Union and Skyview Bounce Back In Week 4, Sit 1-2 In GSHL Power Rankings
Written by on September 30, 2009
The Union Titans and Skyview Storm wanted to let everyone know that their decisions to go up north and play strong non-league competition was a good decision despite the losses. I think we all get it now. Union made the biggest noise rolling up Heritage 56-13 and 406 yards of offense. Skyview’s win over Camas not an overpowering win like Union’s yet a display of making plays when it counted. 3 TD’s of 45+, an 80 yard TD drive in 1:39 to end the half and a 4th quarter stop on a 2 point conversion. Camas drops 1 spot with the 2 point loss on the road. Battle Ground stays at #4 following their 47-12 home win over Hockinson. Rounding out the top 5 this week is Mountain View. The Thunder have not always looked dominant, but have been getting the job done. Like Battle Ground, they have 3 wins over teams with losing records and a close loss to a ranked team. Heritage again falls out of the top 5 following their loss at Union. The 2A GSHL has 3 teams knocking on the door in Woodland, R.A. Long and Mark Morris, and after this week’s Woodland/R.A. Long game, I think we might see one of them make it in next week.
GSHL Power Rankings
1- Union (3-1)
2- Skyview (2-2)
3- Camas (3-1)
4- Battle Ground (3-1)
5- Mountain View (3-1)
On the radar: R.A. Long, Woodland, Mark Morris, Evergreen
The Week 3 GSHL Power Rankings see Union still at #1.
1. Union had little trouble with Heritage on Friday night. The Titans jumped out to a 21-0 first quarter lead and never looked back in their 56-13 win. The Titans are now averaging over 38 points per game in games playing in Clark County. In Union’s 3 wins, the Titans have only allowed a total of 13 combined points in the first 3 quarters of the game and have only allowed 3 points in the 4th quarter when the game is still in question. Entering league play this week Union’s Mitch Saylor only has 12 catches for 227 yards, 109 of which came vs. Heritage along with his first TD on the season. The Titans are looking to establish their run game, as they now seem to have 3 solid backs, Nathaniel Penaranda (232 yds, 4TD) Blake Russell (189 yds, 3TD) and Brandon Brody-Heim (110 yds, 3TD) not to mention FB Zak Browning (85 yds, 1 TD), but will need to find a way to get Saylor into the end zone more if they plan on making another deep playoff run.
2. Skyview lands at #2 this week after their thrilling 28-26 home win over Camas. So why is Skyview #2 with a 2-2 record ahead of Camas, Battle Ground and Mountain View who are all 3-1? Simple. They have played better overall football so far this season. Skyview has 2 losses to very good teams. Union who is ranked #4 3A school by the Seattle Times and Marysville-Pilchuck who is ranked #10 4A by the Times. In both games Skyview was on the road and the game went down to the final minutes. While a road win over Columbia River may not hold as much clout as it did in years past, a 23-0 road win is still impressive. Then this Friday, Skyview played just well enough to win, and made big plays when needed. Since nearly being shout out at Union, the Storm have averaged over 30 points per game. QB Austin Dodge is among the top passers in the state so far with 891 yards passing and 7 TD and a NCAA QB Rating of 147.222. This week they head back out on the road as they travel to Mountain View who has averaged 31 points per game this season.
3. The Papermakers slip one spot following their 2 point loss at Skyview. Camas played overall a very good game but any team, including Union, will have a hard time winning on the road when you spot someone 14 points. Overall the Papermakers held Skyview to 256 yards of offense Friday. 2 of the Storm’s offensive TD’s came from 45+ yards out. If you take out those 2 plays, and the 80 yard TD drive at the end of the half, Camas’s defense held Skyview to 62 yards of offense the rest of the game. Now, yes we know that you can’t do that, that not only accounted for 194 yards it also was 21 points and that is how you win games. We are just trying to make a point that despite the loss, Camas played a very solid game. Camas will need to become more consistent on offense if they plan on winning the 3A GSHL in 2009.
4. The Tigers are once again sitting at #4 in the GSHL Power Rankings following a dominating 47-12 home win over Hockinson. While Battle Ground has looked very good in 2009, it is still hard to move them ahead of either Camas or Skyview. For starters, Battle Ground lost to Camas in week 3. Yes they did lead 14-0 late in the game, but they still lost. Next, the combined record of the 3 teams the Tigers have beaten is an unimpressive 2-10. Hockinson is 0-4, and Prairie and Hudson’s Bay are both 1-3 and none of them look very impressive this season. Battle Ground has won their 3 games by an average of 42-14. Winning by 4 TD’s week in and week out is quite impressive. The 3 headed monster of Simon/Malvo/Akengue accounted for 306 yards of offense last week and 6 of the Tigers 7 TD’s. Battle Ground will host Heritage on Friday to open league play in what looks to be an elimination game in week 1 of league play. With only 2 4A teams making the playoffs, this game will go a long way in determining who is in and who is out come November.
5. Mountain View cracks out top 5 for the first time this season. At 3-1 the Thunder are almost a carbon copy of Battle Ground so far in 2009. Mountain View also has 3 wins over teams with a combined record of 2-10. The Thunder also have a close loss to a ranked opponent (Glencoe). Like Battle Ground, the Thunder also held a lead late in the 4th quarter only to see it slip away. The Thunder have averaged over 30 points and 275 yards of offense per game and seem to have found a capable replacement for the injured Taylor Burton in RB P.J. Jones. Jones will need to match his 135 yards 1 TD output he had vs. Hudson’s Bay week in and week out to help Mountain View to the post season.
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