SIMA FAB 50: Tourney results shuffle FAB 50

by Sheldon Shealer

January 7, 2020

Just like a New Year's Day polar bear plunge, the opening week of the Texas high school season often brings a jolt to the system.

This past weekend, the Texas 6A and 5A girls soccer defending state champions suffered rare losses and in both cases it allowed new teams to join the SIMA FAB 50 Top 25. On the boys side, the FAB 50 features pretty much the same schools as last week, although there was quite a lot of shuffling among the teams thanks to results at the SoCal High School Classic, AZ Showcase, North Texas Elite Showcase and Tampa Bay Invitational.

San Antonio LEE (Texas), Alief Elsik (Texas) and St. Paul's (La.) remain 1-2-3 in the boys SIMA FAB 50. However, St. John Bosco (Calif.) joins the SIMA FAB 50 after winning the AZ Showcase; Lewisville (Texas) jumps into the Top 25 after a 3-0 showing at NTXES and Tampa Jesuit (Fla.) returns to the Top 25 for the second time this year after a runner-up finish at the Tampa Bay Invitational.

But it was NTXES results that had the most significant influence on this week's boys rankings. All but one of the 10 SIMA FAB 50 teams in the event advanced to the semifinals, but from there the results got a bit screwy. In fact, the lone first-round loser, Southlake Carroll (Texas), got a second chance to advance when its first round opponent vacated the semifinal berth. The Dragons took advantage of that opportunity to win a division title, beating two higher-ranked teams along the way, which sparked a reshuffling of several Top 25 teams.

Now, on with the rankings ...

BIG MOVERS: BOYS: Millikan (Long Beach, Calif.). Longtime coach Rod Petkovic is looking for a storybook ending, and so far it's happening. The longtime coach with more than 700 career wins is set to retire at the end of the season and Millikan players have delivered a near perfect start that has allowed the squad to crack the Top 25. ... GIRLS: Round Rock (Texas). Round Rock moves from No. 44 to No. 22 this week following a 3-0 showing at the National Elite Prep Showcase.

NEWCOMERS: BOYS: No. 18 Lewisville (Texas), No. 25 Tampa Jesuit (Tampa, Fla.), No. 44 Santa Ana (Santa Ana, Calif.), No. 45 Nogales (La Puente, Calif.), No. 46 La Habra (Calif.), No. 47 St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.) and No. 49 Palos Verdes (Palos Verdes Estates, Calif.). ... GIRLS: No. 12 Marcus (Flower Mound, Texas), No. 13 Houston Memorial (Hedwig Village, Texas), No. 16 St. Agnes Academy (Houston, Texas), No. 24 Mansfield Lake Ridge (Mansfield, Texas), No. 45 St. Francis-Mountain View (Mountain View, Calif.), No. 46 Davis (Calif.) and No. 47 Byron Nelson (Trophy Club, Texas).