West and Kenai held down the top spots in the Alaska Sports Broadcasting Network's final regular season statewide media poll, but both teams will have a hard time staying on top after showdowns this weekend against the No. 3 teams in their divisions.

This week's poll marks the third week in a row that the Eagles have been ranked No. 1 in large schools, while the Kardinals have been the top-ranked small-schools team since preseason No. 1 Soldotna lost its season-opener to West.

West defeated Cook Inlet Conference foe Dimond 33-9 last week to remain undefeated, while Kenai took care of Kodiak 21-0 on Saturday in Kodiak. The Kardinals had to endure a 23-hour ferry ride from Whittier to play the game, then a 12-hour ride back to Homer. In all, Kenai spent roughly 35 hours on the water and another five riding the bus.

The Kardinals are at home this weekend, where they'll face rival Soldotna with the Northern Lights Conference championship on the line. At 5-2, Soldotna is ranked third in the poll, but the Stars are the three-time defending state small-schools champions and have only lost to West and No. 2 Colony.

The CIC championship -- and the top seed in the playoffs that comes with it -- is also on the line this weekend, as West is set to square off against 6-1 South on Saturday. South is ranked No. 3 in this week's poll following its 35-24 win over East last week.

Bartlett remained at No. 4 in the large-schools poll, while Juneau replaced North Pole at No. 5.

In small schools, No. 2 Eielson is one of three Greatland Conference schools in the top five despite the conference's past struggles against the NLC. Also ranked from the GLC are No. 4 Nikiski, which moved up one spot from last week, and No. 5 Barrow. Nikiski was the last GLC team to win the state small-schools title in 2001. Since then, 12 of 14 state finalists have come out of the NLC. The NLC is 6-2 against the GLC this season.

ASBN media poll

Large Schools

1. West 7-0

2. Colony 7-0

3. South 6-1

4. Bartlett 5-2

5. Juneau-Douglas 5-2

Small Schools

1. Kenai 7-0

2. Eielson 7-0

3. Soldotna 5-2

4. Nikiski 4-3

5. Barrow 4-3

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