HS: Playoff results shuffle region rankings

by Sheldon Shealer

February 16, 2020

Early exits, surprise results, Cinderalla teams -- it's all part of playoff sports.

It is also part of the rankings game.

TopDrawerSoccer always has followed the guideline that a team's most recent match is its most important. Therefore, it is not uncommon for teams to rise quickly and others fall far based on postseason play. Several such examples surfaced this week thanks to postseason play in California and Florida.

[Irvine University ca-m] (Calif.) and [Lely fl-m] (Fla.) boys were the big winners. University stunned top-seeded San Clemente (Calif.) in the CIF Southern Section Division I playoffs. Lely, a former regionally ranked team, returns to the rankings after upsetting Naples (Fla.). Naples won three previous meetings against Lely this season, but the regional semifinal loss means Lely is moving on while Naples' season is over.

San Clemente and Naples figure to remain SIMA FAB 50-ranked teams this week, but the new rankings also will include University and Lely, as well as a host of newcomers.

The state No. 1s this week are Sunnyside (Ariz.), Montgomery (Calif.), Doral Academy (Fla.), Punahou (Hawaii), St. Paul's (La.), Ocean Springs (Miss.) and San Antonio LEE (Texas) for boys and Chaparral (Ariz.), Upland (Calif.), Montverde Academy (Fla.), Kamehameha-Kapalama (Hawaii), Northshore (La.), Gulfport (Miss.) and Tompkins (Texas) for girls.