TOP OF THE CROP

Football

(3) Columbia 5-0 (1) Avon Lake 4-1 (2) Avon 3-2 (5) Olmsted Falls 4-1 (4) Keystone 3-1 (8) North Olmsted 4-1 (7) Firelands 3-2 (9) Rocky River 3-2 (6) Elyria Catholic 3-2 10: (10) Elyria 3-2

Watch list: Bay 3-1, Wellington 2-3, North Ridgeville 3-2, Brookside 2-2

Crop Comments: Avon Lake’s reign at the Top of the Crop has come to an end two weeks after it began. A week after its victory over Avon, the Shoremen were upset by Berea-Midpark, which has now thrown itself into the mix for the Southwestern Conference title. It’s a disappointing loss for Avon Lake, which looked on track to win its first outright league title in some time. Instead, the Shoremen are staring a shared championship in the face — if they can win out and beat Olmsted Falls and get help in the form of a Berea-Midpark loss. … The Bulldogs have now jumped into the top four following their dismantling of North Ridgeville in Week 5. Falls jumps over Keystone, which defeated Wellington but struggled for much of the first three quarters. Led by Matt Wilhelm Award candidate Rocco Conti, the Bulldogs sit as the lone area team left unbeaten in the SWC and with a chance to

win the league outright. … With Avon Lake’s loss, there’s a new No. 1, the area’s only undefeated team, Columbia. The Raiders continued to dominate their first-half schedule with a big win over Brookside. Columbia was ranked seventh in the last D-VI poll, with the win there’s a good chance they move up ahead of a big potential Lorain County League title game with Keystone in Week 9. … North Olmsted’s winning ways continued in Week 5 with a shutout of new league foe Fairview. The Eagles are a surprising 4-1 and sit on top of the Great Lakes Conference’s Western division one game into that divisional slate. … Firelands remains at seven after dominating Oberlin in Week 5. The Falcons scored 61 points — including 49 in the first half — and quarterback Kyle Ransom threw for 222 yards and four touchdowns on four completions. Three of those completions went to Timmy Phillips for 213 yards and three scores. A big game looms on the schedule for Firelands as the Falcons host two-time defending league champions Keystone in Week 6. … Rocky River jumps back ahead of Elyria Catholic after a last-second win in Week 5. The Pirates are tied with North Olmsted and Bay atop the GLC West after one week. … Elyria fell for the second week in a row. This time to a determined Avon team coming off a loss to Avon Lake. The Pioneers are going to take some lumps in their first season as members of the SWC. But they’ll come out better for it. … Looking at the Watch List, Bay moves to the front of the line after a win over Westlake in Week 5. The Rockets have been impressive after losing to Lakewood in Week 1.

Note: records as of Sept. 19