Six franchises are still standing undefeated after two weeks in the AHSDL, and if Week 2 proved anything, it's that the numbers are only getting more interesting the deeper this season goes. Here's how Week 2 played out, how the Power Rankings have shifted, and what's on tap for a stacked Week 3.
Week 2 Recap: West Conference
The West Conference produced the week's headline performance, and it belonged to a team that's now sitting atop the entire league.
The MacArthur Highlanders put up 192.00 points in a 57.04-point win over the Mount Pleasant Oilers (134.96), and it was a performance that did double duty: not only was it the top individual score in the AHSDL this week, but the two teams' 326.96 combined points made it the highest-scoring matchup anywhere in the league. MacArthur improved to 2-0 and vaulted into the No. 1 spot in the Power Rankings as a result, a spot that belonged to Massillon a week ago.
Not every result in the West was so high-flying. The North Union Wildcats improved to 2-0 with a 119.08–67.74 win over the Floyd Central Highlanders, but Floyd Central's 67.74 wasn't just the low score of the week — it's the lowest single-team output of the season so far, surpassing even Ernestown's rough Week 1 outing. There's no injury story behind this one; it was simply a case of a roster underperforming across the board.
The rest of the West Conference slate saw the Fostoria Redmen defeat the Ennis Lions, 140.94–104.96, the Moreno Valley Vikings move to 2-0 with a win over the Silver Creek Dragons, 127.60–108.14, the Jasper Place Rebels upset the Xenia Buccaneers, 131.06–110.40, and the Napoleon Wildcats picked up their first win of the season over the Grovetown Patriots, 161.10–129.96.
Week 2 Recap: East Conference
The East Conference's story this week was one of separation at the top and a photo finish in the middle of the pack.
The Salamanca Warriors and Crisfield Crabbers played the closest game anywhere in the AHSDL this week, with Salamanca escaping 152.00–148.58 — a margin of just 3.42 points. It's a tough result for a Crabbers team that had opened the season 1-0, and it drops them into a 1-1 record even as they remain one of the league's stronger rosters on paper.
At the other end of the competitive spectrum, the Shadyside Casket Makers picked up an ugly but effective win over the Ernestown Eagles, 93.08–78.40. Ernestown's Week 1 recap detailed the Superflex quarterback injuries that sank their opener, and Week 2 offered no relief — the Eagles remain winless through two weeks as they search for their first victory of the season.
Three East Conference teams remain undefeated after Week 2. The Massillon Tigers, last week's top-ranked team, held serve with a 143.02–94.74 win over the D'arcy McGee Gee Gees to move to 2-0. The Cresskill Cougars did the same, defeating the Peoples Academy Wolves, 165.62–147.46, to stay unbeaten. And the Jamesville-Dewitt Red Rams rounded out the East's undefeated trio with a 144.48–137.36 win over the Whittier Wildcats. Elsewhere, the Rome Black Knights bounced back from their heartbreaking Week 1 loss with a comfortable win over the Brownsville Falcons, 148.36–79.92.
Power Rankings: Top 10
Two weeks in, the Power Rankings are starting to sort the league's contenders from its pretenders — and all six of the AHSDL's remaining undefeated teams have claimed spots in the top 10.
- MacArthur Highlanders (2-0) — 0.965. The week's top scorer and the architects of the league's highest-scoring game take over the No. 1 spot after one week outside the top tier.
- Massillon Tigers (2-0) — 0.917. Last week's No. 1 slides just one spot after another efficient win, still very much in the driver's seat for the East.
- Cresskill Cougars (2-0) — 0.903. A second consecutive dominant win keeps Cresskill firmly in the league's top tier and sets up next week's showdown with Massillon.
- Jamesville-Dewitt Red Rams (2-0) — 0.826. The East's third undefeated team climbs into the top five.
- Crisfield Crabbers (1-1) — 0.785. Despite the loss to Salamanca, the Crabbers remain the highest-ranked one-loss team in the league, a testament to their overall scoring and all-play profile.
- North Union Wildcats (2-0) — 0.743. A win over a struggling Floyd Central team keeps North Union in the league's upper half.
- Rome Black Knights (1-1) — 0.729. A bounce-back week following last week's heartbreak loss lands Rome comfortably in the top 10.
- Whittier Wildcats (1-1) — 0.674. Despite the loss to Jamesville-Dewitt, Whittier's Week 1 blowout win still carries enough weight to hold a top-10 spot.
- Xenia Buccaneers (1-1) — 0.646. Last week's biggest-blowout winner drops after an upset loss to Jasper Place but remains in the top 10.
- Moreno Valley Vikings (2-0) — 0.604. The sixth and final undefeated team rounds out the top 10, setting up a Week 3 date with Xenia.
Week 3 Preview
Four matchups headline the AHSDL's Week 3 slate, and each one carries real weight in a league where the separation at the top is starting to take shape.
The marquee matchup of the week is a showdown between two of the East's three remaining undefeated teams: the No. 2 Massillon Tigers and the No. 3 Cresskill Cougars. Both franchises have opened the season 2-0 with dominant, efficient performances, and this matchup will settle which one heads into Week 4 as one of the East's last unbeaten squads.
Nearly as significant is a West Conference clash between the league's top two teams, as the No. 1 MacArthur Highlanders host the No. 6 North Union Wildcats in a battle of 2-0 franchises. MacArthur enters as the freshly minted top team in the Power Rankings, while North Union will look to be the team that hands them their first loss of the season.
Elsewhere, the No. 5 Crisfield Crabbers look to bounce back from their heartbreaking Week 2 loss when they face the No. 8 Whittier Wildcats, a matchup between two teams both sitting at 1-1 but still ranked among the league's top eight. And the No. 9 Xenia Buccaneers meet the No. 10 Moreno Valley Vikings, with Xenia looking to rebound from their own upset loss against a Vikings team still riding high at 2-0.
Two weeks into the season, six franchises remain unbeaten, but Week 3's schedule is set up to start thinning that group out.
