Football teams in Wild West keep surprising, and not all in a good way

The West is proving to be quite unpredictable so far this high school football season.

In Division I, the three teams that competed for the two spots in the conference championship game are all 0-2. With the top two teams sitting at 1-1, its the only conference in the division with no undefeated teams left.

Here's a closer look at how each team in the D1 West Conferences ended up where they are, and where they can go.

Division I: West

Alvirne (1-1): By virtue of its win over Nashua North last weekend, the Broncos are the first-team in the conference and would host the conference championship game, if it were this coming weekend. After two games, Alvirne is still a bit of a question mark. Is it more like the team that lost to Pinkerton 63-20 to open the season, or is it the team that shutout North 27-0 last Saturday? The answer likely lies somewhere in between, although had it not been for a handful of penalties in the second quarter against the Titans, that game could have gone to running time in the second half. The Broncos face a big game this week in their home-opener against Keene (see below), as a win would  give them two within the division just three weeks into the season.

Nashua North (1-1): The Titans went from shutting out Timberlane in Week 1, to getting shutout by Alvirne in Week 2. The difference was the Broncos' size up front, which North struggled with, particularly on offense, where it couldn't get its run game going. Unable to run the ball, the Titans were forced to pass to pick up yardage and were unable to do that as well. North hosts a surprising Londonderry (2-0) team on Friday in a game that doesn't look as promising as it did just a week ago.

Bishop Guertin (0-2): There is no secret as to what has gone wrong for the Cardinals - injuries. Bishop Guertin suffered key ones to its top two running backs - Kelvin Rivera and Jackson Housman - in its opening-night loss to Londonderry, and spent last Saturday's loss to Merrimack trying to break in their replacements. While Housman is done for the year, Rivera's injury wasn't season ending. The Cardinals have Timberlane and Keene on the road in the next two weeks, but after that comes Pinkerton. If Bishop Guertin back to even at 2-2 by then, it may not matter who is playing for the Cardinals.

Nashua South (0-2): Despite having eight starters back on offense, the Panthers knew they were going to need some time to get on the same page, with Malik Langa stepping in at quarterback for Trevor Knight. But what they probably didn't expect was getting a much-improved Salem team to open the season. Last week's game against Pinkerton (a 29-7 loss) would have been a tough one for South to win even if it were running on all cylinders. It doesn't get much easier for South this week, as its hosts Merrimack (2-0) on Saturday. A loss would put the Panthers at 0-3, and while that might be mentally crushing, it's a hole South can climb out of, thanks to its schedule. Four of its final six games are against conference opponents, meaning South can still work its way back in the standings with a loss to the Tomahawks.

Keene (0-2): The Blackbirds were one of the best defensive teams in the state a year ago. This year, Keene has been outscored 75-0 to open the season. While Friday's game at Alvirne is a big one for the Broncos, it's even bigger for the Blackbirds. A win keeps them right in the mix. A loss, especially if its as one-sided as the first two, could be too much to overcome.