DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette Warrior Run (8-1) is ranked No. 2 in the Sun-Gazette power rankings, behind only Montoursville (7-2).

1. Montoursville (7-2): Quarterback Elijah Eck is 11 yards from reaching 1,000 this season. Montoursville often is thought of as a run-first team, but the program has churned out strong quarterbacks for a long time. In fact, if Eck reaches 1,000, it will make 12 straight seasons that Montoursville has had a 1,000-yard passer.

2. Warrior Run (8-1): Warrior Run is a victory from putting together its first nine-win season of the 2000s. This also has been the best two-year run for the program this century with Warrior Run going 16-6 thus far with a district championship appearance.

3. Montgomery (8-1): Two years ago, this reporter remembers walking off the CMVT field following a regular-season finale loss thinking Montgomery might be on the verge of a breakout despite its 1-9 finish. Strong line play and Coy Bryson’s 401-yard performance certainly were good hints. And since then, the Red Raiders are 15-5, need a win for their most successful season this century.

4. Jersey Shore (6-3): Before Utoa Agae-Naipo broke through in 2013, Jersey Shore had not produced a 1,000-yard rusher in the 2000s. Since, then it has done so in all but two seasons. Bo Sechrist became the program’s latest 1,000-yard rusher, reaching that number last week.

5. Loyalsock (5-4): As a 49ers fan who has watched his team be ravaged by injuries and still be successful, I can certainly appreciate the job coach Justin Van Fleet and his staff have done this season. To be 5-4, considering all the costly injuries to starters and a demanding schedule, is pretty impressive.

6. South Williamsport (5-4): It’s not just that quarterback Cole Gerber broke the program record for completions in a season (93) during his first year starting that’s impressive. It’s that the record had stood since 1988. Credit to South stat wizard Scott Lowery for that information.

7. Muncy (5-4): It’s like Rivalry Week times two for Muncy. Tonight, it hosts Hughesville and then it squares off against Montgomery in the District 4 Class A semifinals. It will be just the third time since 1999 that those teams have met in the playoffs and each team has won once there.

8. Wellsboro (5-4): Sophomore quarterback Griffin Morral has gone over 1,000 yards in each of his first two seasons. That gives him a shot at becoming the program’s first four-time 1,000-yard passer if he can stay healthy and continue progressing the next two years.

9. Cowanesque Valley (5-4): CV has put together the three most dominant weeks for its program during the 2000s, pummeling its last three opponents by a 158-8 margin. The Indians could be playoff-bound for the third time in five years and that’s pretty impressive for a program which had not won more than three games in a season this century prior to 2021.

10. Williamsport (4-5): The Millionaires will get a chance to rinse out the bad taste in their mouth from last week’s regular-season home finale when they host a playoff game last week. That No. 2 seed worked well for Williamsport last year as it captured the District 2-4 Class 6A championship.

11. Milton (3-6): Monty Fisher’s 1,376 yards rushing are the most by a Milton back in a season during the 2000s. He also is the only area player this century who has topped both 2,000 yards rushing and 1,000 yards receiving.

12. Lewisburg (2-7): This season has not panned out the way Lewisburg hoped, especially with three losses by seven points or fewer. But a lot of underclassmen have received ample playing time, so look for the Green Dragons to come back strong in 2026.

13. Hughesville (3-6): In three wins this season, Hughesville’s defense has allowed just six points. It has scored three times as many points, producing three touchdowns. Seven different players had tackles for loss in last week’s victory as well.

14. North Penn-Mansfield (4-5): If this is Luke Kreger’s final game tonight, what a high school career the senior has had. Despite playing mostly running back this season, Kreger still is the program’s all-time leader in catches and yards and has totaled more than 1,000 yards this season while spending time at three different positions.

15. Canton (2-7): That freshman quarterback Owen Moore has an outside shot at 1,000 yards this season is pretty impressive. He did not become the full-time starter until Week 5 and has thrown four touchdown passes in his last two games.

16. Central Mountain (0-9): I don’t think many people thought Central Mountain would be within 12 points of defending 2A state champion Troy at halftime last week. It was another step in the right direction for a team which has topped 300 yards in consecutive games.

17. Bucktail (1-8): Had Renaissance Academy found referees before making Bucktail drive more than three hours for a road game which never happened in Week 2, sophomore Teagan Stone likely would have a good shot at reaching 1,000 total yards. He is at 766 entering tonight’s game against CMVT, playing three different positions.