Week one of the high school football season is in the books, with the Stanberry Bulldogs and King City Wildkats making early non-conference statements with victories over Appleton City and North Andrew, respectively.
The Bulldogs victory, on the road, has given Stanberry six of the eight first-place votes in this week’s media poll, with a total of 78 points, good for the top position. King City’s decisive homefield win over Grand River Conference rival North Andrew is good for two first-place votes, 72 points, and the #2 position for the Wildkats this week.
Drexel is solidly in the third spot with 60 points, followed by North Shelby’s 48 points, and East Atchison’s 46 for the 4th and 5th positions. North Shelby returned to the 11-man field for one week, opening play last Friday with a 22-0 win at Maysville, while East Atchison traveled to Ludlow, Missouri, where the Wolves picked up a blowout win over Southwest Livingston.
The bottom half of this week’s Top 10 begins with GRC member Worth County, as the Tigers boast 36 points, followed by the Orrick Bearcats with 33. Archie is eighth with 29 points, with North Andrew’s loss at King city dropping the Cardinals to 9th place and 15 points, while Bishop LeBlond, courtesy of a 50 point (70-20) win over Pattonsburg, surging into the 10th position this week, with 11 points.
In the receiving points category are Northwest of Hughesville (4), eight-man newcomer Knox County (3), Albany and St. Paul Lutheran (2 points each) and Rock Port (1).
Key eight-man games this Friday night include Albany at Stanberry, King City at DeKalb, St. Joseph Christian at Worth County, Schuyler County at Pattonsburg, Northwest (Hughesville) at North Shelby, at Bishop LeBlond at North Andrew.