It's high time we took a break from football at School House Zach and took another look at the other fall sports going on. They're all well into league seasons, and I hate to pay so little attention to them. But they're up against football, and its vociferous demands on attention, so we'll just do the best we can. And right now, that's a look at each of the sports' different league races.

And for you football-only fans, we'll be back on normal schedule tomorrow with Week 5 coverage, starting with Central Section rankings.

Volleyball
Let's start in the SWYL, where Centennial has already confirmed its front-runner status with sweeps of Frontier and Stockdale early in league play. Add that to a 3-0 record against Bakersfield (keep in mind two were best-of-three tournament shorties, and the other a five-game epic) and a 3-1 win against Liberty, and the Golden Hawks represent Kern's best hope of derailing an expected meeting between Clovis West and Clovis-Buchanan in the Division I Central Section championship. Those northern schools have combined for the last four titles. But Centennial, which has just two losses to out-of-section teams, is a force, led by accurate, intelligent setter Carly Maxwell and a big front line led by Alyssa Gammel, Lauren Campbell, Regan Richert and Lacey Congdon. The defense isn't too shabby, either. As for the Titans and Mustangs, they're good teams who will battle for second place, first on Oct. 13 at Frontier. The Titans also are a legitimate Division II threat.
There's no such clear No. 1 in the SEYL, but a clear No. 2. Bakersfield and Liberty, who split last year (the Patriots took the title because BHS lost a match to Garces) have taken the SEYL by the reins, and it's no surprise that the Drillers and Patriots also have elite setters in Savannah Wedemeyer and Emily Cote. Bakersfield has swept Garces, and its close results against Centennial lead me to believe the Drillers may be the team to beat here after Liberty lost Mariah Alvidrez to a knee injury over the summer. But we won't get a clear answer until the teams tangle Oct. 13 at Liberty and then again Nov. 5 to end the season at BHS. Garces will push both teams — the Rams get Liberty for the first time Thursday at home — and has a 1-2 record against Frontier in the D-II argument, though the one win was a sweep in the only regular-season match the teams played. Golden Valley, a team that with Ridgeview and Tehachapi could make some local D-III noise, probably comes next in the pecking order.
Speaking of Tehachapi, the Warriors are one of the teams with a shot in what should be a wide-open South Sequoia League. Bakersfield Christian has more or less dominated here since it joined the league, but the Eagles lost a lot of talent off of last year's Division IV section champs, and that's opened the door for 16-4 Tehachapi, 8-1 Taft or 10-4 Wasco to compete. Of course, BCHS and its tough non-league schedule will be in it, too. League play starts this week, with the big games Taft at BCHS on Tuesday and Tehachapi at Wasco on Thursday.

Girls tennis
Those who follow Central Section tennis won't be surprised by this, but it might seem odd to those who mainly pay attention to football, basketball and baseball: Division V's Bakersfield Christian is the best team in the Central Section.
And this isn't just a flash-in-the-pan, Derek Carr-is-my-quarterback type of best team; the Eagles arguably have the most dominant program in the section, and that includes six-time defending Division I champion Stockdale. BCHS proved it again Saturday when it won the Lewis Cup with easy wins against the host Mustangs and Clovis West and a less-lopsided but still comfortable 4-2 victory against runner-up Garces. Yes, Visalia-Redwood and maybe Division I favorite Clovis-Buchanan have an argument here, but I think it's clear nobody matches the Eagles. BCHS is strong at the top, where senior Lyndsay Cooke, a two-time section singles runner-up to Redwood's Gabrielle Gatewood, and her sister, sophomore Chelby Cooke, are a combined 25-1. They're also dominant below — the Eagles usually sweep teams and have one of the section's better doubles pairings in Lily Schuler and Carolyn Stevens.
The Eagles competed in the Division I bracket of the California High School Tennis Classic to open the year. The quality of competition was so high, BCHS coach Frank Thiessen said, that it was the rough equivalent of a state tennis championship. The Eagles lost their first match 5-2 — losing two third-set tiebreakers — to Cupertino-Monta Vista, who went on to win the tourney without another close match. BCHS won the consolation bracket. So take from that what you will, but know this — nobody in the SSL or in the Division V section bracket can touch the Eagles. So the Lewis Cup was their championship.
As for Stockdale, the Mustangs have looked like mere mortals after losing top players Frances Ellison and Julie Hutton from last year's latest champions. Stockdale tied a dual with Frontier, 6-6 — the first non-win in SWYL play for the Mustangs in at least a decade — and then finished last among the four-team championship group at the Lewis Cup. Just getting there is an accomplishment, and Stockdale still has a fine team, but the loss to Clovis West especially hurt — Stockdale likely has been pushed behind Buchanan, CW and Fresno-Bullard in the Division I seeding argument, making a seventh straight title increasingly unlikely.
In the SEYL, it's all Garces. East has Nancy Ramirez, but the Rams have an answer now — freshman Gracie Jacobs, who beat Ramirez earlier and gave Lyndsay Cooke quite a challenge before falling at the Lewis Cup. The Rams have a lot of depth, too — they didn't lose any of their top six players from a year ago — so they'll win the SEYL without a sweat and challenge Redwood for D-II supremacy.

Boys cross country
A coup for Ridgeview, but not times two. Oh my, that was horrible. But it fits. The Wolf Pack accomplished something of a local milestone three weekends ago when they won the McFarland Invitational, something only three other local teams have done in the past 30 years. The Cougars were missing a starting runner, but the score wasn't close enough for that to make a difference. But the next week, at Ridgeview's own invite, a full-strength McFarland returned the favor and relegated the Wolf Pack to second place. Still, expect these teams to have a lot to say about the Division III and IV section races in November at Woodward Park in Fresno. Clovis-Buchanan probably is the best team in the section overall, but the two Kern County rivals are ranked second and third in the latest Central Cal Cross Country Rankings.
As for the other league races, Stockdale looks like it's the Wolf Pack's biggest challenger in the SWYL race and the best Kern bet for a top-five finish in the Division I section race. Highland is favored over East to win the SEYL race. And Shafter and Wasco will be doing batte for the SSL crown.
The individual races could be wide open with Chris Schwartz absent. Ridgeview won the individual titles at both the McFarland and Ridgeview invites, but it was a different runner each time: Robby Baker (16:00) at McFarland and Alex Garcia (16:14) at Ridgeview. Any of the McFarland runners, most notably Erik Garcia or Francisco Nava, could challenge. And then you've got a couple of guys who have come out of nowhere: Golden Valley's Daymon Sandles and Stockdale's Blair Slaton, the latter of whom won the season-opening East Invitational. Ridgeview and McFarland were absent from that race, though; the Mustangs meet the Wolf Pack in a league meet with South on Wednesday.

Girls cross country
There's little debate here about the best team in the area: It's Ridgeview, which has convincingly won the McFarland and Ridgeview Invites plus the Highlander Invitational at all-important Woodward Park. The individual champion at all of those meets was Tijerra Lynch, a junior who was The Californian's Runner of the Year last fall. The Central Cal rankings have Ridgeview third overall in the section, behind only Buchanan and Clovis.
But again, there are caveats. The Wolf Pack has yet to face Stockdale head-to-head (they will with the boys Wednesday), and Lynch hasn't met Bakersfield junior Sarah Baker, perhaps her biggest head-to-head competition. Baker won the EB Invite easily.
In the other leagues, it's Stockdale to challenge Ridgeview and then perhaps North in the SWYL. The Stars are a Division II section contender along with Garces, which along with Highland is a favorite for the SEYL title. In the SSL, the clear nod at this point goes to Shafter and Moriah Millwee, who pushed Ridgeview a bit at the Wolf Pack Invite. Taft might sit second.
The Kern County Championships for boys and girls cross country is Halloween morning at 9 a.m. at Hart Park.

Girls golf
The sport that's most quickly coming to its postseason climax is on the links, where Frontier continues to cruise along as Kern County's clear best team. The Titans are balanced and deep, with as many as four or five girls who would be the top golfer on almost any other team around. That shoutout belongs to Cami Ullrich, Meghan Shain, Jordanne Barr, Malea Miller and Tavia Rutherford. All are capable of breaking 80, and that's what Frontier will need to defend its Division II section title or challenge for the overall crown.
Stockdale is a clear second in the SWYL. In the east-side league, Garces lost a ton from its area champion squad last year but still is the bee's knees (yeah, sorry again). Liberty has been competitve, though, winning its first league mini-tournament in five years a couple of weeks ago. As a whole, though, the SWYL is by far the strongest local league this year, with Stockdale Abby Marina and Kaley In and Centennial's Chelsey Roberts joining the Frontier five as some of the top individuals around. Garces' Jasmine Rodriguez can join that group as well.
In the SSL, it's rare that more than a few strokes separate Tehachapi and Wasco in a mini-tournament, and a single point is between them in the season standings. Right now, the Tigers have a 37-36 edge. Bakersfield Christian's Megan Cho has been consistently the best individual in the league.