I liken the value of sports polls, particularly the value of high school sports polls, particularly early-season high school sports football polls, to the value of the printed page they’re on. Meaning, not much.

And that applies to the “printed” word online.

But I do pay attention to some of them. Recent Associated Press polls have put Sequim football as high as sixth in class 2A, while the Tacoma News Tribune’s prep poll had Sequim at seventh — before a loss to Cascade Christian (another ranked team, but in the 1A classification) bumped them off.

Does that mean Sequim isn’t one of the 10 best 2A teams in the state? Does it mean Cascade Christian is good enough to beat a top-six 2A team and, therefore, to be considered one of the best, if not THE best, 1A team in the state?

Too early to tell. That being said, on to the polls:

Football:

Class 2A

1. Ellensburg 3-0 

2. Archbishop Murphy 2-1

3. Lynden 2-1 

4. Othello 2-1
5. Interlake 3-0
6. Prosser 2-1

7. Chehalis 3-0 

8. West Valley (Spokane) 3-0 

9. (tie) Woodland 3-0

9. (tie) Mark Morris 2-1

Others receiving 6 or more points: Blaine 16, Burlington-Edison 15, North Mason 15, Selah 12, Tumwater 11, Black Hills 9, Colville 8.

To note: Sequim is off the list, North Mason received enough votes to nearly make the list. Mason is 3-0 and beat Eastside Catholic, a very good team who beat No. 2 Archbishop Murphy, who beat Lynden.

So, if Sequim beats North Mason on Oct. 16, does that mean they’re better than Eastside Catholic, Archbishop Murphy and Lynden? Maybe, maybe not.

Class 1A

1. Montesano 3-0 

2. Connell 3-0 

3. Royal 3-0 

4. Cascade Christian 3-0 

5. Vashon Island 3-0

6. Cashmere 1-1 

7. Cascade 2-0 

8. Orting 2-1 

9. Nooksack Valley 2-1

10. Meridian 2-1 

Others receiving 6 or more points: Zillah 7.

To note: Cascade Christian moves up to No. 4 after the win versus Sequim. That’s respect for both.

In cross country circles, Sequim gets a mention in this week’s poll, but it’s for the girls’ team, not the boys. Although I respect all coaches everywhere, this poll is a bit out of whack.

Does anyone voting here notice that Sequim’s girls squad is missing its No. 2 runner and even though it has the returning state champ, it has a roster of almost all brand new runners?

Sequim’s boys team is chock full of solid runners that I suspect will crack the top 10 by season’s end.

No disrespect meant to Sequim’s girls. It’s just odd to see a team ranked that high when I wasn’t sure they’ll field a full varsity team at all at season’s inception.

On to the poll:

Class 2A girls
1. Sehome (Bellingham)
2. Cedarcrest (Duvall)
3. Kingston
4. Squalicum (Bellingham)
5. Sequim
6. Riverside (Chattaroy)
7. Lakewood
8. Deer Park
9. Bellingham
10. Ephrata

In case you’re wondering, Sequim’s top competition in the regular season, North Kitsap, is ranked in both polls. The NK boys are ranked sixth in class 3A while the Viking girls are ranked fourth.