This is no news flash. The newly formed Division I football conference (formerly 5A-I) essentially is powered by Sections II and III.

With four regular season games in the books the best of the three sections in Division I is Section II. Section II has the top composite record at 31-21. It has more teams with winning records (7 out of 13). That's the section with Hamilton, Basha, Chandler, Desert Ridge, Gilbert, Corona del Sol and Dobson, the teams who are 4-0 or 3-1 to date.

 D-I Section III isn't quite as daunting as D-I, Section II. Section III is 27-25 overall. Five teams in Section III have winning records (Brophy, Desert Vista, Boulder Creek, Pinnacle and North Canyon).

Then there's D-I, Section I.  It shows an overall mark of 21-35. Just three of 14 teams in the section have winning records (Cibola, Valley Vista and Westview). Section I teams have played Section II or Section III teams eight times so far. Section I has an overall record in those of 0-8.

With the top three schools in each section automatically earning state tournament berths, that leaves seven schools to claim at-large berths. Don't expect the top three teams in D-I, Section I  to change from who they are now when the regular season ends Oct. 28. Their opposition isn't strong enough to detour their starts.

Cibola is rolling over its Yuma brethren, which comprises the bulk of its schedule. It's toughest two games come soon (Corona del Sol on  Sept. 30 and Sunnyside on Oct. 14). They also face Division II Gila Ridge. Valley Vista figures to roll with its only possible stumbling blocks Millennium and Westview to close the season. Valley Vista plays only one school from Section II and Section III (0-4 Mountain Ridge). Westview won't lose more than one game the rest of the way. It's only tough encounter remainiing is vs. Brophy.

Based on records to this point the top three teams in Section II  are Hamilton (4-0), Basha (4-0) and Desert Ridge (3-1). In Section III  it's Brophy (4-0), Desert Vista (4-0) and Pinnacle (4-0). That would leave the following schools with at least .500 records ifrom Sections II and III n the tussle for the seven at-large berths. Those are Chandler, Boulder Creek, North Canyon, Corona del Sol, Mesquite, Gilbert, Dobson, Mountain Pointe, Mesa Mountain View, Red Mountain, Sunnyside, Desert Mountain and Skyline.

The new set-up is not perfect by any means, but with 40 schools competing instead of 31 and the addition of some better programs to the big-school mix (namely Westview and Boulder Creek) it's not all that bad. The fact is there are probably eight teams many coaches or fans could identify with consensus as the top eight. If the other eight somehow muster a run in the postseason, that's what adds unexpected intrigue.