HS: Fall state, regional rankings, Oct. 1

by Sheldon Shealer

October 1, 2018

And the big winners are ... the same teams already at the top of the boys rankings.

FAB 50 No. 1 St. Benedict's Prep (N.J.) won a showdown with fellow national power St. Ignatius (Ohio), and No. 2 Naperville North (Ill.) won the Go 4 the Goal Fall Classic top flight championship to highlight a loaded weekend of high school soccer.

There will be a separate article highlighting the weekend's action. But to sum it up for ranking purposes, St. Benedict's Prep controls its destiny in search of a fourth FAB 50 crown in the past five years while Naperville North is knocking on the door, should St. Benedict's falter. Those teams lead their respective regions, which combined will account for 70 percent of the FAB 50 Top 10 teams when those rankings are released Tuesday. There were three boys regional No. 1 changes this week. McDonogh School (Md.) took over the top spot in the Mid-Atlantic as Salesianum (Del.) slid down after a 2-1 showing at the Go 4 the Goal Fall Classic. McDonogh soon will be tested by league rival Loyola (Md.), and Salesianum still has a crack at St. Benedict's -- meaning this No. 1 spot is still very much up for grabs. Lee's Summit (Mo.) inherits the top spot in the Midwest Region after Blue Valley Southwest (Kan.) went 0-3 at the Go 4 the Goal Fall Classic and several of the top St. Louis area programs faltered last week. Central Catholic (Ore.) moves to the top spot in the West region.

On the girls side, McDonogh School (Md.) returns to the No. 1 spot in the Mid-Atlantic after former top-ranked St. John's (D.C.) was cut down by Archbishop Spalding (Md.). Spalding jumps to No. 2 in the region and soon will clash with league rival McDonogh.

All other regional No. 1 teams were able to hold their ground this week.

The start of October means playoff time, and this week Indiana and South Dakota kick off tournament play. In an interesting twist, Hamilton Southeastern (Ind.) and Noblesville (Ind.) will square off in an opening round playoff game this week. The teams played to a draw last week to end regular season play for this FAB 50 Top 25 teams. This week, there will be no tie -- as one has to advance, while the other is finished for 2018.

CLICK BELOW FOR THE COMPLETE FALL HIGH SCHOOL RANKINGS

FALL REGION RANKINGS: BOYS (Oct. 1) | GIRLS (Oct. 1)

FALL STATE RANKINGS: BOYS (Oct. 1) | GIRLS (Oct. 1)