Jersey Shore moves into No. 1 in the power rankings

DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-GAzette
Evan Snyder of Jersey Shore pulls in a touchdown pass in the first quarter against Shikellamy last week.

1. Jersey Shore (4-1): A few months after being inducted into the District 4 Football Coaches Hall of Fame, Tom Gravish has earned another honor. He recently was selected to the West Branch Valley Hall of Fame and will be inducted on Nov. 10. Gravish has led Jersey Shore to a 111-34-1 record in his 13 seasons there as well as seven district championships and seven league titles.

2. Lewisburg (5-0): How’s this for a close race in the area rushing battle? Jeremiah Davis is tied with Montgomery’s Coy Bryson atop the leaderboard. Both have 785 and Davis has compiled nine straight 100-yard games, Lewisburg going 8-1 in those contests.

3. Williamsport (4-1): Zion Hughes found Trey Damschroder for his first varsity touchdown pass last Friday. Area fans might get used to hearing that combination over the next few seasons with both still being sophomores.

4. Loyalsock (4-1): In addition to leading the team in receiving and being tied for the interception lead, Jalil Coates also has become a special teams weapon. The versatile junior is averaging more than 30 yards per kick and punt return.

5. Montoursville (3-2): Montoursville has shown it can hang with two of the district’s powerhouse programs. Now, the Warriors just need to put four strong quarters together, keep building each week and might possibly earn rematches.

6. Warrior Run (4-1): Although it has loftier goals than this, it still is worth nothing that two more wins would help this team do something that has not happened in a long time there. Two more victories would ensure the program consecutive winning seasons for the first time since 2005-06.

7. Muncy (4-1): Muncy ran two offensive plays and already led Sayre 27-0 less than five minutes into last Saturday’s game. That highlights the team’s big play threats in all facets. But here’s thinking it will be tougher sledding tonight.

8. Hughesville (3-2): While the Spartans are big underdogs tonight, their last four games are against evenly-matched teams. Those games will be challenging, but if Hughesville plays well in them it has a shot at recording its first winning season since 2015.

9. Montgomery (3-2): This reporter has been covering area high school football the past 26 seasons, and I believe this is the first time Montgomery has led the area in defense this late in a season. That speaks to the tremendous progress the team has made. And it may just be getting started.

10. Canton (3-2): Canton traveled to Towanda Thursday night for a game which ended after the Sun-Gazette’s dead line. Canton certainly entered that game being road Warriors. Over the first five weeks, Canton went 3-0 on the road and 0-2 at home.

11. Milton (2-3): As if its schedule has not been hard enough, Milton has been ravaged by injuries and was without six starters last week. Give this resilient team credit for overcoming fourth quarter deficits in both wins and for showcasing its resiliency through the adversity.

12. South Williamsport (2-3): A lot has been made of South’s young skill players and with good reason, too. Don’t forget about freshmen linemen Kamdyn Bubb and Kasim Davenport, though. Both are flourishing in their first seasons starting and are a huge part of that exciting, young foundation.

13. North Penn-Mansfield (1-4): After playing wide receiver his first three seasons, Cooper Shaw has become one of the district’s premier dual-threat quarterbacks. He topped 100 yards rushing and passing last week and has gone over 1,000 total yards this season.

14. Wellsboro (1-4): Wellsboro showed off an impressive pass rush last week, collecting four sacks. Jacob Dean has made a big impact since returning and his three sacks are tied for the second-highest single game total in program history.

15. Central Mountain (0-5): The Wildcats have played the HAC-I’s heavyweights the past three weeks. Doing so could help them tonight as they face another team hoping to spark a second-half push.

16. Cowanesque Valley (1-4): Graham Hess is closing in on becoming just the second CV quarterback of the 2000s to reach 1,000 yards in consecutive seasons. If Hess throws for 252 yards he will join Seth Huyler in that club.

17. Bucktail (0-4): In just four games quarterback Brody Pentz already has gone over 1,000 total yards. His 143 rushing yards per game are third among area players.