1. Fernley (Last Week 2). We have a new No. 1. Fernley went on the road last week and picked up an impressive 32-22 victory at Spring Creek. The Spartans had shown they were the top team in the league for the past year and a half. The Vaqueros may be the most athletic team in the league and look set on winning the regular season title. Fernley must watch out for a let-down now.
2. Spring Creek (Last Week 1). The Spartans are still a pretty good team and the world is not coming to an end for them. It will be interesting to see how Spring Creek bounces back from a loss. They visit Truckee on Saturday in what should be a pretty good game. Spring Creek still has a bunch of quality players on its team. Look out for them in the playoffs.
3. Churchill County (Last Week 3). Churchill County jumped out to a big lead against Elko last week and never looked back. The Greenwave have won five straight games since an opening-week loss to rival Fernley. After struggling with Hug and Fernley in the first two games, I thought Churchill County was headed for a down year. I was wrong. The winning ways should continue this week against Sparks.
4. Truckee (Last Week 4). It appears the Truckee of old is back and causing problems in the Northern 3A. Ever since a loss to Churchill County, the Wolverines have been on a roll and have won four games in a row. Truckee has not been tested in any of those four contests. They are No. 4 because of the loss to Churchill County. They can move up with a win over Spring Creek this week.
5. South Tahoe (Last Week 5). The big question is trying to figure this team out on a week-to-week basis. It looks like the Vikings have righted the ship after struggling when two of their best players were out with injuries. South Tahoe blew out Wooster last week and have Dayton this week. They should put a lot a points up against the Dust Devils. This will be a dangerous team come the playoffs.
6. Sparks (Last Week 6). Sparks picked up the feel-good win of the year when it beat Elko earlier in the season. However, the Railroaders have not done much since. Truckee made quick work of Sparks last week in a 50-7 final. What made it worse — it was on TV. Sparks has another tough one against Churchill County this week.
7. Elko (Last Week 7). Elko’s playoff chances are quickly fading away after a fourth consecutive loss. The plus for the Indians is that the bottom five teams in the Northern 3A are not good. Elko’s season could be ruined this week when rival Lowry visits.
8. Lowry (Last Week 9). I know Wooster beat Lowry a couple weeks ago, but Lowry is the better team. The Buckaroos should have beaten the Colts. Lowry showed signs of life in the last two quarters against South Tahoe and they routed Dayton last week. The Buckaroos would like nothing more that to go to Elko and ruin the Indians' season.
9. Wooster (Last Week 8). Wooster is all but out of playoff contention and playing the season out. The Colts play at Fernley this week and it might get ugly. The bad news is Wooster is headed to the Northern 4A next year. Good luck.
10. Dayton (Last Week 10). It looks like Dayton is headed for a third consecutive winless season in the Northern 3A. The Dust Devils are far behind the rest of the league right now. Lowry who was winless as well beat them by 36 points. It should have been by 50.
