Jonathan Yardley, webmaster
Shore Conference | Holiday Tournaments
The Top 20 moves to Monday for the rest of the year (I hope) — it fits the college lifestyle a lot better.
This was a very, very difficult ranking to come up with, and I tried to start from scratch as much as possible, so there may be some pretty big movers; I tried to base everything on results and comparative scores as much as possible, but that gosh-darned Southern Red makes it impossible. Plenty of big games this week at the Gordon Conference and mid-range public school levels.
Check out the White/Blue Top 20 ranking for lower-division teams.
Top 20 (records as
available through 1/5/03)
1 — Bergen Catholic (6-0, 3-0 Gordon Conference)
This Week: 1/8 @ #6 CBA; 1/10 @ #5 HC
Well-earned after win over Delbarton, but a tough schedule ahead.
2 — Delbarton (6-1, 5-0 MCSSIHL Mennen)
This Week: 1/7 @ #12 MK; 1/8 @ #16 DBP; 1/10 vs. #3 SHP
Suddenly has a lot to prove with difficult January schedule.
3 — Seton Hall Prep (4-2, 3-2 Gordon Conference)
This Week: 1/6 vs. #8 SJMet; 1/10 @ #2 Del
Needs to get past St. Joseph’s to set up a packed house
at Mennen.
4 — St. John Vianney (5-4, 2-3 Gordon Conference)
This Week: 1/9 vs. #6 CBA; 1/10 vs. TRE
Played a strong Mayor’s Cup, falling just short in the
final.
5 — Hudson Catholic (5-2-2, 3-1-1 Gordon Conference)
This Week: 1/7 vs. St. Mary’s (NY); 1/10 vs. #7 Bri
Drago stole the LaSalle game, but they need to find some goals.
6 — CBA (6-2, 3-2 Gordon Conference)
This Week: 1/8 vs. #1 BC; 1/9 @ #6 SJV; 1/12 @ BM
Cruised at Hap Matthews Tournament in Rhode Island.
7 — Brick Township (4-2-2, 1-1-1 Gordon Conference)
This Week: 1/8 @ #8 SJMet; 1/10 @ #17 BE
Decent Mayor’s Cup showing; expect an easy week.
8 — St. Joseph’s Metuchen (4-5, 1-5 Gordon Conference)
This Week: 1/6 @ #3 SHP; 1/8 vs. #7 Bri
Wins over St. Peter’s and Don Bosco validate their top-eight ranking.
9 — Randolph (8-1, 4-1 MCSSIHL Mennen)
This Week: 1/6 vs. MO; 1/8 @ #10 WWPN
Emotional win against Ridge sets up big clash with WWPN.
10 — West Windsor-Plainsboro North (6-1-1, 5-1-1 CVC Valley)
This Week: 1/6 @ Law; 1/8 vs. #9 Ran
Huge win over Knolls, but the Randolph game is even bigger.
11 — Pope John (7-0-1, 6-0-1 Northern Red)
This Week: 1/10 vs. Rox; 1/12 vs. Lak
Lions hurt by losses of their division foes (St. Joe, DBP, Tenafly).
12 — Montclair (4-3-2, 4-1-1 Central Red)
This Week: 1/8 vs. Bay
Could be a long week of practice after tying Morristown.
13 — St. Peter’s Prep (5-3, 4-2 Central Red)
This Week: 1/6 vs. SJMont; 1/9 vs. Cli; 1/10 @ BR
Very big win over Bosco; now they need to regain division form.
14 — Ridge (9-1, 6-0 Central White)
This Week: 1/8 @ West; 1/10 vs. Nut
Strong Randolph performance, every remaining game is winnable.
15—Toms River North (6-1-5, 3-1-3 Southern Red)
This Week: 1/6 vs. SA; 1/9 vs. MidS
TRN needs to stop tying and win some games, including upcoming two.
16 — Don Bosco Prep (4-3-1, 4-1-1 Northern Red)
This Week: 1/8 vs. #2 Del; 1/11 vs. #20 Ten
Tough schedule means this three-game losing streak could continue.
17 — Bishop Eustace (2-4-2, 0-2-2 Gordon)
This Week: 1/10 vs. #7 Bri
Staying in based primarily on ineptitude of other teams.
18 — Hightstown (7-2, 6-1 CVC Valley)
This Week: 1/6 vs. Ste; 1/8 vs. Not
Easy road until the end of the month.
19 — Ramapo (11-0-2, 5-0-2 Northern White)
This Week: 1/7 @ Rwood; 1/12 vs. OT
Great performance at Mackay, but they need division consistency.
20 — Tenafly (8-1, 5-0 Northern Red)
This Week: 1/6 @ Lak; 1/8 @ Para; 1/11 @ #16 DBP
Ramapo loss hurt, but they’re still unbeaten in the division.
Best of the Rest (ranks
21-35, alphabetically)
Brick Memorial — Five-game win streak includes Lawrence Tourney title.
Bridgewater-Raritan — Will try to duplicate St. Peter’s upset on Friday.
Clifton—Mustangs still unbeaten in Central Red; face SPP, Para this week.
Hopewell Valley — Bulldogs need to be more consistent to reach Top 20.
Middletown North — North needs Red Division wins to challenge for a place.
Morris Knolls — Eagles reeling from back to back disappointing losses.
Morristown-Beard — Never a spectacular team, Beard should improve.
Paramus — Tenafly and Clifton big opportunities this week.
Pingry — Flying under the radar, but a solid, although not deep, team.
Red Bank Catholic — BM, MidS games could see reversal of early fortunes.
Roxbury — Impressive 8-0 demolition of St. Joe, played well vs. Randolph.
St. Augustine — Split with TRE, part of the Southern Red confusion.
South Brunswick — Still unbeaten, but who have they played?
Toms River East—Southern Red = inconsistent; St. John will be interesting.
West Essex — Beat Knolls, lost to Ridge, and couldn’t beat Boxer.
Past Polls: Dec. 15 | Dec. 22 | Dec. 29