THL’s week 8 Rankings (Divisions I and II)
April 9, 2012 - With a quiet week of games due to Easter weekend we didn't see a big shake up in the Power Rankings this week. In Division I, Highland Park and Westwood return to the top 10, while Dallas Jesuit and St. Mark's still have a firm hold on the top two spots in the state.
Week 8 Division I Power Rankings
1. Dallas Jesuit: With a win over Plano this week, the Rangers kept the winning streak alive against Texas teams. A big week ahead will test the Rangers as they play #9 Highland Park, #3 Westlake, and #10 Westwood before week's end. Will one of these teams knock them off or will they continue to steam towards the matchup against St. Mark's with an unblemished record?
2. St. Mark's: The Lion's held form like we expected against Coppell, and they will have games against Allen and in the SPC tournament before the Dallas Jesuit matchup. Not sure how the matchups will shake out during the SPC tournament, but with ESD, St. John's, EHS, and Kinkaid in the mix, St. Mark's may face some solid tests. Will they win the SPC title this year or suffer a setback before their meeting with Dallas Jesuit?
3. Westlake: The Chaps have a huge test on Saturday 4/14 as they play host to Dallas Jesuit at Westlake Stadium. This is a chance for Westlake to see how well they stack up at this point in the season and if they'll truly be in the mix for the title in May.
4. Woodlands: Taking care of Cy-Fair 13-9 this week, the Highlanders have 5 games left in the season; all the matchups favor the Woodlands. The last game of the season against heated rival Strake Jesuit should prove to be a good test as they prepare for a run into the postseason.
5. ESD: A 10-9 win over a good Southlake team still leaves these guys in position to make the post-season, but one mistake and the Eagles may find themselves on the outside looking in. They'll be traveling down to Austin this weekend for some big games in the SPC tournament.
6. St. John's: The Mavericks look to keep things rolling against Lamar on Tuesday, but the matchup with Houston Christian on 4/17 will give us some better insight into the pecking order in Houston. These guys have been flying under the radar a bit, but everyone that has played them will tell you that they are the real deal. They'll face some top competition this weekend during the SPC tournament.
7. Houston Christian: This team has a ton of big games still on their schedule starting with Strake Jesuit on Tuesday. Matchups with St. John's and EHS will prepare these guys for the road ahead in the postseason. The Mustangs' post a perfect District record with their win over the Woodlands earlier in the season, they will look to hold on to the top spot in the South.
8. Coppell: With 3 losses in the last 5 games the Cowboy's have us scratching our heads and we're tempted to bump them lower. Those losses all came to top 5 teams and the 8-6 loss against St. Mark's wasn't so bad so we are not ready to jump off their bandwagon and pull them out of the top 10 just yet. A big game against Plano will let us know if they deserve to be here.
9. Highland Park: The Scots jump back into the top 10 with a win over Plano. HP will have a big test for this young team against Dallas Jesuit on Tuesday, but we don't anticipate a loss knocking them out of the rankings. However, a win will really shoot them up the ladder.
10. Westwood: The Warriors move into the top ten with a win over previous #10 Austin in a big Central District matchup. Westwood will host Dallas Jesuit on Sunday and will provide the Warriors' with an idea of the type of ball they will need to play to make an impact in the playoffs. With Jesuit taking on Westlake the day before, Westwood is hoping they can catch Jesuit limping after a tough matchup.
On the cusp: Austin, Plano, Strake Jesuit
Week 8 Division II Power Rankings
Interesting week of games in the Central District as a couple of the top teams faced off against one another. One glaring omission from this week's top 10 is St. Michael's. The team is extremely talented but they need to regain their earlier season momentum as the playoffs loom.
1. Flower Mound: The wheels on the bus keep rolling just like the Force of Flower Mound. They face a very difficult end-of-year stretch against Keller, Hillcrest, and HPII. These game will be great previews of playoff battles that may come down the road and will tell us how good Flower Mound really is.
2. Klein: With only one game left on the schedule, Klein looks to have the #2 spot locked down and look very poised for a playoff run into May.
3. Keller: They a huge matchup with Flower Mound on Thursday which will let us know how seriously we need to consider the Indians as a title contender in May. If they are able to knock off the undefeated Force, the DII title may be wide open.
4. Hillcrest: Hillcrest has a big week ahead with matchups against McKinney and Flower Mound, and the Panthers look to prove that they are still the team to beat in the playoffs as they look to defend their 2011 State Championship.
5. Cy-Fair: A 13-9 loss to DI Woodlands last week does not affect their positioning in the rankings. With 3 games left in the regular season the Ironmen look to have the 2 seed locked up for the playoffs.
6. Highland Park DII: The Scots have a busy week ahead with game with Colleyville and DI Plano West and they will look to use the momentum to propel them into the final game of the season against Flower Mound.
7. Lake Travis: With big wins over St. Michael's and Vandegrift this past week, the Cavaliers have rocketed themselves back into the top 10. If these guys can stay composed it looks like the Central crown will have to go through LT.
8. McKinney: A tough loss to Flower Mound last week doesn't hurt their body of work, but two big matchups with Hillcrest and Keller can help move them up the list.
9. Reagan: Still sitting atop of the San Antonio District, Reagan beat DI St. Mary's Hall and is looking forward to a rematch with TMI and try and avenge and early season loss. That game has some serious implications heading into the playoffs.
10. Vandegrift: Some may call for St. Michael's in this spot and they'd have a great argument, but we still like the Vipers here this week. Lake Travis was able to limit freshman phenom John O'Grady in Vandegrift's loss to LT, but we're still expecting this team to make waves in the playoffs.
On the cusp: Katy, St. Michaels, McNeil