Well, this is awkward.

Having selected winners for each and every game in the SDSSAA Senior Football League season, I’ve hit the finish line with three teams sitting at 4-1 – perhaps the first time in the long and storied history of these predictions that I have encountered such a confluence at the top of the standings.

Given that I did not go so far as to predict game by game scores (which would be required to resolve the three-way tie were this to actually occur this fall), I opted for a more practical tie-breaker for this column.

Below are the top three ranked teams (IMO) based on which one is most likely to potentially run the table and produce a 5-0 record:

Lo-Ellen Park Knights (4-1)
I may very well regret this selection by the time the championship game rolls around on November 1st.

Heck, I might regret this pick by the time Confederation and Lo-Ellen go toe to toe on September 27th – but it simply strikes me as being completely disrespectful not to give the three-time defending champions their due.

The Knights return not only more all-stars and individual award winners than any other team in the circuit, but also boast the top two game-breakers in the form of quarterback Steven Sola and wide receiver Quin Mazzuchin.

That said, they also return fewer starters elsewhere on the field than either of the remaining top contenders – thankfully at a school that has the resources to backfill pretty well.

While there remains a battle in the backfield, the truth is that Sola might have more carries by the end of the year than all other Lo-Ellen runners combined. Still, it’s through the air where the Knights distance themselves from the pack, with the likes of Jack Centis, Jonah Gibson and Byron Nelson all helping to spread the field enough to allow Mazzuchin to his thing.

That said, only Michael Smith (OL) returns as a starter from either side of the line, likely to be joined on the offense by Jr Spartans standout Joseph Vaanholt and newcomer Kai Koskela.

Turnover is rampant on the defensive side as well, with the likes of Cale Prpic, Lucas Hodder and Cameron Shelp needing to accelerate the learning curve if Lo-Ellen is going to have a shot at the #1 seeding entering post-season play.

Returnee Jacob Hulisz has shown that he is more than ready to move into a starter’s role at middle linebacker, though it will surprise very few if the all-star secondary tandem of Niki Sola and Adam Scott join him in leading the team in tackles this year.

Confederation Chargers (1-4)
Chargers head coach Shane Hutchinson thought he had a team that could contend this time last year – before they went 1-4 in regular season play (in fairness, I also had them at 3-2 in my predictions).

This year, it will be shocking if the Valley crew are not sitting top three on October 19th.

There is simply too much depth right across the board, and most notably on the lines, to see the Confederation crew as a group that will win less than three games – and could, quite easily, enter the playoffs undefeated.

Though Braeden Beggs is dealing with a late-season Jr Spartans injury, the gifted senior is resilient enough (and talented enough) to give Hutchinson and staff the option of utilizing him at QB or RB. If it’s the latter, expect either King Davd Igiehon or Tyson Vitali to be taking the snaps – and then handing quickly to either Beggs or backfield beast Evan Doyle, who is coming off an outstanding summer football campaign.

Owen Blay, Cam Quesnel and whoever is not under centre provide some solid receiving options on a team that should be able to allow their signal-caller to enjoy just a little extra time for wideouts to get open.

All-star Zach White moves from centre to guard and is joined by Owen Parro (fresh off a strong showing at Team Ontario tryouts) and Braxton Clarke (transfer student-athlete who played with the Huronia Stallions). Throw in Kiki Olufowobi and Crawford Wiebe, just for good measure, and you have easily the most impressive "O" Line the Chargers have featured in a while.

The D-Line is good with the likes of Boston Bobbie, Josh Vis and Owen Purvis, but takes another step forward when Confederation inevitably rotates some of their offensive lineman through for two-way play, when necessary.

Colton Savage, A.J. Harris and Dan Leduc give the team that has not won a city title since 2003 a more-than-solid linebacking corps, which is more than sufficient given a secondary that features Quentin Harris, Nathan Nadeau, Tucker Lalonde and Dylon Desrochers.

Lasalle Lancers (4-1)
While this pick will surprise many who ignored summer football altogether, the fact is that Lasalle mirrors Confederation in many ways – including the fact that both teams can boast upwards of 15 or more athletes who enjoyed fairly significant playing time with one or the other of the Jr Spartans squads over the past few months.

Quarterbacks Riley Warton and Ryder Kirby still need to show they are ready to really step into the spotlight but in running back Colton Cooke (who tore it up at the junior level last fall) and ball catchers Derek Idehen, Jude St Michael – Leblanc, Dash Kamal, Adam Clement and Rashaun Asare-Corbiere, they have a whole lot of help as the Lancers look to put points on the board.

It certainly won’t hurt that lineman Jack Vincent, John Armstrong, Landen Cousineau and Jake Henri can open gaps for the Lasalle offensive weapons with the best of them.

Defensively, the line duo of Jaden Brennan and Cole Preston is a really, really good place to start, with linebackers Dalton Wilcox, Kurtis Werbowsky and Xavier Osawamick ready to ensure that the Black and Orange swarm to the ball on each and every play.

And when the better passing attacks in the league come to town, few secondary units match up as well as a group that finds Sylas Asare-Corbiere, Micah Taylor, Harper Chartrand-Ferrier, Logan Manela and Carson MacNeil all fully capable of taking that game-changing pick-six the other way to the house.

About the only concern in the land of the Lancers might be the fact that following their SDSSAA banner winning year in 2010, better than .500 records have been few and far between – and it sometimes takes teams a year to learn how to win.

Head coach J.J. McKnight is hoping to fast-track that process to mere months.