HS Ranking Trial

With postseason play underway in the states of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont, the majority of teams in the New England Region are beginning their fight to extend their season another day in quest of a State Championship.

In the Maine Class A State semis, Skowhegan knocked Messalonskee off in a match-up of the top two teams in the state.  Skowhegan moves up to the #5 spot in this week’s rankings and will face Westbrook (14-4) Saturday in the A state final.

In New Hampshire Division I state tournament action, the Final 4 is set and three of our Top 20 squads are still in the mix.  Later today, #13 Timberlane Regional and #16 Winnacunnet face off in the first semifinal and #7 ranked Pinkerton Academy will take on Londonderry in the second semifinal.  The winners will face off at Bedford High School Sunday at noon.

The Vermont State Tournament kicks off today with a play-in game and then quarterfinals begin tomorrow, with #14 South Burlington claiming the #1 seed and #18 Essex claiming the #2 seed.  That championship is set to be played November 4th.

In other news, we had two big results this week and we have a new #1.  Now #3 ranked Winchester upset #1 Acton-Boxborough on the road 3-1.  Winchester, now 15-0-1, is the same squad that knocked off Watertown back in September.  Andover bumps up to the #1 spot at 14-0-1 and Phillips Academy Andover bumps up to #2 as they sit at a perfect 11-0-0 with quality and convincing wins over the top private school competition in the region.  In a Massachusetts vs Rhode Island Top 20 meeting, Moses Brown School (the #6 ranked team in the Northeast Region this week) defeated Walpole 7-2 at home for their homecoming game.  Walpole, now 11-2-2, moves down to the #6 spot.

The lone newcomer to this week’s Top 20 is North Andover High School (North Andover, MA).  They are now 12-3-1 with their losses only coming to top ranked Andover and Acton-Boxborough.  They enter at #19.