Alrighty … time to put my L-L League football rankings to bed for the season.

And for my final poll for the 2009 season, I just couldn’t whittle it down to the final 5, so I wimped out and split the No. 5 spot.

You’ll get over it.

So here it is, my final top 5 for L-L League Football 2009.

Read ‘em and weep …

1 – Manheim Central (7-0 Section 2, 10-0 overall; last week – 1st) – Ta-da: Barons get my final top nod after getting through its schedule unscathed; the only team in the L-L League to do so this regular season. And the Barons have capped the regular season in style, winning their last four games in a row via shutout. That certainly deserves a wow. Central has outscored its last four opponents by a grand total of (gulp) 159-0. And if you’ll oblige me for a couple of seconds, here are some other fun Barons’ numbers – Central led the league in total team defense, finished second in total team offense, allowed the fewest points in the league, scored the second-most points in the league, is ranked fourth in the state in one poll and third in another, won its second outright section title in a row and 20th overall, and will be the No. 1 seed in the upcoming District 3 Triple-A bracket. OK, I’ll shut-up now. Save me a seat in the press box in Manheim. I have a feeling I’ll be there the next three weeks in a row. UP NEXT: Friday at home vs. Shippensburg in the first round of the District 3 Triple-A playoffs. The quest for title No. 16 begins now.

2 – Lancaster Catholic (7-0 Section 3, 9-1 overall; last week – 2nd) – Crusaders wrapped up their second outright section crown in a row – and fifth in a row overall – with a 51-28 score-fest win over Elco in Week 10. From the ho-hum department, Kyle Smith had four TD passes – giving him 103 in his storied career – against no picks, and he finished the regular season with a league-best 35 TD tosses against just two interceptions. And he missed a game. He’s a machine. Catholic also locked up the No. 1 seed in the District 3 Double-A playoffs, where the Crusaders will be out to defend their crown. Huge, huge, huge expectations for this bunch, which bowed out in the Eastern Final last year – and have a majority of that nucleus back, including Smith, who is chasing the state’s career passing yardage record. Anything short of at least a return trip to that game will be a total bummer for this crew, which wants some redemption for last year’s loss to speedy West Catholic in the state semifinals. By the way, junior RB Jordan Stewart (a 1,000-yard back in eight games played) is a monster. Pick your poison: Stack eight or nine in the box to stop Stewart, or a nickel package to try and contain Smith and his wideouts. Yeah, good luck with that. UP NEXT: Friday at home vs. York Suburban in the first round of the District 3 Double-A playoffs. The floor is yours, Crusaders. This is what you’ve been waiting for.

3 – Wilson (7-0 Section 1, 9-1 overall; last week – 3rd) – With the outright section championship already in their back pockets, the Bulldogs had to fight and scratch their way past pesky Warwick, which led Wilson 13-10 in the fourth quarter (in West Lawn) in Week 10. But the ‘Dawgs got a 61-yard pass play from QB Zach Zweizig to WR Sheldon Hannibal-Nixon on (get this) third-and-41 from their own 21. Wilson went on to score three unanswered touchdowns – including a pick-6 from Tyler Beck – and shocked the Warriors, who needed a win and help to make Districts. Instead, Wilson won its eighth game in a row and locked up the 2-seed in the District 3 Quad-A bracket, where they’ll be out to defend their title starting Friday. And do you think No. 1 seed Bishop McDevitt will want some payback after the ‘Dawgs pinned a 48-6 beatdown loss on them last year in the district semifinals? That could be mighty interesting should that game pan out. Stay tuned. UP NEXT: Friday at home vs. York High in the first round of the District 3 Quad-A playoffs.

4 – Lampeter-Strasburg (6-1 Section 3, 7-3 overall; last week – 5th) – Bumped the Pioneers up a notch after they registered a 55-7 Week 10 win over Annville-Cleona and remained wicked hot. Take away Manheim Central and its four shutout wins in a row, and there might not be a more scorching team in the L-L League right now than L-S, which has won five games in a row by an aggregate 218-28 (ouch, babe), and has a pair of shutout victories in that torrid stretch. Been saying this for a couple of weeks now and I’ll say it again – no way do I want to play L-S in the first round of Districts. These guys are in a different stratosphere at the moment, and the Pioneers will finish the regular season with a top-5 offense and top-5 defense in the L-L League – that after a 0-2 start out of the chute and a 2-3 mark at the season’s midway point. Ever since the Pioneers have been leaving a vapor trail behind them on Friday nights. And a quick nod to senior Chad Frey, who has returned three punts for touchdowns in the last two games, including a pair against A-C in Week 10. He’s also poised to crack 1,000 rushing yards in the district opener. Second-best turnover ratio in the league, too. Tons to like here. UP NEXT: Friday at Conrad Weiser in the first round of the District 3 Triple-A playoffs. L-S won that crown in 2007, don’t forget.

5 (tie) – Manheim Township (5-2 Section 1, 7-3 overall; last week – not ranked) – Had to get the Blue Streaks on my list after they polished the regular season with two wins in a row, wrapped up a second-place tie with Penn Manor in the section and clinched a home game in the first round of the District 3 Quad-A playoffs. Senior RB Brian Sourber has been a stud since Day 1, and he capped the regular season in grand fashion, rushing for 241 yards and three TD in Township’s 28-14 win over archrival Hempfield in Week 10. The Black Knights simply had no answer for Sourber, who carved them up left and right – a good bulk of the time out of the Streaks’ Razorback direct-snap package. What a season for Sourber, who has 1,463 yards (unofficially) and 21 TD runs. For a team that got next to no preseason pub elsewhere, I picked them to finish second in Section 1 – and (voila!) they did. Had a gut hunch about these guys, and they’ve really hung in quite nicely after back-to-back gut-wrencher mid-season losses to Penn Manor and Wilson. UP NEXT: Friday at home vs. Governor Mifflin in the first round of the District 3 Quad-A playoffs. These two have hooked up before on this stage. Winner likely gets the state’s top-ranked team, Bishop McDevitt, in Round 2.

5 (tie) – Penn Manor (5-2 Section 1, 8-2 overall; last week – not ranked) – Make that back-to-back 8-2 regular seasons for the Comets, who nearly lost their second game in a row last Friday before pulling off a dastardly comeback against Cedar Crest, which had to be sick to its stomach after coughing up a 35-22 second-half lead, as Penn Manor rallied valiantly and won 36-35 to tie Manheim Township for second place in the section and lock up a top-5 seed in the District 3 Quad-A playoffs. The Comets have developed a really bad habit of turning the ball over, particularly in the second half. It cost them the Wilson game (a pull-your-hair-out 24-20 loss in West Lawn in Week 9). And it nearly cost them the Cedar Crest game. But the Comets showed some moxie and found a way to win. Now we’ll see if they can get past the second round in the playoffs. UP NEXT: Friday at home vs. Chambersburg in the first round of the District 3 Quad-A playoffs.

HONORABLE MENTION: Three teams for you – Cocalico (5-2 Section 2, 8-2 overall; had to pick up the pace to get past sneaky Solanco in Week 10 to wrap up 8-2 regular season; next: Friday at home vs. L-L League foe – and former non-league partner – Elco in the first round of the District 3 Triple-A playoffs); Conestoga Valley (4-3 Section 2, 6-4 overall; limped home with a 10-point loss to 1-win Ephrata, but injuries are mounting for the Buckskins; RB Kevin Kelley needs (unofficially) 75 rushing yards for 2,000; next: Friday at Northern York (one of the best nicknames in District 3: the Polar Bears) in the first round of the District 3 Triple-A playoffs – CV’s first postseason sojourn since 2006); Elco (5-2 Section 3, 8-2 overall; settled for a third-place finish in the section after hanging right near the top spot all season, but still an excellent ride for the Raiders, who will make a return trip to Districts; next: Friday at L-L League foe Cocalico in the first round of the District 3 Triple-A playoffs; second year in a row Elco will get an L-L League neighbor in Round 1; last year Manheim Central topped the Raiders).