The LHAC Power Index Week 2 Power Rankings
Tagged under: District 5, District 6, District 9, News, pfn
Hunter Myers | September 2, 2025
This week we introduce the LHAC Power Index, a model for the Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference. This model was built around a simple ELO rating system, think chess, but way more exciting. Each team was assessed an initial ELO in the preseason based on returning production, coach prestige and a team-specific homefield advantage.
These rankings can be used to predict the LHAC games, as we will be doing for the remainder of the 2025 season. When tested against the 2024 LHAC season the model had a 75% accuracy, in 100 games. This season through Week 2, the model is also at 75% (15 – 5).
Understanding the rankings is very simple. 15 ELO points = 1 point in the expected margin of victory. So, to put it simply, if Richland had a rating of 1500 and Clearfield had a rating of 1470, we would say that on a neutral field, Richland would be favored by 2 points according to the model. Ratings are adjusted after each game, based on league-wide results.
Without further ado, let’s get into the rankings…
| Rank | Trend | Team | ELO | Previous Rank |
| 1 | 0 | Richland | 1813.764 | 1 |
| 2 | 0 | McCort | 1727.35 | 2 |
| 3 | 1 | Penn Cambria | 1697.112 | 4 |
| 4 | -1 | Bishop Guilfoyle | 1663.574 | 3 |
| 5 | 0 | Bellwood-Antis | 1587.158 | 5 |
| 6 | 1 | Clearfield | 1550.782 | 7 |
| 7 | 1 | Philipsburg | 1542.449 | 8 |
| 8 | 2 | Forest Hills | 1511.478 | 10 |
| 9 | -3 | Bellefonte | 1507.528 | 6 |
| 10 | -1 | Bald Eagle | 1496.881 | 9 |
| 11 | 2 | Tyrone | 1455.702 | 13 |
| 12 | 3 | Huntingdon | 1454.394 | 15 |
| 13 | 1 | Central | 1447.355 | 14 |
| 14 | -3 | Bedford | 1439.387 | 11 |
| 15 | -3 | Chestnut Ridge | 1422.807 | 12 |
| 16 | 0 | Somerset | 1379.406 | 16 |
| 17 | 1 | Central Cambria | 1375.817 | 18 |
| 18 | -1 | Westmont | 1349.834 | 17 |
| 19 | 0 | Johnstown | 1302.63 | 19 |
| 20 | 0 | Penns Valley | 1274.59 | 20 |
Week 2 Takeaways:
Richland & McCort – Huge wins over Bishop Guilfoyle and Bellwood-Antis keep them locked into the top 2 spots.
Penn Cambria – The Panthers climb to the third spot and a schedule that could keep them unbeaten, they may climb even higher.
Bellefonte – After a shutout loss to Forest Hills 35 – 0, they fall 3 spots.
Huntingdon – Win number 2, a rout of Somerset brings Huntingdon up 3 spots higher.
Bottom 5 – Largely unchanged, however Central Cambria will trade spots with Westmont after a win over Penns Valley.
Check back tomorrow morning for the model’s Week 3 predictions.
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