AA Rankings for 1/10/16
Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2016 7:30 am
The season keeps rolling along, and the start of Lake Conference play this week is a sure sign that teams are starting to run out of time to make moves here. Your rankings:
1. Benilde-St. Margaret’s (15-0-1)
-The Red Knights just keep finding ways, as they used their depth to pull one out against St. Thomas Academy despite some penalty woes, and then took care of business against a couple of Metro West teams. Now that they’re undefeated into mid-January, they get to kick back and relax for a bit.
This week: Idle
2. Blaine (12-2)
-The Bengals continue to build steam as they head into the second half, and had no trouble flattening Andover and Maple Grove. This coming week is their biggest remaining week of the year, as they face their toughest competitors in their section and conference, respectively.
This week: Thurs vs. Centennial, Sat at #7 Elk River
3. Eden Prairie (12-2)
-The Eagles had little trouble with a couple of northern visitors. Lake play now begins in earnest; a win over Minnetonka probably can assure them of the top seed in 2AA.
This week: Thurs at #15 Wayzata, Sat vs. #5 Minnetonka
4. Holy Family (12-3)
-The Fire had a bit of a close call with Delano, the next-best team in the Wright County Conference, but got it done and rolled on. They only play twice in the next two weeks, both in the conference, so expect them to hold steady here for a while.
This week: Tues at Mound-Westonka
5. Minnetonka (11-4)
-I understand the skepticism about the Skippers being this high, but they continue to do what they need to do. Their second crack at Eden Prairie, this one on the road, should be instructive.
This week: Thurs at Hopkins, Sat at #3 Eden Prairie
6. Elk River (9-4-1)
-Rolled past Andover to keep the momentum going, and sneak a few spots higher. A very busy week awaits the Elks, including an Anoka team that gave them a good fight in the first game and a rematch with Blaine. Those last two will be huge for the course of the rest of their regular season.
This week: Tues at Totino-Grace, Thurs at Anoka, Sat vs. #2 Blaine
7. Edina (9-5-2)
-The Hornets tied Hill a week after beating them, so they drop a spot, but it’s certainly not an awful result. Lake play will give us a good idea of which direction this team is going, and this week’s Wayzata game is big both for section seeding and a comparison to where these teams were back in November.
This week: Mon at Hopkins, Sat vs. #15 Wayzata
8. Lakeville North (8-4-1)
-The Panthers got back on track with big offensive performances against Burnsville and Eagan, and held off Prior Lake in a battle for the top of the South Suburban. They have nothing but conference games for the next three weeks; first up is a rematch with Eagan.
This week: Tues v. Eagan, Thurs at Eastview, Sat vs. Shakopee
9. Bemidji (11-1-2)
-The beat went on against a couple of weaker teams. This week is one of their biggest, as they visit Moorhead, take on an East Grand team that tied them in December, and visit their toughest opponent of the regular season, Hermantown.
This week: Tues at Moorhead, Thurs vs. East Grand Forks, Sat at Hermantown
10. Stillwater (12-1-1)
-The march through the Suburban East took a bit of a tumble in a scoreless tie with White Bear, which leaves some unresolved questions in 4AA as well. It’s hard to read too much into that, so there’s enough uncertainty in these rankings to keep them put for now. Another slip-up in conference play, however, will raise some red flags.
This week: Tues vs. Park, Thurs vs. Roseville, Sat at Cretin-Derham Hall
11. Hill-Murray (9-4-1)
-A tie with Edina is a mild improvement on their earlier result, so the Pioneers nudge up a spot. They now have their first tangle with St. Thomas Academy, which will kick off a stretch of tough games.
This week: Thurs vs. Tartan, Sat vs. #13 St. Thomas Academy
12. Grand Rapids (10-5-1)
-The Hermantown loss was ugly, but the Thunderhawks pulled out an important 7AA game against Duluth East. That’s been the story in recent years for Rapids, with great potential but little consistency, so we’ll see how well they can build on the East win. They’re on the road against some northern rivals this week; one game has 7AA implications, and the other will be more interesting than it’s been in quite some time.
This week: Tues at Cloquet, Thurs at Hibbing
13. St. Thomas Academy (8-4-3)
-The Cadets gave Benilde a decent game, but a loss to Mahtomedi drops them from the top ten. It’s not an awful loss, but the Zephyrs wouldn’t be in a two-class top fifteen. Up this week is a battle with Hill for Metro East supremacy.
This week: Thurs vs. North St. Paul, Sat at #11 Hill-Murray
14. Prior Lake (9-5)
-Picked up a decent win over Farmington, and followed it up with a narrow loss to Lakeville North. Their road game against improving Rosemount this week could be a challenging one.
This week: Thurs vs. Apple Valley, Sat at Rosemount
15. Wayzata (9-5-1)
-The Trojans wore out any benefit of the doubt in their loss to Farmington. This team is just too inconsistent, and trending in the wrong direction. They play the toughest schedule in the state between now and the end of the season, so either they’ll pull it together or they will collapse like last year. We’ll start to see which it is this week, and in a big way.
This week: Thurs vs. #X Eden Prairie, Sat at #X Edina
Also in the Picture
Farmington (8-4-1)
-Got another quality win by beating Wayzata, but fell to Prior Lake, which keeps them from jumping into the top 15. They have a second meeting with Burnsville this week, whom they tied in December.
Centennial (8-5-1)
-A second win over Anoka shores up the Cougars’ standing here. A rematch with Blaine is up next.
Brainerd (7-4-1)
-Had an adventure against Roseau and lost to St. Cloud Apollo, but enough of the other teams around here are losing that they stay put.
Rosemount (7-5)
-The Irish continue their upward climb with a win over Burnsville. A big week ahead includes Eagan and Prior Lake.
Lakeville South (6-5)
-Beating teams they should beat comfortably. The stakes get a little higher this week, with games against Jefferson, Burnsville, and Eagan.
Anoka (8-5)
-Not a great week for the Tornadoes, as they lost to Maple Grove and Centennial. Just one game this week, but it’s another tough NWSC one against Elk River.
Duluth East (6-7)
-Just not enough consistent offensive punch for the Hounds, who lost a narrow one to Grand Rapids and didn’t get much going against Eden Prairie. Things ease up some this week, as they face White Bear and Roseau. If they’re going to climb back into the picture, they need to take care of business here.
Moorhead (7-7)
-Winning capably against weaker competition, but fell to Breck. Three games this week, including two big ones in the section against Bemidji and Brainerd.
Burnsville (6-8-1)
-Seem to be sliding backwards, as the Lakeville North loss was ugly and they lost to Rosemount.
1AA
8 Lakeville North
16 Farmington
20 Lakeville South
-North can probably lock up the top seed with a win on the 21st against Farmington; if the Tigers win again, things get really interesting. John Marshall has an argument to go as high as #3 given their strong record, but with a 4-0 loss to Farmington in their only game against the three South Suburban teams, I'd have trouble justifying that.
2AA
3 Eden Prairie
4 Holy Family
5 Minnetonka
14 Prior Lake
-This order is looking pretty solid right now; the only way this shakes up is if Minnetonka beats Eden Prairie in Lake play, and even then, I think they’d have to do it twice to tip the top seed to Holy Family and drop EP to #3. The Fire's schedule otherwise just can’t quite earn a top seed. The first Eden Prairie-Tonka game is on the 16th. Prior Lake is basically locked in at #4 now.
3AA
13 St. Thomas Academy
19 Rosemount
24 Burnsville
-STA remains on top, but the team that has now jumped up to #2 is one that gave them all they could handle back in early December: Rosemount. The Irish do have a loss to Apple Valley on the record, so another loss could cost them, but the win over Burnsville, who had been doing well against section competition, is big. Still lots of sorting necessary here, most of which will take place in South Suburban play. Eagan and Eastview tied, and will likely battle it out for the 4- and 5- seeds; Jefferson, meanwhile, is buried due to losses in the section but probably pretty dangerous for a 6-seed.
4AA
11 Hill-Murray
10 Stillwater
-I’ve slid Hill into the top spot for now after Stillwater tied White Bear, but that January 23 Stillwater-Hill game will resolve that definitively. The Stillwater-White Bear rematch in the season’s final week will matter here, too.
5AA
2 Blaine
17 Centennial
21 Anoka
Maple Grove
-Blaine remains the top spot, and Centennial has probably done enough now to assure themselves of #2 for now. Maple Grove clipped Anoka this past week and has some chance to go higher, but will need a second win over a top-3 team. Anoka could make things complicated by beating Blaine again, but are the 3-seed for the time being.
6AA
1 Benilde-St. Margaret’s
15 Wayzata
7 Edina
-Still in stasis here. Wayzata can probably lock in a top-2 seed with a win over Edina on Saturday; lose, and things will remain uncertain until the February Wayzata-Edina rubber match and Wayzata-Benilde game.
7AA
6 Elk River
12 Grand Rapids
22 Duluth East
-The top three appear clear for the time being after Rapids’ win over East. East does need to take care of the mediocre teams down the stretch to assure themselves of #3 (and could really make things interesting with a win over Elk River), but the rest of the section is muddled enough that it’ll be tough to knock them too far down. Andover is probably next in line, though Cloquet has more opportunities to do damage than they do down the stretch.
8AA
9 Bemidji
18 Brainerd
23 Moorhead
St. Michael-Albertville
-Nothing new to report here, but there are a bunch of relevant games coming up, all of which go through the Spuds. Their Bemidji and Brainerd rematches are in the next two weeks, which gives the Spuds a chance to complicate the top two spots. After that, they take on St. Michael-Albertville in a game the Knights probably need to go higher than #4. To top it off, the Spuds also go to Roseau during this stretch.
1. Benilde-St. Margaret’s (15-0-1)
-The Red Knights just keep finding ways, as they used their depth to pull one out against St. Thomas Academy despite some penalty woes, and then took care of business against a couple of Metro West teams. Now that they’re undefeated into mid-January, they get to kick back and relax for a bit.
This week: Idle
2. Blaine (12-2)
-The Bengals continue to build steam as they head into the second half, and had no trouble flattening Andover and Maple Grove. This coming week is their biggest remaining week of the year, as they face their toughest competitors in their section and conference, respectively.
This week: Thurs vs. Centennial, Sat at #7 Elk River
3. Eden Prairie (12-2)
-The Eagles had little trouble with a couple of northern visitors. Lake play now begins in earnest; a win over Minnetonka probably can assure them of the top seed in 2AA.
This week: Thurs at #15 Wayzata, Sat vs. #5 Minnetonka
4. Holy Family (12-3)
-The Fire had a bit of a close call with Delano, the next-best team in the Wright County Conference, but got it done and rolled on. They only play twice in the next two weeks, both in the conference, so expect them to hold steady here for a while.
This week: Tues at Mound-Westonka
5. Minnetonka (11-4)
-I understand the skepticism about the Skippers being this high, but they continue to do what they need to do. Their second crack at Eden Prairie, this one on the road, should be instructive.
This week: Thurs at Hopkins, Sat at #3 Eden Prairie
6. Elk River (9-4-1)
-Rolled past Andover to keep the momentum going, and sneak a few spots higher. A very busy week awaits the Elks, including an Anoka team that gave them a good fight in the first game and a rematch with Blaine. Those last two will be huge for the course of the rest of their regular season.
This week: Tues at Totino-Grace, Thurs at Anoka, Sat vs. #2 Blaine
7. Edina (9-5-2)
-The Hornets tied Hill a week after beating them, so they drop a spot, but it’s certainly not an awful result. Lake play will give us a good idea of which direction this team is going, and this week’s Wayzata game is big both for section seeding and a comparison to where these teams were back in November.
This week: Mon at Hopkins, Sat vs. #15 Wayzata
8. Lakeville North (8-4-1)
-The Panthers got back on track with big offensive performances against Burnsville and Eagan, and held off Prior Lake in a battle for the top of the South Suburban. They have nothing but conference games for the next three weeks; first up is a rematch with Eagan.
This week: Tues v. Eagan, Thurs at Eastview, Sat vs. Shakopee
9. Bemidji (11-1-2)
-The beat went on against a couple of weaker teams. This week is one of their biggest, as they visit Moorhead, take on an East Grand team that tied them in December, and visit their toughest opponent of the regular season, Hermantown.
This week: Tues at Moorhead, Thurs vs. East Grand Forks, Sat at Hermantown
10. Stillwater (12-1-1)
-The march through the Suburban East took a bit of a tumble in a scoreless tie with White Bear, which leaves some unresolved questions in 4AA as well. It’s hard to read too much into that, so there’s enough uncertainty in these rankings to keep them put for now. Another slip-up in conference play, however, will raise some red flags.
This week: Tues vs. Park, Thurs vs. Roseville, Sat at Cretin-Derham Hall
11. Hill-Murray (9-4-1)
-A tie with Edina is a mild improvement on their earlier result, so the Pioneers nudge up a spot. They now have their first tangle with St. Thomas Academy, which will kick off a stretch of tough games.
This week: Thurs vs. Tartan, Sat vs. #13 St. Thomas Academy
12. Grand Rapids (10-5-1)
-The Hermantown loss was ugly, but the Thunderhawks pulled out an important 7AA game against Duluth East. That’s been the story in recent years for Rapids, with great potential but little consistency, so we’ll see how well they can build on the East win. They’re on the road against some northern rivals this week; one game has 7AA implications, and the other will be more interesting than it’s been in quite some time.
This week: Tues at Cloquet, Thurs at Hibbing
13. St. Thomas Academy (8-4-3)
-The Cadets gave Benilde a decent game, but a loss to Mahtomedi drops them from the top ten. It’s not an awful loss, but the Zephyrs wouldn’t be in a two-class top fifteen. Up this week is a battle with Hill for Metro East supremacy.
This week: Thurs vs. North St. Paul, Sat at #11 Hill-Murray
14. Prior Lake (9-5)
-Picked up a decent win over Farmington, and followed it up with a narrow loss to Lakeville North. Their road game against improving Rosemount this week could be a challenging one.
This week: Thurs vs. Apple Valley, Sat at Rosemount
15. Wayzata (9-5-1)
-The Trojans wore out any benefit of the doubt in their loss to Farmington. This team is just too inconsistent, and trending in the wrong direction. They play the toughest schedule in the state between now and the end of the season, so either they’ll pull it together or they will collapse like last year. We’ll start to see which it is this week, and in a big way.
This week: Thurs vs. #X Eden Prairie, Sat at #X Edina
Also in the Picture
Farmington (8-4-1)
-Got another quality win by beating Wayzata, but fell to Prior Lake, which keeps them from jumping into the top 15. They have a second meeting with Burnsville this week, whom they tied in December.
Centennial (8-5-1)
-A second win over Anoka shores up the Cougars’ standing here. A rematch with Blaine is up next.
Brainerd (7-4-1)
-Had an adventure against Roseau and lost to St. Cloud Apollo, but enough of the other teams around here are losing that they stay put.
Rosemount (7-5)
-The Irish continue their upward climb with a win over Burnsville. A big week ahead includes Eagan and Prior Lake.
Lakeville South (6-5)
-Beating teams they should beat comfortably. The stakes get a little higher this week, with games against Jefferson, Burnsville, and Eagan.
Anoka (8-5)
-Not a great week for the Tornadoes, as they lost to Maple Grove and Centennial. Just one game this week, but it’s another tough NWSC one against Elk River.
Duluth East (6-7)
-Just not enough consistent offensive punch for the Hounds, who lost a narrow one to Grand Rapids and didn’t get much going against Eden Prairie. Things ease up some this week, as they face White Bear and Roseau. If they’re going to climb back into the picture, they need to take care of business here.
Moorhead (7-7)
-Winning capably against weaker competition, but fell to Breck. Three games this week, including two big ones in the section against Bemidji and Brainerd.
Burnsville (6-8-1)
-Seem to be sliding backwards, as the Lakeville North loss was ugly and they lost to Rosemount.
1AA
8 Lakeville North
16 Farmington
20 Lakeville South
-North can probably lock up the top seed with a win on the 21st against Farmington; if the Tigers win again, things get really interesting. John Marshall has an argument to go as high as #3 given their strong record, but with a 4-0 loss to Farmington in their only game against the three South Suburban teams, I'd have trouble justifying that.
2AA
3 Eden Prairie
4 Holy Family
5 Minnetonka
14 Prior Lake
-This order is looking pretty solid right now; the only way this shakes up is if Minnetonka beats Eden Prairie in Lake play, and even then, I think they’d have to do it twice to tip the top seed to Holy Family and drop EP to #3. The Fire's schedule otherwise just can’t quite earn a top seed. The first Eden Prairie-Tonka game is on the 16th. Prior Lake is basically locked in at #4 now.
3AA
13 St. Thomas Academy
19 Rosemount
24 Burnsville
-STA remains on top, but the team that has now jumped up to #2 is one that gave them all they could handle back in early December: Rosemount. The Irish do have a loss to Apple Valley on the record, so another loss could cost them, but the win over Burnsville, who had been doing well against section competition, is big. Still lots of sorting necessary here, most of which will take place in South Suburban play. Eagan and Eastview tied, and will likely battle it out for the 4- and 5- seeds; Jefferson, meanwhile, is buried due to losses in the section but probably pretty dangerous for a 6-seed.
4AA
11 Hill-Murray
10 Stillwater
-I’ve slid Hill into the top spot for now after Stillwater tied White Bear, but that January 23 Stillwater-Hill game will resolve that definitively. The Stillwater-White Bear rematch in the season’s final week will matter here, too.
5AA
2 Blaine
17 Centennial
21 Anoka
Maple Grove
-Blaine remains the top spot, and Centennial has probably done enough now to assure themselves of #2 for now. Maple Grove clipped Anoka this past week and has some chance to go higher, but will need a second win over a top-3 team. Anoka could make things complicated by beating Blaine again, but are the 3-seed for the time being.
6AA
1 Benilde-St. Margaret’s
15 Wayzata
7 Edina
-Still in stasis here. Wayzata can probably lock in a top-2 seed with a win over Edina on Saturday; lose, and things will remain uncertain until the February Wayzata-Edina rubber match and Wayzata-Benilde game.
7AA
6 Elk River
12 Grand Rapids
22 Duluth East
-The top three appear clear for the time being after Rapids’ win over East. East does need to take care of the mediocre teams down the stretch to assure themselves of #3 (and could really make things interesting with a win over Elk River), but the rest of the section is muddled enough that it’ll be tough to knock them too far down. Andover is probably next in line, though Cloquet has more opportunities to do damage than they do down the stretch.
8AA
9 Bemidji
18 Brainerd
23 Moorhead
St. Michael-Albertville
-Nothing new to report here, but there are a bunch of relevant games coming up, all of which go through the Spuds. Their Bemidji and Brainerd rematches are in the next two weeks, which gives the Spuds a chance to complicate the top two spots. After that, they take on St. Michael-Albertville in a game the Knights probably need to go higher than #4. To top it off, the Spuds also go to Roseau during this stretch.
