SIMA FAB 50: Top teams face crunch time

by Sheldon Shealer

October 29, 2019

Take away one head-to-head matchup between SIMA FAB 50 boys teams last week and last week's FAB 50 went a staggering 83-1.

Such dominance at this time of year is hard to fathom given the higher level of opponents since most teams are involved in postseason play.

One thing the stellar week did was leave almost no room for ranking movement. The first 23 boys teams are in the exact same order as last week. Most other teams moved one spot up or down.

Looking ahead, top-ranked St. Benedict's Prep (N.J.) reaches the end of the season this week as it concludes postseason play in the New Jersey Prep A playoffs. No. 2 St. Ignatius (Ohio) and No. 3 Medina (Ohio) could make strides toward a rematch in the Ohio playoff system.

On the girls side, SIMA FAB 50 No. 6 Noblesville (Ind.) and No. 7 Carmel (Ind.), both undefeated, clash in the Indiana 3A state final on Saturday. The teams played to a tie during the regular season.

Now, on with the rest of the rankings ...

BIG MOVERS: BOYS: North Penn (Lansdale, Pa.). In a week with very little movement, North Penn was able to jump from No. 43 to No. 35 powered by a pair of District 3-AAAA playoff wins. ... GIRLS: King Philip (Wrentham, Mass.). A perfect start and a league title-clinching win last week helped King Philip jump from No. 36 to No. 24 in this week's rankings.

NEWCOMERS: BOYS: No. 49 Longmeadow (Mass.) ... GIRLS: No. 41 Kennedy Catholic (Burien, Wash.), No. 45 Arlington (LaGrangeville, N.Y.), No. 46 North Rockland (Thiells, N.Y.), No. 47 St. Joseph (Trumbull, Conn.), No. 49 Rocky Mountain (Meridian, Idaho), No. 50 Columbia River (Vancouver, Wash.).