Bartlett-Colony among the key games this week

Prior to the season, I billed the new Chugach Conference as the one to watch in 2018.

On paper, the Division I conference, created during yet another reclassification effort in the offseason, certainly didn’t lack intrigue. The Chugach includes defending Division I state champion Bartlett and Chugiak, Alaska’s top DI squad during the 2017 regular season. There is also Colony, a perennial playoff team. The new Juneau co-op squad, which includes players from the old Juneau-Douglas and Thunder Mountain programs, is also in the five-team conference, rounded out by Wasilla, a young team that showed improvement during the offseason.

I may have even gone far enough to say the Chugach could be among the toughest conferences in the state this year. Well, I may need to pump the brakes on that prediction.

I still think the Chugach has potential to be tough in the future. But through the first three weeks of the season, it’s fairly top-heavy. Bartlett and Colony, both undefeated, are a combined 6-0. The other three teams in the league are a combined 1-8.

The first Chugach Conference games are this weekend, and both may give us a good indication on where some of these teams in the league will ultimately stack up. Chugiak (0-3) hosts Wasilla (1-2) Friday at 7 p.m. Colony (3-0) is at Bartlett (3-0) Saturday at noon.

The state’s other DI conference, the Cook Inlet, is showing a bit parity at the top. East, West and Service are all tied at 2-1. The CIC’s most intriguing game of the week is Friday night when Service travels across town to face West at 7 p.m.

Division II

Alaska’s Division II storyline during Weeks 2 and 3 of the season is the king of the class against the new kids on the block. Six-team defending state champion Soldotna dismantled previously undefeated Lathrop 50-21 last week and will host 3-0 West Valley Friday at 6:30 p.m. Both Lathrop and West Valley were dropped from the Division I to DII level during the offseason.

Division III

Houston entered the season as one of the youngest and smallest squads in the state. Now after consecutive wins, including a 30-6 victory over defending DII champion Barrow, the Hawks have gained some confidence. Houston is entering its biggest stretch of the season with games against Homer and Ketchikan. The Hawks host Homer, the 2017 runner-up, Friday at 7 p.m. and travel to Ketchikan next week.