United’s leading scorer against Danville and Player of the Week Charity Tenney.
Some important results and inactivity see the Girls High School Rankings reshuffle a bit, and they’ll continue to do so as the coldest regions of the country start their seasons.
Danville went on a two-game tour of Utah and fell 34-26 to United before beating Herriman 33-5 the following day. There were some factors working against Danville, but Lady Oaks coach Bob Stephen fully credited United’s skill and ability to hit space for producing the win. Stephens indicated that Herriman was right there with United in talent, but Danville had regrouped overnight and the defense had worked itself out for a better performance.
The NorCal teams move into playoffs this weekend, with the winner of Danville vs. Sacramento playing Pleasanton in next weekend’s final. A bit of a strange set-up, since the Cavaliers lost to both the Lady Oaks and Amazons during league. A series of miscommunications meant the Danville vs. Sacramento game was rescheduled twice and then never came to fruition during the season, so the game’s happening on Saturday and counting as the final’s play-in.
There was no confusion in Fallbrook’s massive 75-15 win over South Bay though. Kayla Canett was particularly impressive in the win, which puts the Warriors on track for another monstrous season. That result, coupled with Danville’s loss, was enough to regain the top spot, and also made it difficult to promote the Spartans over the idle Catholic Memorial.
The big fixture for top-ranked Midwest teams like the Crusaders, DSHA, St. Joseph and Warsaw, among others, is the Midwest Championship on April 30-May 1. All of these teams took a dip in the ranking due to United’s promotion, but there were also promotions in the bottom half of the list as well. West End held onto its #12 ranking due to its twofold performance. Like St. Joseph, the Ruckettes field two sides, but the Virginia team has placed both of them in DI, and they’re #1 and #2 in the state. St. Joe’s B side won a big game against Medina, but the DI side had its league-opener rescheduled. Additionally, Warsaw, after an impressive pre-season tournament, won’t play its first league game until April 17. The Indiana side was recently in the news as Hannah Garcia was named one of 27 top spring athletes in the state.
Warsaw’s relegation saw Play Rugby Academy and Valkyries move up a spot. Building off a win against Morris last month, Play Rugby beat New York Rugby Club 68-10 in its first league game. Pennsylvania champion Valkyries banked its first win of the season, too, downing Penn Legacy 56-12. Downingtown and State College posted big victories as well.
Hawaii’s Kahuku moved up a couple spots after winning its seventh league game against Kalihi. In its second year of existence, the team will be traveling to the single-school national championship in St. Charles, Mo., ushering seniors right from the graduation stage onto a red eye flight across the Pacific.
On the road is Kent, which is touring New Zealand and has defeated Bay of Plenty 28-22 and Maunganaui College 36-14. Finau Tamaivena and Lolo Makaafi have led the way in the southern hemisphere, scoring three tries apiece thus far. Mckenna Strong, Emily Prentice and Izzy Boettcher have also scored tries in All Blacks land, and Kaira Martin has added 14 points on seven conversions.
Summit, which contests its league season in the fall, is on the road as well for the second time this spring. The Tigers are competing at the Atlanta 7s Festival and supporting the USA Women’s 7s team on the HSBC Women’s Sevens Series starting Friday.
There are a lot of teams to watch right now, including those that have committed to the club or single-school national championship – like Morris, Tennessee’s McMinn County (also competing at Atlanta 7s Festival) and State College. Armstrong is the most noticeable omission and once the Minnesota team starts playing games, it’s likely they’ll be forcing another team off. West Carroll is also on the watch list but for a different reason. The Maryland side recently withdrew from the Northeast Invitational, which will pit the East Coast’s best against each other, and that’s brings concerns about numbers. Still, West Carroll won its last game by 114 points, so it’s tough to judge too harshly.
GIRLS HIGH SCHOOL RANKINGS – APRIL 5, 2016
New Rank (Old Rank). Team / State (League Record). Results
1 (2) Fallbrook / CA (2-0). Defeated South Bay 75-15
2 (1) Danville / CA (4-0). Lost 34-26 to United, defeated Herriman 33-5 in friendlies
3 (3) Kent / WA (2-0). On New Zealand tour: 28-22 win vs. Bay of Plenty, 36-14 Mt. Maunganui College
4 (4) Sacramento / CA (4-0). Defeated Crusaders 89-5
5 (5) Pleasanton / CA (3-2). Defeated Bishop O’Dowd 87-28
6 (13) United / UT (4-0). Lopsided wins in league; defeated Danville 34-26 (f)
7 (6) Catholic Memorial / WI (7-0). Idle
8 (7) South Bay / CA (1-1). Lost 75-15 to Fallbrook
9 (8) DSHA / WI (6-1). Idle
10 (9) Summit / CO (7-0). Idle
11 (11) West End / VA (2-0). West End 2 57-24 Fairfax Police; West End 1 76-0 Newport News
12 (12) Herriman / UT (3-0). Lopsided wins in league; lost to Danville 33-5 (f)
13 (10) St. Joseph / OH (0-0). Varsity game rescheduled; JV team beat Medina 83-7
14 (16) Kahuku / HI (7-0). Defeated Kalihi 21-12
15 (14) Lady Barbarians / OR (1-0) Idle. Played combined friendly vs. Grant
16 (15) Grant / OR (1-0) Idle. Played combined friendly vs. Barbos
17 (17) West Carroll / MD (2-0). Defeated Bell/TC Williams 114-0
18 (19) Play Rugby Academy / NY (1-0). Defeated New York 68-10
19 (20) Valkyries / PA (1-0). Defeated Penn Legacy 56-12
20 (18) Warsaw / IN (0-0). Idle since pre-season tournament. Season starts April 17