It's all about playing well at the right time.

Central York and Dallastown sport identical 5-1 records after six games, but it's the Panthers that have the best shot at the Division I title after taking down the Wildcats on the road Friday night.

Kennard-Dale has lost just as many games as it has won this season, but a recent surge has put them atop the Division II standings with West York with a 2-0 mark against divisional opponents.

It's October. Time to get serious.

Most of the most intriguing games of the season come in the second half of the year when it feels like football season. The leaves haven't really started to change yet, but there is a chill in the air and I imagine there will be plenty of blankets in the stands Friday night.

Enjoy a few quick takes on this week's games below. Let your voice be heard in the comments section.

Best chance to salvage a season: Dover. The Eagles have lost all five of their games so far, but may be the only winless Class AAA team in the area -- maybe even the state -- that can still say it has a legitimate shot at the playoffs. Well, maybe legitimate is a stretch, but it's definitely possible. Because four of Dover's next five games are against Class AAAA opponents, the Eagles can rack up enough bonus points with victories to potentially sneak into the 16-team district tournament field with a 5-5 record.

Newest longest scoreless streak: York County Tech. Northeastern went 13 quarters without a point, but ended up registering a respectable 14 in a loss to York Suburban last week. After last week's shutout loss to Bermudian, the Spartans haven't scored in three and a half games (14 quarters). Tech also extended its losing streak to 14 games, dating back to last season. It doesn't get any easier this week: the Spartans host undefeated Delone Catholic.

The Susquehannock football team has lost four of its five games to start the season, including only its second Division II defeat in the last 26 games, falling 42-14 at home to Littlestown on Friday.

So what's the deal with this year's Susquehannock team? They are perilously close to failing to finish the regular season above .500 since coach Tom Waranavage arrived in Glen Rock in 2004.

I asked Waranavage a few minutes after Friday's loss and he had a theory:

"We have not not played hard," Waranavge said. "We have played hard, but we haven't played smart. I think we have guys getting frustrated because not everybody on the field is toeing the line and doing the job that needs to be done. And it's a team game. And if you're not doing your job on the field, you can't hide -- somebody's going to find you.

"That's what's frustrating. It's not that we don't play hard. We give good effort. We just don't play very smart.. We're just not a naturally football-intelligent football team right now. We're just not a smart football team. I guess some of that is we need to have kids play more, but some of it is, I don't know, I think you're born with a little bit of football IQ.

William Penn coach Matt Ortega was not happy with the officiating of his team's game at Dover Friday night.

It wasn't exactly a sabotage, considering the Bearcats still scored 66 points and had a comfortable 43-point margin of victory. But Ortega believes there were some problems and he had seen these things happen before. In the coach's own words:

"It's a concern, but it's not," Ortega said. "I just think at some point in time the York County refereeing committee, they have to look at things and watch what's going on.

"Every week it's just three to four questionable calls that just never went our way. Something's got to be done about it. It's a shame for our poor kids. We just want fair officiating. The offsides were definitely on us, but a couple of the clips were very, very questionable, and the pass interference -- they were horrible calls."

Is Ortega right? Do some officials just assume the kids who play at William Penn are more inclined to commit penalties and blow the whistle a little too often? Do some teams have it easier than others? Any players or fans out there, chime in by utilizing the comments section and let us all know what you think.

Where are the upsets?

The top seven teams from last week all emerged as winners, further separating themselves from the rest of the YAIAA. When that happens, it makes compiling this list easier, but it also makes things less exciting.

Nonetheless, the question remains, are my rankings fair? Accurate? Both? Neither? Let your opinions be known in the comments section.

1. William Penn (5-0): The Bearcats set a new season-high for points by putting up 66 at Dover and show no signs of slowing down going into Friday's contest at New Oxford.

2. Dallastown (5-0): A shutout victory over South Western may be evidence that the Wildcats are hitting their stride at the right time before hosting red-hot Central York on Friday night.

3. West York (4-1): The Bulldogs barely had any trouble on the road against Eastern York, scoring 28 consecutive points in the second quarter to build a sizeable lead and cruise to another victory. The rest of Division II is once again in trouble.

I think you absolutely missed the boat when you did not include Yancy Unger as one of your top Littlestown athletes. Yancy excelled in football, baseball and basketball. As a two-way starter in football, standing at 5'8" tall, Yancy was co-captain, quarterback and safety his senior year. He led his 1989 football team to the BML title and District III "A" title in triple overtime against Wyomissing. I do not have stats, but he was named "Player of the Year" in the BML, and also received small school all-state honors, and I am sure I am missing more accolades. His team was the first in Littlestown's vast historic football legacy to win both the BML and District titles. As a baseball player, Yancy was a three-year starter and could and did play every position very well. Again, I do not have stats...but he was a major contributor to those teams...'87,'88 and '89! As a basketball player, Yancy was a two-year starter at point guard and shooting guard. Not knowing stats, I know he was a very accurate shooter and a fierce competitor. Mr. Unger could have easily played collegiate athletics and had several offers, however he chose academics at Penn State University, in which he also excelled! You may want to re-consider and mention Yancy Unger if you are truly looking for outstanding athletes!

Class AAA
1. Emmaus (11)
2. Seneca Valley (7)
3. Parkland (11)
4. North Allegheny (7)
5. Allentown Central Catholic (11)
6. Upper St. Clair (7)
7. Upper Merion (1)
8. Garden Spot (3)
9. Butler (7)
10. Moon (10)

Class AA
1. Merion Mercy (1)
2. Hopewell (7)
3. Bethlehem Catholic (11)
4. Philipsburg-Osceola (6)
5. Seton LaSalle (7)
6. Susquehannock (3)
7. Brandywine Heights (3)
8. West Allegheny (7)
9. Delone Catholic (3)
10. Somerset (6)

Class A
1. Clarion (9)
2. North Star (5)
3. Reading Holy Name (3)
4. Windber (5)
5. Bentworth (7)
6. Nativity BVM (6)
7. Northern Cambria (6)
8. West Branch (6)
9. Bishop Guilfoyle (6)
10. Cochranton (10)

Perfection is plentiful in the YAIAA.

The season is halfway over, but William Penn, Dallastown, Littlestown and Delone Catholic have still been untouchable this year. Not too shabby.

The only close contest of the week was the inter-divisional tilt between Kennard-Dale and York Catholic, which the Rams pulled out by three points. Otherwise, it was all big wins from favored teams, with Central, West York, York Suburban and Biglerville, among others joining their perfect brethren in the win column.

More rain. Of course.

If you like it messy, these expected Week 5 conditions are for you. No matter what the weather, there are multiple intriguing matchups. A few quick takes below. Jump in with your own thoughts in the comment section.

Most desperate for points: Northeastern. The Bobcats have now gone three games in a row without scoring after it's opening its first season of varsity football with a blowout victory over East Juniata. Now Northeastern is in division play and travels to face York Suburban on Saturday. Before the Bobcats can even thing about winning again they have to focus on finding the end zone again.

Toughest next three games: Dallastown. The Wildcats are one of four Division I teams to start 1-0 in league play. The three others play Dallastown over the next three weeks, starting with South Western tonight before following with Central York next week and William Penn on Oct. 10.

A high school football team in New Mexico that has played in the state title game for three straight seasons won't have a chance to make it four in a row because of a "shocking" hazing incident involving broomsticks and sodomy.

It's certainly a disturbing story, but not very surprising. Hazing is not an uncommon practice in high school and college sports and strangely often turns to homo-erotic activity, as The Big Lead observes.

Here's the most fascinating part about all this to me: According to the Associated Press report, "Police did not find out about it from school officials; instead, a state police officer whose son is on the team learned of the allegations through his wife, a camp volunteer."

Nobody spoke up and coaches turned a blind eye. If that's what usually happens, how widespread is hazing on the high school level? Does it happen in York County? Have you heard or seen or experienced any sort of hazing in this area? Is hazing ever justified? The comments section is open for your thoughts and observations.

The top four remains the same after a week where upsets were hard to come by. South Western and York Catholic nudge their way into the rankings with impressive victories, while Biglerville and Red Lion fall off the grid.

Below are the rankings and the rationale. That's two of the three r's. All that's missing is the reaction. That's where you come in. The comments section awaits.

1. William Penn (4-0): The Bearcats are on pace to score more than 500 points this regular season, and with the way Division I defenses have been playing so far this year, I wouldn't be the least surprised if they do it. These young men know how to play the game of football.

2. Dallastown (4-0): While the Bearcats are winning games with relative ease, the Wildcats have played relative nailbiters the last three consecutive weeks. Most recently, Dallastown led by only two points with New Oxford possessing the ball midway through the fourth quarter. Nonetheless, Dallastown has proved it know how to perform in the clutch and close out games.

3. West York (3-1): Which sounds better: Highlight Real or Realdiculous? Brandon Real scored six touchdowns in the first half of last week's game at Hanover and will no doubt continue to be a weapon for a squad that looks poised to defend its Division II title.

An athletic director in Wisconsin has come up with an idea to try and make sure that brawls like the one pictured above don't happen.

His idea is a nationwide online ticketing and fan identification system.

The lines in the sand are starting to become clear.

In the first week of play for Division I, three of the four games were decided by 25 points or more, with South Western pummeling Dover, William Penn trouncing Red Lion and Central York pulling away in the fourth quarter against Spring Grove. Dallastown only won by eight points against New Oxford, but it was on the road against a legitimate program, so it still has to be a big positive for the Wildcats.

So there they sit at the top of the division. There's the seemingly unstoppable Bearcats, who cruised to another easy victory, the Panthers, who have discovered new life after getting thumped at home by West York to open the season, the Wildcats, who seem to always find a way to win, and the Mustangs, who have labeled themselves the Redeem Team after last year's last-place finish.

They all think they have a shot at the top-spot. For at least one more week they have reasons to believe.

Divisional play has arrived and the forecast calls for clear skies. The games are more important than ever and the temperature is supposed to drop low enough to feel like football weather.

It sounds like it's going to feel right out there this week.

Below are a few quick takes leading up to the Week 4 contests.

Most impressive legacy to uphold: Susquehannock. The Warriors have only lost a total of one Division II game in the last four seasons. That's a 23-1 mark in divisional contests. Not too shabby. But this year, the Warriors enter their Division II opener against upstart Northeastern with an 0-3 record after a tough opening slate. Senior quarterback Patrick Miller (above) has the skills to produce, but has been less than impressive this year, going 17-of-47 for 302 yards and one touchdown to three interceptions. The rushing attack and the defense haven't been much to write home about either. But now the Warriors are entering territory where they have been almost perfect for the last four years. It's a lot to live up to, but it has to make Susquehannock feel a little more confident than your average 0-3 team.

Best way to get a wake-up call: Dallastown. It looks like it must have not been pretty for the Warriors during their 14-7 victory over Kennard-Dale last week. Dallastown couldn't even successfully run out the clock, as quarterback Chris Hunt coughed the ball up on the Rams' 1-yard line and gave the visitors a chance to take the lead. The Wildcats still pulled out the win and improved their record to 3-0, so there was no real damage. As long as the sloppy game "got some heads back down level" as Dallastown coach Kevin Myers suggested it did, than the Wildcats should be better off for it.

The award for the 2-1 YAIAA team creating the least buzz goes to Eastern York.

Part of that is the Golden Knights' two victories have come against Columbia and Fairfield squads that have combined for only a single victory this year. And they're loss was a 36-7 blowout at home against Donegal. Plus, Eastern finished 1-9 last season and struggled in Division II play.

Nonetheless, there are reason to believe this year might be different. Below are three of them.