I will openly admit, I’m taking the easy way out for my first high school football power rankings of the season. But with ten teams winning and winning relatively easily, it is hard to pick a leader at this point. Yes, obviously Tumwater should be #1, but they will be there eventually and Yelm really showed me something this week…and then really let me know about it. So they get the 1a treatment. Nice work Tornadoes. The rest are in no particular order…

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1a. Yelm Tornadoes (1-0)
Previous game: Beat Steilacoom, 44-14
Next game: vs. Foss (0-1) – Yelm Stadium – Friday, 7:00 PM

Notes: I picked Steilacoom to win on Friday and Yelm took issue…

Doubters @OlySportsBlog 🚽

— YELM FOOTBALL (@LunchBoxBoys) September 4, 2015

Then the Tornadoes went out and had a fantastic second half scoring 30 straight points to break a 14-14 halftime tie en route to a 44-14 drubbing. Brandon Thompson racked up three touchdowns in the win, all thanks to me…

44-14 Yelm over Steilacoom. @OlySportsBlog thanks for the motivation

— BT3⃣2⃣ (@Brandon_Thomp32) September 5, 2015

1b. Shelton Highclimbers (1-0)
Previous game: Beat North Mason, 35-21
Next game: vs. Sumner (1-0) – Highclimbers Stadium – Friday, 7:00 PM

Notes: Tyler Giraldes threw for 204 yards and three touchdowns in Shelton’s 35-21 Mason County Cup win and Shelton put on an exciting show for those of us that have watched them run the same handful of plays over the past couple of years. Giraldes, a junior making his first start, seems to have grown a couple of inches and put on some weight and now stands 6-4. If the new, big QB can be as accurate as he was on Friday night in Belfair, the Highclimbers could surprise some teams down the road. But Sumner this week is not quite the same team as North Mason.

1c. Rochester Warriors (1-0)
Previous game: Beat Centralia, 17-7
Next game: vs. Black Hills (1-0) – Rochester High School – Friday, 7:00 PM

Notes: The road to the playoffs is a tough one for Rochester as one of two 2A teams in the 2A/1A Evergreen. Last season they lost on week one and were virtually eliminated from contention but one year later they came up with one of their biggest wins, a tough 17-7 win over Centralia. Kage Thayer racked up 83 yards for the Warriors who now get another chance to knock off a 2A Evergreen team when Black Hills comes to town.

1d. Black Hills Wolves (1-0)
Previous game: Beat Montesano, 55-32
Next game: @ Rochester (1-0) – Rochester High School – Friday, 7:00 PM

Notes: The Wolves put up 554 yards on Montesano on Friday night with a pair of touchdowns from Cameron Berndson, Connor Furu and Mark Melendres. It’s a nice win for the Wolves with Rochester coming up on Friday night and three weeks remaining until their first conference game.

1e. Rainier Mountaineers (1-0, 1-0 2B Pacific)
Previous game: Beat South Bend, 58-20
Next game: vs. Kittitas – Rainier HS – Friday, 7:00 PM

Notes: Rainier put a hurting on conference foe South Bend scoring 51 points in the first half including one rushing touchdown and a pair of touchdown passes from McKoy Bichler. 2B football suits the Mountaineers. Next up, their only non-conference game of the season when Kittitas comes to town.

1f. North Thurston Rams (1-0)
Previous game: Beat Timberline, 38-32
Next game: vs. River Ridge (1-0) – South Sound Stadium – Friday, 7:00 PM

Notes: Jake Harn threw for over 300 yards and four touchdowns as the Rams picked up the win over the hated Blazers. Darren Sroor was on the receiving end of three of Harn’s TD passes but the defense wasn’t quite what the Rams had hoped for allowing 32 points. The Rams get another crosstown rival on Friday when they face River Ridge.

1g. Tenino Beavers (1-0)
Previous game: Beat Charles Wright, 49-19
Next game: @ Castle Rock – Castle Rock High School – Friday, 7:00 PM

Notes: Thomas Pier rushed for 311 yards and three touchdowns and the Beavers got a pair of passing touchdowns from Calvin Guzman to bury Charles Wright. The Beavers had some trouble adapting to Randy Swilley’s system last season but with Pier doing what he does and other guys contributing, it could be a huge year for the Beavers.

1h. River Ridge Hawks (1-0)
Previous game: Beat Aberdeen, 39-8
Next game: @ North Thurston (1-0) – South Sound Stadium – Friday, 7:00 PM

Notes: Kobe Key threw for three touchdowns and Gustavo Diaz rushed for two more and the Hawks opened up a 39-0 lead on Aberdeen in the third quarter. Though they have lost some key components from last season’s team that lost to perennial power Lynden in the playoffs, there is still plenty in the tank with Key running the show.

1i. Olympia Bears (1-0)
Previous game: Beat Ferris, 42-0
Next game: vs. Capital (0-1) – Ingersoll Stadium – Friday, 7:00 PM

Notes: The Bears sure did enjoy their day at Husky Stadium and the Emerald City Kickoff Classic. Scott Gunther rushed for over 90 yards and two touchdowns and the defense held the Saxons to just 51 yards. Not too bad with spaghetti coming their way.

1j. Tumwater T-Birds (1-0)
Previous game: Beat Capital, 42-9
Next game: vs. Timberline (0-1) – Tumwater Stadium – Friday, 7:00 PM

Notes: Surprise, surprise, surprise…the T-Birds won.

11. Timberline Blazers (0-1)
Previous game: Lost to North Thurston, 38-32
Next game: @ Tumwater (1-0) – Tumwater Stadium – Friday, 7:00 PM

Notes: Uli Maae rushed for three touchdowns and other than a 15 point stretch by the Rams in the third quarter, the Blazers kept the game close. Despite getting to within six points twice in the fourth quarter, the Blazers couldn’t finish and now face a very tough start to their season with Tumwater looming large.

12. Capital Cougars (0-1)
Previous game: Lost to Tumwater, 42-9
Next game: @ Olympia (1-0) – Ingersoll Stadium – Friday, 7:00 PM

Notes: Nothing much went right for the Cougars, but then not much usually does when you play Tumwater. The Spaghetti Bowl is next and the Cougs hope they will have their starting quarterback, Cody Jenkins, back for the rivalry game.