Boys High School Rankings for Week of 10/28/2012

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

 

"Pay no attention to the man Committee behind the curtain!"
 ________________________________________________

1. Mercer Island
2. Bellevue
3. Auburn Mountainview
4. Curtis
5. Newport
6. Auburn Riverside
7. Roosevelt
8. Enumclaw
9. Puyallup
10. Lakes 

Sometimes during a season, a team becomes so focused on an objective down the road that they simply do not appreciate the difficulty posed by obstacles immediately in front of them.  Without proper focus, those obstacles can become serious impediments to achieving a teams objective.  Thus was the situation in the third quarter of Mercer Island's game against Roosevelt when the Islanders fell behind by a score of 10 to 7.  Maybe the Islanders were looking ahead to their game with Bellevue or maybe the young Roughriders are really that good.  Most likely it is a little of both.  When it appeared the Islanders were on the brink of defeat, they reached deep within themselves and may have just found their heart and soul.  In sports, if you don't bring your focus to start a game, it rarely shows up in the second half, but the Islanders were able to regain their focus and up their intensity to pull off an improbable come from behind victory over Roosevelt by a score of 13 to 11.   With crisis averted, Mercer Island was able to turn their complete attention to Bellevue for a rematch to avenge their previous loss and regain the No. 1 ranking.  The Islander's focus and intensity were never in question in this game as the Islanders lit up the scoreboard first and maintained their lead throughout the game.  The Wolverines had their opportunities but were not quite able to match the Islanders effort throughout the game.  When it was all over, Mercer Island had a 10 - 6 victory and the No. 1 ranking in state.  For Bellevue, it's back to No. 2 for now.  Probably as good of time as any for the Wolverines to learn a valuable lesson as they prepare for State.  In A-Town it was the eagerly awaited rematch between Mountainview and Riverside.  This was the third meeting between these teams with Auburn Mountainview narrowly winning the the first two matches.  34 goals were put up the first time these teams met in the regular season but this time it was about defense.  Both teams appear to be in playoff form and for the third time this year, the Lions of Auburn Mountainview came out on top with a 8 - 7 victory over the Ravens.  Wow! Great game and a sign of great competition ahead at State.  Later in the week, the Lions completed their sweep of Auburn teams with a victory over the Auburn Trojans to clinch 1st place in the East division and retain their No. 3 position in the rankings.  All systems appear go for the Curtis Vikings heading into the playoffs as they complete their sweep of West division opponents.  The Vikings keep their No. 4 ranking displaying both offense and defense in wins over Mark Morris and Lakes.  Gee Newport, things seem to be quiet in your neck of the woods with Mercer Island and Bellevue getting all of the attention.  Rumor has it that the Knights will be in the wild card tourney.  Well, it doesn't matter how you get to State as long as you get there and the extra games will probably do you some good.  The Committee keeps taking heat, but Newport is still in the No. 5 spot.   Well Auburn Riverside, it was a great game against Mountainview and I know according to Raven logic a one point loss to the No. 3 team should make the Ravens No. 4, but it doesn't quite work that way. The Ravens remain at No . 6.  (Interesting one point victory over Stadium to end the week).  For Roosevelt, it could have been one of the greatest victories in Roughrider water polo history, but it was not to be.  Nevertheless, it was an impressive effort against Mercer Island and good enough to keep your No. 7 ranking.  The Enumclaw Hornets solidified their No. 8 ranking with victories over Auburn and Kentwood to wrap up play against East division opponents.  A November 1st match against Bellevue will provide an interesting preview to the playoffs.  The Puyallup Vikings hosted the Peninsula Seahawks and clinched a spot in the State tournament with a 12 - 8 victory  to remain at No. 9 this week.  The Lakes Lancers struggled in their loss to Curtis but were able to barely hold on  the No. 10 spot with an overtime victory over Emerald Ridge. That leaves Peninsula and Stadium out on the porch for now.  Both teams have a good shot at qualifying for State through the wild card route. (Update: Lakes and Peninsula are tied for third place in the West division and will play a winner to state game with the loser going to the wild card)

Polo On!