Another great football weekend, another bunch of statements made by some Kern County football teams. Let's do the recap thing.

— The first big showdown of the year in the South Sequoia League came in Wasco, and the home team was showed down. The Taft Wildcats pounced, winning 42-0 in an utterly dominating performance, that, in my eyes, makes Taft the favorite in the SSL. We'll find out if I'm right next week in Tehachapi; a win there, and the Wildcats will be 3-0 with only struggling Bakersfield Christian and Shafter to go. Can Taft do it? If they play defense like they did in Wasco and spring Cody Shirreffs for another couple hundred yards, I say yes.

— Meanwhile, Centennial was tripped up in Game 2 without quarterback Cody Kessler. West High scored two defensive touchdowns in the fourth quarter to stymie the Golden Hawks 16-14, and this is a win the Vikings can feel really good about. They're now 3-1 in the SWYL with games against South and Stockdale left after stepping out of league to play Garces this week. Wouldn't it be something if Stockdale beat Frontier in their Week 9 showdown but then had to win a game against one-loss West in Week 10 to stay atop the league? On the other side, Centennial can regroup and hope for a better performance against Ridgeview next week. The Hawks still have a lot to play for.

— Speaking of Stockdale, it had no problems without one of its offensive stars. running back Malik Henderson. The Mustangs pulled away from what was shaping up to be a road test at Ridgeview behind Henderson's backup, Eddie Gutierrez, who ran for 177 yards and five touchdowns in an impressive 41-7 victory. Is there no end to Stockdale's stable of talented backs? The Mustangs led just 14-7 at halftime but showed again why they've got a team that can challenge for a Division I section title.

— The other two teams in town who hope to compete for that title both notched easy SEYL wins Friday, Liberty 34-0 at Golden Valley and Bakersfield 40-14 at home against Foothill. It was the Patriots' second shutout of the year, and the fourth time they've allowed 10 or fewer points. For Bakersfield, the win was marred by 187 yards in penalties but was a great chance to celebrate the program's 700th win. That's more than any other school in California. Congratulations, BHS. Now they'll try to get to 703 against a weak finishing slate and add a few more in the playoffs.

— Garces dominated East offensively and won the shootout of the year, 67-41, to give the Blades an emphatic first league loss. I don't think East was ever a viable threat to win the SEYL, and the Rams showed that by running all day on the home team even without the threat of starting quarterback Blake Campbell, who broke his collarbone the week before. Jalen Sykes had 266 rushing yards, plus scores on a punt return and a fumble return for Garces, which totaled 479 rushing yards and came up one shy of the school's record for points, even though it didn't score in the fourth quarter. By the way, I also hear Garces parents were wearing "First Down Dave" T-shirts in support of coach David Fanucchi, who has resigned, apparently under some pressure, effective at the end of the year.

— A defensive touchdown for Highland kept the Scots with Frontier in the first half, and though the Titans eventually pulled away for a 36-10 win, this shows the Titans do have a few chinks in the armor. Most of them are on offense, I think, though it's interesting to note that Matt Darr also missed a couple of extra points. Didn't expect that. Frontier has a game with South to try to clean those things up and get to 8-0 before the tussle with Stockdale.

— The Rebels won't necissarily be a pushover, though. They won the Civil War game against North 28-26 in a thriller. The Stars came back late, but they missed an extra point on their third touchdown and so had to go for two to tie the game when they scored with about a minute to go. South held, and they've won their fifth game. One more to go for a winning season that not many saw coming. In another heart-stopper, Mira Monte stopped Independence's two-point conversion when the Falcons went for a win down 28-27. That's a big step towards a league title in their inaugural season for the surprising Lions, who still have to play Independence once more.

— After a disappointing loss at Porterville last week, Delano recovered to mercilessly pound lowly Porterville-Granite Hills 64-6 and at least get to 6-1 heading into an intriguing home game with 7-0 Tulare Union, the defending Division II champion. Are the Tigers up to the task? Seems unlikely, but they do have a great homefield advantage and a running game that could keep the TU offense off the field if it can find any holes.

— Congratulations to coach Ben Ansolabehere and his Shafter team, which got a goal-line stand in the final seconds to beat Arvin 23-19 for the Generals' first SSL win since Nov. 3, 2006. Also, with an eye to the Southern Section, a big Desert Sky League win for Burroughs against Apple Valley-Granite Hills that gives the Burros a big boost for their playoff hopes.

How about the big games in Week 8?

Taft at Tehachapi: Wasco still gets a shot at the Warriors, but this seems like an SSL championship to me
Ridgeview at Centennial: The Golden Hawks can't afford to let another one drop
Tulare Union at Delano: It would be monumental if the Tigers could pull this one off
West at Garces: A couple of improving teams that still have a lot to play for
East at Liberty: Not sure if the Blades' passing attack will hold up against Liberty