SIMA FAB 50: Top 10 clashes are looming

by Sheldon Shealer

October 22, 2019

The fun really kicks into high gear this week.

Thanks to playoffs and late-season matches, there could be several Top 25 clashes over the next five days -- some, perhaps, with state titles on the line.

This week's schedule features SIMA FAB 50 No. 9 Archbishop Spalding (Severn, Md.) taking on No. 10 McDonogh School (Owings Mills, Md.). Also, No. 6 Noblesville (Ind.) and No. 7 Carmel (Ind.) are each a win away from a clash of undefeated teams in the Indiana Class AAA state final. The teams played to a draw during he regular season. Also, the Ohio teams start to advance deep enough that games pitting regionally ranked opponents might be in order this weekend.

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

BIG MOVERS: BOYS: Franklin Regional (Murrysville, Pa.). Franklin Region is a AAA program in Pennsylvania, but it put up another big result against a AAAA foe when it handled Norwin 4-0 last week. The result allowed Franklin Regional to jump from No. 45 to No. 34. ... GIRLS: Rutgers Prep (Somerset, N.J.). Not long after making its SIMA FAB 50 debut, Rutgers Prep is quickly on the rise. The team won twice last week to jump from No. 40 to No. 31.

NEWCOMERS: BOYS: No. 47 Dallastown (Pa.), No. 48 Troy Athens (Troy, Mich.), No. 49 Charlotte Catholic (Charlotte, N.C.) and No. 50 Elizabeth (N.J.). ... GIRLS: No. 14 Southington (Conn.), No. 39 Red Bank Catholic (Red Bank, N.J.), No. 42 Central Dauphin (Harrisburg, Pa.), No. 46 Mason (Ohio), No. 47 Norwin (Irwin, Pa.) and No. 50 Cibola (Albuquerque, N.M.).