The youth football thing can be all consuming. My partner describes it as a cancer in our lives–one that keeps eating away at my time and energy in a fashion that is anything but positive. She’s partially right, at least. It does cloy. It does tear at me and create this need to know that cannot be filled because the information, at least in our league, is rarely there and available. There is a lot to think about in this last season. Does the kid do All Stars? If so, what does that actually look like? I’ve long exclaimed that I would not travel across the country for football. He’s already gone to Texas with his mom and aunt. Florida is where all stars happens and is rather expensive (to say the least). This is not something myself and my partner really want to or need to try to afford, and the mom isn’t likely to go with him–leaving me to go and pay all by myself. So, no. That is not the strategy for us.
So, it ends with the Championship (hopefully)? Sounds like a yes to me. Sure, I’m holding on to some thin hope that there is a local thing within the timeframe that can be a final achievement, but it seems unlikely. So, the focus falls back to what does the league look like? Well, here are the numbers:
| Team | Win | Loss | Ties | Power Points | PF | PA |
| Mustangs | 2 | 2 | 149 | 47 | 71 | |
| Liberty Lions | 4 | 0 | 148 | 150 | 19 | |
| Raiders | 5 | 0 | 138 | 118 | 34 | |
| Irish | 4 | 0 | 138 | 104 | 6 | |
| Argos | 3 | 0 | 128 | 134 | 6 | |
| Dragons | 2 | 3 | 119 | 75 | 67 | |
| Jr Eagles | 2 | 2 | 99 | 36 | 72 | |
| Mesa Toros | 0 | 3 | 50 | 0 | 55 | |
| Peoria Panthers | 2 | 2 | 31.2 | 74 | 56 | |
| Spartans | 2 | 1 | 31.2 | 47 | 24 | |
| Yuma Coyotes | 2 | 2 | 31.2 | 21 | 53 | |
| Jr Huskies | 2 | 1 | 31.2 | 49 | 8 | |
| Force Football | 1 | 2 | 15.6 | 39 | 53 | |
| Ridge Army | 1 | 3 | 15.6 | 26 | 95 | |
| Outlaws | 1 | 2 | 15.6 | 41 | 61 | |
| Devilbacks | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 70 |
Looks odd, right? Why are the Mustangs the #1 team? Well, that is a result of sorting by power points. Turns out the Mustangs have played the toughest schedule in the league and still only lost to undefeated teams. By Power rankings that makes the #1. The Power ranking formula is a bit wacky. Here is how it is described by PhoenixAYF:
The Phoenix AYF Power Point System has been utilized for over 8 years to determine the top teams for post season play primarily on strength of schedule of common opponents. This is the Phoenix AYF Approved 2018 system. This is based on the original Arizona Interscholastic Association High School (AIA) football formula and weighted to fit our 7 week conference schedule, the final formula is calculated as follows:
| · 78 points for a win (VP – Victory Points/) or 39 for Tie | |||
| · 10 points for an opponent win (OW – Opponent Victory Points) or 5 for Tie | |||
| · .015 points for an opponent’s-opponent win (OOW – Opponents Opponents Victory Points) or .0075 for Tie | |||
| o Adding in the OOW helps eliminate the ties. | |||
| The simplified formula is as follows: | |||
| Power Points = (VP + OW + OOW) / Games played (excluding Kickoff week one) | |||
| The detailed formula is as follows: | |||
| Power Points = (Phoenix AYF Wins x 78 + Phoenix AYF Ties x 39) + (Phoenix AYF Wins by Opponents x 10 + Phoenix AYF Ties by Opponents x 5) + (Phoenix AYF Wins by Other Opponents x .015 + Phoenix AYF Ties by Other Opponents x. 0075) / # of Phoenix AYF Official Conference Games Played. Any non-conference games are not calculated or included. |
This leaves us in a strange mathematical connundrum. I did not include OOW, but I don’t think it changes the fact that the Mustangs rule. We were supposed to play the mustangs this weekend, but a last minute change puts us against the Mesa Toros. They haven’t scored all season. That means they won’t help our Power Rank. However, I think the league will use Wins and the lead indicator and Points Scored as the tie breaker. Here we are by that measure:
| Team | Win | Loss | Ties | Power Points | PF | PA |
| Raiders | 5 | 0 | 138 | 118 | 34 | |
| Liberty Lions | 4 | 0 | 148 | 150 | 19 | |
| Irish | 4 | 0 | 138 | 104 | 6 | |
| Argos | 3 | 0 | 128 | 134 | 6 | |
| Mustangs | 2 | 2 | 149 | 47 | 71 | |
| Dragons | 2 | 3 | 119 | 75 | 67 | |
| Jr Eagles | 2 | 2 | 99 | 36 | 72 | |
| Peoria Panthers | 2 | 2 | 31.2 | 74 | 56 | |
| Spartans | 2 | 1 | 31.2 | 47 | 24 | |
| Yuma Coyotes | 2 | 2 | 31.2 | 21 | 53 | |
| Jr Huskies | 2 | 1 | 31.2 | 49 | 8 | |
| Force Football | 1 | 2 | 15.6 | 39 | 53 | |
| Ridge Army | 1 | 3 | 15.6 | 26 | 95 | |
| Outlaws | 1 | 2 | 15.6 | 41 | 61 | |
| Mesa Toros | 0 | 3 | 50 | 0 | 55 | |
| Devilbacks | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 70 |
Top 4 make it to the D1 playoffs. That means we get the 2-3 matchup as things stand. Great. I’m curious if the Argos are even in the conversation. Are they going to go to the Florida show or stay here and play local? Only time (and information) will tell…