HS: State, region rankings, March 27

by Sheldon Shealer

March 27, 2017

On paper, it's hard to match the top-end talent of the Langley (Va.) boys team.

On the field, it's even more difficult to argue against the results of Wando (Mount Pleasant, S.C.).

Wando routed Hoover (Ala.) 7-0 and Parkview (Lilburn, Ga.) 5-0 in a weekend mixer of perennial nationally ranked programs. Wando, which was already No. 1 in South Carolina and No. 2 in the SIMA FAB 50 spring rankings, appears poised to inherit the top spot Tuesday when the SIMA FAB 50 is released as Langley tied a match last week.

With South Carolina defending state champion River Bluff (Lexington, S.C.) also undefeated and ranked in the SIMA FAB 50 Top 5, Wando and River Bluff could be angling for a national No. 1 clash in the playoffs -- if both continue to win their matches.

In other key spring news last week, Rockwood Summit (Fenton, Mo.) and Webster Groves (Mo.) girls pulled off significant early season wins last week to improve their state, region and national standing. ... St. Thomas Aquinas (Overland Park, Kan.) became the first girls SIMA FAB 50 No. 1 team to win its opener, squeaking out a 1-0 victory. ... The revolving door in Colorado continues to spin as the state Top 7, and with it the regional rankings, got shuffled yet again -- although most of the teams remain the same, just the order has changed. ... On the boys side, Creighton Prep (Omaha, Neb.), a week after losing a shootout match that cost them the state's No. 1 ranking, rebounded to rout Omaha South (Omaha, Neb.) to reinherit the top spot. ... Early losses by [Washington-Lee va-m] (Arlington, Va.) and Oakton (Vienna, Va.) caused a bit of re-ordering in the Virginia Top 10. ... Utah appears to be the most evenly matched state when it comes to the top programs as just about everyone in the state Top 10 has at least one loss. Weber (Pleasant View, Utah) remains No. 1 for now, but don't be surprised if that changes hands several times throughout the season.

As expected, almost all of the winter favorites advanced in the first round of the Texas playoffs. One exception was undefeated McKinney Boyd (McKinney, Texas) falling to Southlake Carroll (Southlake, Texas) in a shootout in an unfortunate first-round meeting of nationally ranked boys programs. Texas has a 128-team single-elimination playoff format where the early rounds are set up based on league placement in geographically close districts. Boyd and Carroll, both ranked in the Top 10 in the Dallas area, would have been projected to advance multiple rounds had it not been for such an early encounter. The next big-time boys clash occurs this week as Coppell (Texas) takes on The Woodlands (Texas) in a second-round contest that pits two teams hovering around the SIMA FAB 50 Top 10.

CLICK BELOW FOR THE COMPLETE SPRING HIGH SCHOOL RANKINGS

SPRING REGION RANKINGS: BOYS (March 27) | GIRLS (March 27)

SPRING STATE RANKINGS: BOYS (March 27) | GIRLS (March 27)

* * * * *

CLICK BELOW FOR THE COMPLETE WINTER HIGH SCHOOL RANKINGS

WINTER REGION RANKINGS: BOYS (March 27) | GIRLS (March 27)

WINTER STATE RANKINGS: BOYS (March 27) | GIRLS (March 27)

Related Topics: SIMA FAB 50 / Event