Those of you who have been reading these pages are aware that in week one, area teams posted a combined 3-9 record. Because two games were played between pairs of area schools, that amounts to a 1-7 ledger against outsiders.

Those of you who appreciate irony will like the fact that the lone area school to defeat one from outside the area was Geneva, which hadn’t turned that trick in nine seasons. And the Eagles did it decisively, with a 42-7 whipping of Wickliffe.

This is the week in which I like to point out the importance of the role of non-conference games in computer-point races. These contests have the potential to tip the balance in deciding playoff qualifiers. That’s because of the fact that if a team that plays in a conference — and that is currently true of all 12 area schools — then the number of total second-level wins attributable to games played between teams of that conference is fixed.

Non-conference contests can provide chances for a team to pick up a second-level win without at the same time sacrificing one because it comes at the expense of another team it defeats. A team can also benefit by having a league opponents do well in non-league play, as long as it beats that league opponent.

Here is how the area conferences fared in Week 1:

n 1. CHAGRIN VALLEY CONFERENCE, VALLEY DIVISION (3-2) — To provide further evidence of just how bad a week it was for area schools, this was the only area conference that equaled or beat the .500 mark.

Grand Valley, winless a year ago, was one of the three teams to garner a victory. The Mustangs are the only area squad remaining in the Valley Division.

n 2. CHAGRIN VALLEY CONFERENCE, CHAGRIN DIVISION (3-5) — This group usually does very well, so its start must come as a disappointment. Perry, the only area school included, did pick up where it left off last year with its win against Riverside.

n 3. PREMIER ATHLETIC CONFERENCE (2-4) — Another disappointing beginning, and even more so for the area, which lost all three of its games.

n 4. EAST SUBURBAN CONFERENCE (2-5) — Both area schools, Pymatuning Valley and SS. John and Paul, dropped their opener.

n 6. NORTHEASTERN CONFERENCE (1-4) — This conference has not had a very successful recent history against other schools. Geneva, of course, was the lone institution to post a victory in week one.

Goldman is a freelance writer from South Euclid. Reach him at steve558@adelphia.net.