HS: SIMA FAB 50, April 18

by Sheldon Shealer

April 18, 2017

NEWS: Aledo (Texas) scored merely a minute into its Texas 5A state final clash with SIMA FAB 50 No. 1 Highland Park (Texas), but thoughts of an upset were quickly erased.

Highland Park scored four goals in the next 35 minutes en route to a 5-3 win to finish off a 27-0 season and end the year ranked No. 1 in the SIMA FAB 50 Winter rankings. Montverde Academy (Fla.) previously secured the winter boys No. 1 ranking after winning the Montverde Academy Soccer Tournament title in January, completing a seventh straight undefeated season.

ALL-TIME FAB 50 WINTER No. 1s

	BOYS	GIRLS
2016-17	Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.)	Highland Park (Texas)
2015-16	Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.)	Viera (Melbourne, Fla.)
2014-15	Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.)	Coppell (Texas)
2013-14	Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.)	Monte Vista (Danville, Calif.)
2012-13	Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.)	Plano West (Plano, Texas)
2011-12	Cypress Bay (Weston, Fla.)	Aliso Niguel (Aliso Viejo, Calif.)
2010-11	Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.)	St. Thomas Aquinas (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.)
2009-10	Jesuit College Prep (Dallas, Texas)	Melbourne (Fla.)
2008-09	Jesuit (New Orleans, La.)	Melbourne (Fla.)
2007-08	Varela (Miami, Fla.)	Wilson (Long Beach, Calif.)
2006-07	Canoga Park (Los Angeles, Calif.)	Torrey Pines (San Diego, Calif.)
	and Marcus (Flower Mound, Texas)
2005-06	Clovis West (Fresno, Calif.)	Upland (Upland, Calif.)
2004-05	Saddleback (Santa Ana, Calif.)	Los Alamitos (Los Alamitos, Calif.)
2003-04	Coppell (Texas)	St. Thomas Aquinas (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.)
2002-03	Central Catholic (Melbourne, Fla.)	Douglas (Parkland, Fla.)
2001-02	Bellarmine Prep (San Jose, Calif.)	Santa Margarita (Rancho SM, Calif.)
2000-01	Tampa Jesuit (Tampa, Fla.)	Plano West (Plano, Texas)
1999-00	Bellarmine Prep (San Jose, Calif.)	Ursuline Academy (Dallas, Texas)

CLICK BELOW FOR THE COMPLETE WINTER HIGH SCHOOL RANKINGS

WINTER SIMA FAB 50 RANKINGS: BOYS (April 18) | GIRLS (April 18)

WINTER REGION RANKINGS: BOYS (April 17) | GIRLS (April 17)

WINTER STATE RANKINGS: BOYS (April 17) | GIRLS (April 17)

* * * * *

SPRING RANKINGS

NEWS: Both No. 1 teams, Wando (Mount Pleasant, S.C.) boys and Naperville North (Naperville, Ill.) girls, knocked off undefeated teams while winning showcase events last week to retain their top ranking. Wando won the Nike Palmetto Cup, which is the last major spring event in S.C. prior to the postseason tournament. Naperville North, meanwhile, won the inaugural North Shore Invitiational, which sets the team up for another strong event -- the Naperville Inivtiational -- this week.

BIG MOVERS: BOYS: [Germantown Houston tn-m] (Germantown, Tenn.). Although Houston only moved four spots in a week where many Top 25 teams were idle, it does put this perennial state title challenger on the fringe of a SIMA FAB 50 Top 25 ranking. ... GIRLS: Green Hope (Cary, N.C.). Green Hope inches up only two spots, but it moves this former SIMA FAB 50 No. 1 program back in the mix for another national title. Green Hope checks in at No. 4 this week. Looking ahead, top-ranked Naperville North has several serious tests before the playoffs. No. 2 Battlefield (Haymarket, Va.) is hoping to become the first three-peat state champion in Virginia's large-school classification, a feat never before accomplished. No. 3 Notre Dame de Sion (Kansas City, Mo.) competes in a showcase this week and faces a defending state champion next week. All of that means the current No. 1, 2 and 3 squads easily could lose games and fall from the title chase while Green Hope at No. 4 and Owasso (Okla.) at No. 5 are past most of their serious regular season challenges and perched to move up if others falter.

NEWCOMERS: BOYS: No. 46 Russellville (Ark.), No. 47 Wade Hampton (Greenville, S.C.), No. 48 Science Hill (Johnson City, Tenn.), No. 49 American Fork (Utah) and No. 50 Todd Beamer (Federal Way, Wash.). ... GIRLS: No. 33 Iowa City West (Iowa City, Iowa), No. 37 St. Charles East (St. Charles, Ill.), No. 46 St. Joseph's Academy (St. Louis, Mo.), No. 47 Neuqua Valley (Naperville, Ill.), No. 48 Leesville Road (Raleigh, N.C.), No. 49 Batavia (Ill.) and No. 50 Marist School (Atlanta, Ga.).