Vikings, Hawks try to stay perfect in WCSSAA football

And then there were two.

After four weeks of play in the Waterloo County senior boys football league, the Waterloo Vikings and Jacob Hespeler Hawks are the only teams with perfect records. The Vikings improved to 3-0 last week with a 12-9 win over the previously undefeated Sir John A. Macdonald Highlanders (3-1), while the five-time defending champion Hawks (3-0) were idle.

The Vikings defence has played a huge role to date on a team that has won three games by a combined six points and has tallied just 44 points on offence, or 14.6 points per game.

The Galt Ghosts (0-3) are WCI’s opponent this week and have managed to score just 13 points in losses to SJAM, Glenview Park and Preston. The Galt defence has surrendered 115 points.

Jacob Hespeler, meanwhile, has played like Jacob Hespeler, racking up 126 points on offence and surrendering just 18. The Hawks travel to Cameron Heights (1-2) on Friday and would appear to be a safe bet to remain perfect.

As a whole, the 13-team WCSSAA league has proven to be unpredictable this season, especially for someone who tries to select winners on a weekly basis.

Meanwhile in District 8, the Resurrection Phoenix returned to the win column last week, and St. Mary’s Eagles defeated the St. David Celtics for the second time this season. With two weeks of regular-season play remaining, all three of the front-runners are title contenders and the reigning champion St. Benedict Saints appear to be out of it.

Here’s a quick look at this week’s games. Wednesday

KCI (1-2) at Grand River (1-2), 3 p.m.

A difficult call right off the bat, but KCI, aside from a Week 1 shutout loss at Jacob Hespeler, has looked pretty good. Take the Raiders. SJAM (3-1) at Preston (2-1), 3 p.m.

Both teams tasted defeat for the first time last week, the Highlanders falling to WCI and the Panthers losing to the Elmira Lancers. The SJAM running game should prove to be the difference. Thursday Elmira (2-2) at Waterloo-Oxford (1-2), 2 p.m.

The Battle of the Barns, as it’s called, should be a close one. The Lancers are coming off a 32-2 win over Preston, while the Crusaders tasted victory for the first time in a 25-7 decision over the Glenview Park Panthers. Elmira is the pick. Huron Heights (1-2) at Bluevale (2-1), 3 p.m.

The Huskies were supposed to be one of the better teams but have yet to live up to the early talk. The Knights are coming off a bye week but looked good in their last outing, a 21-7 win over KCI. We’re going with the home team. Friday

Jacob Hespeler at Cameron Heights, 3 p.m.

A belated congratulations to Golden Gaels head coach Johnny Forte, who notched his first senior win since 2014 against Huron Heights last week. Still, it’s hard to see that growing into a two-game streak against the Hawks. WCI (3-0) at Galt (0-3), 3 p.m.

Another one that is a bit of a no-brainer to pick. The Vikings will stay perfect. District 8 Thursday

St. Benedict (0-4) at St. David (2-2), 3 p.m.

The Celtics are coming off a one-point loss to St. Mary’s, just three weeks after dropping a 28-point decision to the very same team. The Saints will officially fall out of playoff contention here. St. Mary’s (3-1) at Resurrection (3-1), 3 p.m.

If you’re going to watch one high school game this week, this is probably the one you want to see. The Phoenix won the first meeting 47-13 but the gap has closed, just not enough to see a different result this time around. Last week: 3-3; Season: 16-12