Who's No. 1?

My collegue Gerry Gittelson wondered that aloud in today's paper in a column discussing who'd win if Canyon and Oaks Christian squared off in a game to really settle area supremacy.

Personally, I don't think that question is focused enough. If you ask who'd win the game if it were played next week, I'd have to say Canyon because Oaks just isn't the same team without Marc Tyler in the backfield.

But if this was just some hypothetical match-up, I'd go with Oaks. When Tyler was in the lineup, Oaks was one of the best football teams you'll ever see. If you tried to stop Clausen, Tyler would kill you. If you tried to bottle up Tyler, Clausen would pick you apart.

Marshall Jones did an admirable job filling in for Tyler. He's a fantastic athlete with good instincts at running back. But those instincts aren't nearly as developed as Tyler's were. They never had to be with Tyler as Oaks' RB.

Saturday was the first time I'd seen Oaks since Tyler was lost for the year with a broken fibula. I barely recognized them. Seriously, it was like a shell of the team I'd seen before. The well-tuned offense needed some oil. Everything looked out of sync. Yes, Clausen had a bad game. But remember, he was trying to throw into a secondary with eight defenders. Even when Oaks had four WRs, every single guy was double-teamed.

Cardinal Newman was only able to do that because Tyler wasn't there. There's no way you go with three pass rushers if the No. 1 running back in the country is in the backfield.

Canyon is a much better team that Cardinal Newman, so frankly, if the teams played now and Oaks didn't have Tyler, it might not even be close.

But if we're just theoretically speaking and both teams are at their best, I'd go with Oaks, 35-27.