Another Week in the Books

As always, we got a few surprises this week. Perhaps the biggest was Bridgewater-Emery/Ethan losing to Hanson. Not that Hanson isn't a good squad, but BEE was moving along very nicely this season. That's a big win for the Beavers who suffered a bit of a setback a few weeks ago. I think BEE will be able to rebound just fine, they're a very well coached team. The win definitely helps Hanson more than the loss hurts the Seahawks.

And Exciting Year in 9AA
With Bridgewater-Emery/Ethan losing, it opened the door for Viborg/Hurley to step up and take over the top spot in 9AA. Well...V/H lost to a good Avon squad. Herreid/Selby was ranked third and could be on the move to number one this week. I'm a big fan of 9AA right now. It might be the one class where the top five teams are almost interchangable. I really like Chester and when they get Drew Kreutzfeldt back to full strength (still dealing with a bit of an injury), they could be the team to beat. He and brother Dylan are very tough to stop. That being said, I was at Chester this week and the Flyers didn't look quite as sharp against Parker right away. It wound up being a blowout, but the Flyers put the ball on the ground and appeared to labor a bit more early on than they have in weeks past.

Thoughts on the Big Schools
In the 11-man ranks, Rapid City Stevens has been one of the interesting stories this year. We knew they'd be good, but weren't sure how good. After beating O'Gorman, they finally got their respect. Then, they played a very good game at Roosevelt (but lost) this week. It'll be very interesting to see how this class plays out the rest of the year. I don't see Washington losing, but the next four to seven teams in the class should all feel good about possibly making a run.

If I were a betting man (and I am not), I think I would take O'Gorman in a rematch with Stevens AND Roosevelt. Roosevelt is a team that isn't going to score a bunch of points, but they won't allow a ton either. I like that the Riders can and do win games because of their defense.

Brandon on a Roll
I almost did a double take when I saw Brandon Valley's 4-1 record - not that I don't think they're capable - but nobody's talking about them. They haven't beaten anyone of significance quite yet and without Austin Sumner, they're certainly not as good as last year. That said, you can't scoff at 4-1. We'll see what happens after they play Roosevelt, Pierre and Watertown in three of the next four weeks.

This is the best time of year, folks. It's a lot of fun to see which teams emerge and which teams dwindle into obscurity.

I'll check in later this week with a short piece about which players have impressed me the most this season.

Jim Nelson
KSFY Sports