to breathe, and he couldn't hang in there. I really thought he had a great shot to win the thing, but he'll get his chance to make noise at the District meet on Oct. 25 and will certainly qualify for states there.

That's all for now everyone. Please drop me a line if there's something you'd like to see on the blog that I don't do. Until next time, stay classy E-town and thanks for stopping by.

Five Downs with Coach Polites

This week, the Bears welcome in Cocalico in a key Section Two matchup. Here is the latest installment of Five Downs with Coach Polites:

First Down: Is there any sort of revenge factor on the players' minds after losing to Cocalico last year?
Coach: Not at all. We are only playing for this year. Last season is in the past and we have not referred to that game at all. Our focus is on this year's game.

Second Down: How are you planning to slow down (Cocalico RB) Kyle Fisher both on offense and on kick returns?
Coach: We will not kick to him at all on special teams and he is usually the pitch man on their option. We will have a defender assigned to him every play.

Third Down: Cocalico is the top rushing team in the league, but you guys were very stout against the run last week. Is the defense confident in their ability to contain the Cocalico's rush?
Coach: The kids are excited to put our defense against the top running team. They are taking it as a personal challenge.

Fourth Down: How important is it for your offense to sustain drives and chew up the clock when it has the ball?
Coach: That has been our game plan all season and we will keep doing that.

Fifth Down: What the atmosphere like on the practice field and in the locker room this week?
Coach: The practices have been upbeat. Every week is approached like a championship game.

Bears-Bucks to play for Section title

(Ethan Luscian scored one of E-town's five goals yesterday).

Conestoga Valley and E-town both took care of business yesterday and will play on Saturday afternoon for the Section Two championship.

The Bears needed CV to beat Garden Spot yesterday to have a shot at the section title, and that's exactly what the Buckskins did, beating the Spartans 5-1 to knock Garden Spot out of first place and to put themselves in a tie with E-town for first place. E-town kept the pace with a 5-1 win over Lebanon thanks to two goals by Sean Strangeway, and one goal each from Josh Reem, Ethan Luscian and Joey Funck.

It's pretty simple, really, the winner of the game will win the section and will get to the league playoffs. The loser, however, might not even get to leagues. Right now, E-town and CV are both 9-4-2 (29 points), and Spot is 9-5-1 (28 points). Garden Spot should be able to get to 10 wins tomorrow against Solanco, putting them at 31 points, meaning they would make the league playoffs over whoever loses in the E-town/CV game.

The Bears and the Buckskins have only played once this year, and they battled to a 2-2 tie back on Sept. 20. If the Bears win and get into the League playoffs, they will begin on Tuesday, where E-town will likely do battle with Section Four runner up Lancaster Catholic (7-6-0). Now, if the Bucks and Bears tie again, things could get a little interesting, because they would then be in a three-way tie with Ephrata, should the Mounts beat Lebanon tomorrow, which they likely will. To be honest, I'm not sure how a three-way tie would be settled, especially since E-town is 1-1 against Ephrata this year. But we'll cross that bridge when and if we get there.

Hold on to your seats, soccer fans, because Saturday will be one heck of a game.

Inside the Numbers ... actually, no, they're just numbers

I've compiled some stats out there on the EAHS football, boys soccer and field hockey teams so far this season for my fellow stat nerds, so here's what I got:

FOOTBALL:
Passing:
Kyle McNeil: 33-62 (51%), 646 yards, 10 TDs, 7 INTs.
Rushing:
Conrad Heisey, 79 carries, 567 yards, 6 TDs, 7.1 yards per carry.
Shane Rosenberry, 76 carries, 448 yards, 6 TDs, 5.8 ypc.
Mitch Weidman, 49 carries, 348 yards, 4 TDs, 7.1 ypc.
Receiving:
Jeremi Jones, 8 catches, 201 yards, 5 TDs.
Mitch Weidman, 8 catches, 116 yards, TD.
Steven Nunez, 5 catches, 143 yards, TD.
Shane Rosenberry, 3 catches, 48 yards.
Conrad Heisey, 3 catches, 21 yards.
Josh McMasters, 3 catches, 75 yards, TD.
Brock Rutherford, 2 catches, 37 yards, TD.
Brendan Kain, 1 catch, 5 yards, TD.

DEFENSE:
Tackles:
Shane Rosenberry, 54.
Alex Kirchner, 39.
David Kennedy, 38.
Jared Danneker, 24.
Shaun Buller, 23.
Sacks:
Alex Kirchner, 8.
Shane Rosenberry, 2.
Shaun Buller, 2.
David Kennedy, 1.
Jared Danneker, 1.
Interceptions:
Steven Nunez, 2.
Mitch Weidman, 2.
Mich Light, 1.
David Kennedy, 1.
Fumble recoveries:
Shane Rosenberry, 2.
Brendan Kain, 2.
David Kennedy, 1.
Larrian Payne, 1.
Mitch Weidman, 1.
Jared Danneker, 1.
Fumbles Forced:
Shane Rosenberry, 2.
Alex Kirchner, 1.
Larrian Payne, 1.
Dylan Allison, 1.
Shaun Buller, 1.


FIELD HOCKEY
Goals:
Carley Rosenberger, 6.
Jenna Rosenberry, 3.
Anna Libby, 3.
Abby Fuhrman, 2.
Erin Miller, 2.
Jamie Ahern, 1.
Jordan Scully, 1.
Paige Strayer, 1.
Jamie Dullinger, 1.
Mandi Shearer, 1.
Caryn Bailey, 1.
Becca Bigler, 1.
Assists:
Abby Fuhrman, 3.
Mandi Shearer, 2.
Jamie Ahern, 2.
Anna Libby, 1.
Leah Hayward, 1.
Caryn Bailey, 1.
Kayla Koser, 1.
Jenna Rosenberry, 1.
Kylie McKain, 1.
Heather Catalfano, 1.


BOYS SOCCER:
Goals:
Kevin Romanauskas, 5.
Brian Savage, 5.
Sean Strangeway, 4.
Joey Funck, 4.
Austin Florey, 2.
Ryan Sostack, 2.
Josh Reem, 2.
Drew Reinhold, 2.
Shane Long, 1.
Nathan Clarke, 1.
Assists:
Ryan Sostack, 2.
Josh Reem, 2.
Sean Strangeway, 1.
Brian Savage, 1.
Jason Good, 1.
Austin Florey, 1.
Joey Funck, 1.
Shane Long, 1.
Nathan Clarke, 1.

District 3 Power Rankings – Week 6

(Photo by Chris Bradley).

I know, I know, it's still too early to look at these power rankings. But we have them, so why not post them, right? Anyway, here are the District 3 Class AAAA power rankings after the first six weeks. The Bears are still in the top 10, but these ranking could change drastically as we start down the homestretch of the season. Remember, the top 16 teams make the playoffs, so we'll just list the top 16 right now. If the season ended today, which it obviously does not, the Bears would get either Central York or Dallastown in the first round of the playoffs. E-town is currently the lowest ranked 5-1 team in the district at this classification, probably because all of their section games are against AAA teams, which really isn't their fault.

Here you go:
Class AAAA
1. Bishop McDevitt (6-0) – 123 points.
1. Wilson (6-0) – 123 points.
3. Penn Manor (6-0) – 108 points.
4. York (6-0) – 100 points.
5. Muhlenberg (5-1) – 96 points.
6. Cumberland Valley (5-1) – 95 points.
7. Central York (5-1) – 93 points.
7. Dallastown (5-1) – 93 points.
9. E-town (5-1) – 91 points.
10. Central Dauphin (4-2) – 76 points.
10. Manheim Township (4-2) – 76 points.
12. Governor Mifflin (4-2) – 71 points.
13. Red Land (4-2) – 70 points.
14. Hempfield (4-2) – 68 points.
15. Warwick (4-2) – 66 points.
16. Cedar Cliff (3-3) – 55 points.
16. Red Lion (3-3) – 55 points.

And in case you were curious, here's how E-town's other section opponents stack up in the district rankings. Remember, they are all Class AAA except for the Bears.
4. Cocalico (5-1) – 101 points.
9. Garden Spot (4-2) – 85 points
9. Lebanon (4-2) – 85 points.
9. Manheim Central (4-2) – 85 points.
15. Solanco (3-3) – 55 points.
CV and Ephrata are both winless and at the bottom of the rankings.

Section race down to the wire

With two games remaining, the Section Two boys soccer race is certainly close.

Quickly, since I'm swamped with the print edition today, here's a look at what to expect.

First, here are the current standings. I'm only including the top four, since Solanco and Lebanon are eliminated.

1. Garden Spot – 9-4-1 (28 points)
2. E-town – 8-4-2 (26 points)
2. Conestoga Valley – 8-4-2 (26 points)
4. Ephrata – 8-6-0 (24 points)
Last night, Garden Spot beat Ephrata 1-0 to take sole possession of first place and the Spartans are now in the driver's seat. If they win out, they are section champs, but a couple of things could happen. Let's take a look at what each team has remaining on their schedule.

Garden Spot: Oct. 8 vs. CV; Oct. 10 @ Solanco
E-town: Oct. 8 @ Lebanon; Oct. 11 vs. CV.
CV: Oct. 8 @ Garden Spot; Oct. 11 @ E-town.
Ephrata: Oct. 8 @ Solanco; Oct. 10 @ Lebanon.

Here's what that all means (try and stay with me here):
We'll assume that Ephrata will win its final two games, which they should. That will put them at 10-6-0, worth 30 points.

Garden Spot should end with a win against Solanco, which would put them at worst at 10-5-1, worth 31 points. So barring an upset by Solanco, Ephrata is essentially eliminated.

E-town should have no trouble with Lebanon.

So the big two games are CV @ Garden Spot tomorrow and CV @ E-town Saturday. If CV beats Garden Spot (and E-town should be rooting hard for that), then the section will essentially be decided on Saturday. The Bears can still win the section, but they need CV's help. If Garden Spot loses one of its last two and the Bears win out, they will be section champs, because that would make spot 10-5-1 and E-town would be 10-4-2, and would win by a point. Here's where it gets tricky though. If CV wins out, it would win the section. Now, if Spot, E-town and CV all go 1-1 over the last 2 games (which is possible) and Ephrata wins out, GS would still win the section, but Ephrata would move up to second place. Whew. We'll know a LOT more after Wednesday afternoon, and I'll post something first thing Thursday morning.

The bottom line for E-town is this: they need to win out. Sure, they can squeak into the L-L playoffs by going 1-1 down the stretch, but they will need help from other teams to do so, and that's not something you want to rely on. If they win out, they're in the league playoffs. They might not be section champs, but they'd be in the playoffs. A lot hinges on that Garden Spot/CV game on Wednesday. I'll check back Thursday.

Five Downs with Coach Polites

This week, the 4-1/2-0 Bears host the 4-1/2-0 Garden Spot Spartans. Both teams are tied for first place in Section Two, so this is a big game to say the least. Here's what head coach Jeff Polites had to say about tonight's game.

First Down: Does the fact that you've played a good passing team already (Muhlenberg) help your secondary with slowing down Garden Spot's attack?

Coach: We have had numerous opportunities this season to defend the pass. Our non-league teams really prepared us for many different types of offenses

Second Down: Most of your team leaders are pretty used to playing in big games after last year. Will that help you this Friday night?

Coach: I think that those experiences and the fact that we played in close games already this season will give us an advantage in that area. We know that our kids can respond under pressure.

Third Down: What's the biggest key to disrupting Garden Spot's passing attack?

Coach: Pressure on the QB is always a plus when you play a passing team. We will try to get that pressure with the front four then send LB's if necessary. Our skilled kids in the secondary will be a great help with the pass rush.

Fourth Down: How much will the offensive line and the offense as a whole use last week's performance to build off?

Coach: It is great to have a solid performance to use as an example of what we want every week out of that group. Our line is looking to be consistent for the remainder of the schedule.

Fifth Down: Considering your next three games, how important is it to get a win this week going into Cocalico and Central?

Coach: One week at a time. We will start to look at Cocalico and Manheim when they are our next opponent.