Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Jim's Top 10
Note: A bit of movement here, as I felt that I had Central and Chicopee too low last week. The 10th spot is the toughest right now and I kept West Side in for one more week because no one else jumped out at me, especially considering their strength of schedule.
1. Longmeadow (2-1)
2. East Longmeadow (2-0)
3. South Hadley (2-1)
4. Chicopee Comp (3-0)
5. Central (2-1)
6. Chicopee (2-1)
7. Hoosac Valley (3-0)
8. Agawam (2-1)
9. Wahconah (3-0)
10. West Springfield (1-2)
And here's the link to the Western Mass. Media Poll, which is being compiled by Kyle Belanger over at Masslive.com. It includes a good mix of media from around western Mass: Kyle Belanger (Varsity Voice), Erik Gallant (MassLive.com), Russ Held (The Republican), Mark Durant (The Recorder), Jim Pignatiello (The Daily Hampshire Gazette), Mike Moran (The Daily Hampshire Gazette), Howard Herman (The Berkshire Eagle), Ben Larsen (CoachesAid.com), Ryan Walsh (WWLP, TV 22).
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
NOTE: All Gazette high school sports coverage is now completely free online.
Power Rankings (last week)
1. Northampton (2)
2. Minnechaug (1)
3. Palmer (3)
4. Ludlow (4)
5. East Longmeadow (5)
6. Holyoke (6)
7. Central (8)
8. Mohawk (7)
9. Mahar (10)
10. Commerce (NR)
GazetteLand Rankings
1. Northampton (1)
2. Amherst (2)
3. Hampshire (3)
4. Belchertown (4)
5. Smith Academy (5)
6. Frontier Regional (6)
7. Hopkins Academy (7)
8. Easthampton (8)
9. Holyoke Catholic (9)
10. Granby (10)
11. South Hadley (11)
12. Gateway Regional (12)
13. Smith Vocational (13)
GazetteLand Leading Scorers
1. Alannah Driscoll-Sbar, Northampton, 17.6
2. Alyssa Leonard, Amherst, 17.2
3. Allyson Rannikko, Easthampton, 16.9
4. Abeni Davies, Smith Academy, 13.0
5. Kaitlyn Veit, Holyoke Catholic, 11.7
6. Briana Yusko, Hopkins Academy, 11.5
7. Ashlee Moussette, Hampshire, 11.4
8. Alicia Carter, Easthampton, 10.9
T9. Katelyn Cavanaugh, Belchertown, 10.6
T9. Kaila Arsenault, Gateway, 10.6
11. Jenny Bell, Northampton, 9.8
12. Briana Del Valle, Belchertown, 9.3
T13. Mariah Lesure, Amherst, 9.1
T13. Kierstin Del Valle, Belchertown, 9.1
15. Allison Slysz, Smith Academy, 8.8
Division 1 (record, last week)
1. Northampton (10-2, 2)
2. Minnechaug (10-2, 1)
3. Ludlow (7-2, 3)
4. East Longmeadow (10-1, 4)
5. Holyoke (10-3, 5)
6. Central (8-5, 6)
7. Agawam (8-4, 7)
8. West Springfield (8-4, 8)
9. Chicopee Comp (6-6, NR)
10. Amherst (5-8, 9)
Recap: Tough to have Central not move up after beating Minnechaug, but the Golden Eagles lack of consistency makes it hard to move them ahead of teams with two, three or even four fewer losses. ... Hamp has been fantastic since the Hoophall. ... Holyoke had 10 straight wins before getting thumped by Northampton on Monday.
Division 2
1. Palmer (13-0, 1)
2. Mohawk (13-0, 2)
3. Mahar (11-2, 4)
4. Commerce (11-2, 6)
5. Athol (9-2, 5)
6. Monument Mountain (10-2, 3)
7. Wahconah (8-4, 8)
8. Drury (8-4, 7)
9. Hampshire (4-9, 9)
10. Belchertown (8-4, 10)
Recap: I have no expectation that this will happen, but can you picture a Palmer-Mohawk western Mass. final with these two teams entering a combined 44-0? ... Nice job by Commerce to stay focused during the Abdul-Qaadir hoopla and earn the easy win.
Division 3
1. Lee (10-3, 1)
2. Sabis (12-2, 2)
3. Monson (11-1, 4)
4. Ware (10-2, 3)
5. Smith Academy (9-4, 6)
6. New Leadership (7-6, 5)
7. McCann Tech (8-6, 7)
8. Hopkins Academy (5-8, 8)
9. Putnam (10-1, 9)
10. Lenox (4-8, 10)
Recap: Monson-Ware swap spots after three-point game. ... After a three-game losing skid earlier in the year, the Wildcats have put together a seven-game winning streak. ... Sabis hasn't lost to a Massachusetts team this season.
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Thursday, January 22, 2009
NOTE: All Gazette high school sports coverage is now completely free online.
Missed the weekly preview and had to go light here because of a death in the family this week. We'll be back to full power next week. Records do not include Thursday's games.
Power Rankings (last week)
1. Minnechaug (1)
2. Northampton (3)
3. Palmer (4)
4. Ludlow (2)
5. East Longmeadow (5)
6. Holyoke (6)
7. Mohawk (7)
8. Central (9)
9. Monument Mountain (10)
10. Mahar (NR)
GazetteLand Rankings
1. Northampton (1)
2. Amherst (2)
3. Hampshire (3)
4. Belchertown (4)
5. Smith Academy (5)
6. Frontier Regional (6)
7. Hopkins Academy (7)
8. Easthampton (8)
9. Holyoke Catholic (9)
10. Granby (10)
11. South Hadley (11)
12. Gateway Regional (12)
13. Smith Vocational (13)
GazetteLand Leading Scorers
*Does not include Thursday's games*
1. Alyssa Leonard, Amherst, 17.2
2. Alannah Driscoll-Sbar, Northampton, 17.0
3. Allyson Rannikko, Easthampton, 16.5
4. Abeni Davies, Smith Academy, 13.9
5. Ashlee Moussette, Hampshire, 11.7
6. Briana Yusko, Hopkins, 11.6
7. Alicia Carter, Easthampton, 10.6
T8. Katelyn Cavanaugh, Belchertown, 10.4
T8. Kaitlyn Veit, Holyoke Catholic, 10.4
T8. Jenny Bell, Northampton, 10.4
11. Kaila Arsenault, Gateway, 10.3
12. Brianna Del Valle, Belchertown, 9.7
13. Kierstin Del Valle, Belchertown, 9.1
14. Allison Slysz, Smith Academy, 8.9
15. Lauren McGrath, Hampshire, 8.6
Division 1 (record, last week)
1. Minnechaug Regional (9-1, 1)
2. Northampton (8-2, 3)
3. Ludlow (6-2, 2)
4. East Longmeadow (8-1, 4)
5. Holyoke (9-2, 5)
6. Central (7-4, 7)
7. Agawam (6-4, 8)
8. West Springfield (5-4, 6)
9. Amherst Regional (5-6, 9)
10. Longmeadow (4-6, 10)
Division 2
1. Palmer (10-0, 1)
2. Mohawk (11-0, 2)
3. Monument Mountain (9-1, 3)
4. Mahar (9-2, 4)
5. Athol (8-1, 5)
6. Commerce (10-2, 6)
7. Drury (7-3, 7)
8. Wahconah (6-4, 8)
9. Hampshire (4-8, 9)
10. Belchertown (8-3, 10)
Division 3
1. Lee (8-3, 1)
2. Sabis (10-2, 2)
3. Ware (7-1, 3)
4. Monson (10-1, 4)
5. New Leadership (7-5, 5)
6. Smith Academy (7-4, 6)
7. McCann Tech (6-5, 7)
8. Hopkins Academy (5-6, 8)
9. Putnam (9-1, 9)
10. Lenox (2-8, 10)
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Friday, January 2, 2009
NOTE: All Gazette high school sports coverage is now completely free online.
I'll have This Week in Girls Hoop for Jan. 3-Jan. 9 posted late Friday night, along with the first edition of GazetteLand Leading Scorers of the year.
Power Rankings (last week)
1. Northampton (1)
2. Minnechaug (2)
3. Palmer (4)
4. Central (5)
5. Ludlow (7)
6. Monument Mountain (9)
7. West Springfield (8)
8. Agawam (NR)
9. East Longmeadow (3)
10. Mahar (NR)
GazetteLand Rankings
1. Northampton (1)
2. Belchertown (3)
3. Amherst Regional (2)
4. Hampshire Regional (4)
5. Smith Academy (6)
6. Frontier Regional (8)
7. Easthampton (5)
8. Holyoke Catholic (9)
9. Hopkins Academy (10)
10. South Hadley (7)
11. Granby (11)
12. Gateway Regional (12)
13. Smith Vocational (13)
Division 1 (record, last week)
1. Northampton (4-0, 1) - Here comes the gauntlet (playing No. 3 Central Friday and No. 2 Minnechaug on Tuesday). Now we find out where the Blue Devils really stand.
2. Minnechaug (3-0, 2) - Big-time matchup with Hamp in Wilbraham on Jan. 6.
3. Central (3-1, 4) - Lone loss was at Newton North in overtime. Next test Friday against Hamp.
4. Ludlow (3-0, 5) - Decent resume so far for the Lions, who head to Holyoke on Tuesday.
5. West Springfield (3-1, 6) - Terriers have won three straight since losing to Ludlow in opener.
6. Agawam (2-2, 10) - Two-point win at East Longmeadow on Tuesday gives the Brownies a boost. Two losses are to Hamp in opener and West Side by six.
7. East Longmeadow (3-1, 3) - Maybe too far down for just one two-point loss, but Nos. 4 through 8 are pretty tight at the moment.
8. Holyoke (3-2, 8) - Have won three straight since opening season with losses to Minnechaug and East Longmeadow.
9. Longmeadow (2-2, 9) - I'll have a lot more faith in the Lancers if they run with West Side on Friday.
10. Amherst Regional (1-3, 7) - Too much talent, especially now that they are getting everyone back, to stay down for long.
Division 2
1. Palmer (5-0, 1) - Starting to feel like the Panthers and then everyone else in D-2. Everyone in Franklin County just growled at me.
2. Monument Mountain (5-0, 3) - No real tests yet for the Spartans, who host Lee Friday. Schedule looks pretty favorable as of right now.
3. Mahar (3-0, 4) - So far, so good for the Senators and the return of Genny Averill.
4. Mohawk (4-0, 5) - If the Warriors end up winning the Franklin North, depth will be the difference.
5. Commerce (4-1, 10) - Had this team way too low last time, but Angie Couyoute and the Raiders have wins over Wahconah and Drury with the lone loss coming at Palmer.
6. Athol (2-1, 6) - Disappointing 12-point loss to Mahar at home, but the rivals will square off again on Jan. 30.
7. Wahconah (2-2, 2) - The two losses to Commerce (at Drury) and at home against Palmer weren't shocking, but that both were by 18 was disappointing.
8. Belchertown (3-1, 7) - Have won three easy games since opening loss to Monument. Challenges appear to be in the distance with the backloaded schedule.
9. Hampshire Regional (1-4, 8) - Still a believer against D-2 teams.
10. Hoosac Valley (3-1, NR) - The Hurricanes will be tested on Wednesday against Commerce.
Division 3
1. Lee (2-1, 1) - What, you were expecting someone else?
2. Sabis (4-2, 3) - Tournament at Rocky Hill wasn't pleasant, but the Bulldogs still deserve to be here.
3. Monson (4-0, 4) - Looking forward to Friday's result against Belchertown.
4. New Leadership (5-1, 2) - 36, 49, 43, 34, 46, 56. You know what they mean.
5. Smith Academy (5-1, 6) - Have won five straight and taken early control of the Franklin South.
6. Ware (3-0, 8) - Too low last time with Justine King still around.
7. Lenox (2-3, 5) - Millionaires have beaten the bad teams and lost to the good teams, but these are slim pickings at the bottom of D-3, folks.
8. Hopkins (1-2, 9) - Losses are to Smith Academy and Mohawk. Tough run coming up with Frontier, Athol and Mahar over the next six days.
9. McCann Tech (1-3, 7) - Three straight losses to Monson, New Leadership and Ware. But have favorable matchups coming against St. Mary and Mount Everett.
10. Putnam (3-1, 10) - Early favorite in the Tri-County.
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Wednesday, December 17, 2008
NOTE: All Gazette high school sports coverage is now completely free online.
Power Rankings (last week)
1. Northampton (1)
2. Minnechaug (2)
3. East Longmeadow (4)
4. Palmer (5)
5. Central (6)
6. Wahconah (7)
7. Ludlow (8)
8.West Springfield (3)
9. Monument Mountain (10)
10. Lee (NR)
GazetteLand Rankings
1. Northampton (1)
2. Amherst (2)
3. Belchertown (3)
4. Hampshire (5)
5. Easthampton (4)
6. Smith Academy (8)
7. South Hadley (6)
8. Frontier (10)
9. Holyoke Catholic (9)
10. Hopkins Academy (7)
11. Granby (11)
12. Gateway Regional (12)
13. Smith Vocational (13)
Division 1 (record, last week)
1. Northampton (1-0, 1) - Impressive defensive effort against Agawam. Offense will come.
2. Minnechaug (2-0, 2) - Opened season with two strong defensive performances.
3. East Longmeadow (2-0, 4) - two easy wins on the road to open season.
4. Central (1-0, 5) - Won opener against Hampshire Wednesday.
5. Ludlow (2-0, 6) - Good win at West Side has Lions confident. Could be ranked too low here.
6. West Springfield (0-1, 3) - Tough week only gets tougher with trip to Wilbraham Friday.
7. Amherst (0-1, 7) - Not sure what to do with the Hurricanes, who were already without Mariah Lesure and then lost point guard Jenna Klaes early in loss to Wahconah. Have to rally in time for Thursday's game against Taconic.
8. Holyoke (0-2, 8) - Losses are to Minnechaug and East Longmeadow.
9. Longmeadow (1-1, 10) - Lost to Ludlow, beat Chicopee. Have Northampton in state champ's home opener Friday.
10. Agawam (0-1, 9) - Played tough defense against Northampton, but couldn't buy a basket against first team.
Division 2
1. Palmer (2-0, 1) - Allowed one field goal in 68-4 win over St. Mary Tuesday. File that under "Games I'm glad I didn't have to cover."
2. Wahconah (1-0, 2) - Set for Drury Holiday Tournament after win over Amherst at home.
3. Monument Mountain (2-0, 3) - Beat a good Belchertown team by 13 on the road and then took care of business against Westfield.
4. Mahar (0-0, 4) - Weather has kept this team from playing. Supposed to play at Pioneer Friday, but take a look at the forecast.
5. Mohawk (1-0, 5) - Good win over Easthampton to open season.
6. Athol (0-0, 7) - Weather issues continue.
7. Belchertown (1-1, 6) - Bounced back from Monument loss to crush Sci-Tech.
8. Hampshire Regional (1-1, 9) - Opened season with dominating performance against South Hadley, then had to head to Central Wednesday night.
9. Easthampton (0-1, 8) - Competitive effort in Buckland could mean good things in Franklin South play for Eagles.
10. Commerce (1-0, 10) - Headed back to the Drury Holiday Tournament after cruising past Pioneer Christian.
Division 3
1. Lee (2-0, 1) - New coach, same fantastic team. Has scored 55 points in each of its first two games while holding Southwick and Lenox to combined 43.
2. New Leadership (2-0, 2) - Abdul-Qaadir had 49 points against South Hadley Wednesday. Drop me an email, when's the last time anyone has reached that number in a single game? The closest I know of was Kelly McManmon's 45 against Hopkins in the '05 final.
3. Sabis (2-0, 3) - Opened season by winning own tournament. Big game against New Leadership Tuesday.
4. Monson (2-0, 4) - Big wins over Smith Academy and Granby.
5. Lenox (1-1, 5) - Doubled up by Lee after opening season with win over St. Mary.
6. Smith Academy (2-1, 7) - Rebounded from 17-point loss to Monson with dominating performances over Hopkins and Pioneer Regional.
7. McCann (0-0, 8) - Play opener Thursday at Southwick.
8. Ware (0-0, 9) - Set to open season Dec. 23 at South Hadley.
9. Hopkins Academy (0-1, 6) - Couldn't hang with rival Smith Academy in opener. Now have to head to Mahar on Thursday.
10. Putnam (0-1, 10) - Played New Leadership tough in opener. Could enjoy dominant league schedule.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
NOTE: The Winter Sports Preview runs Thursday.
With games
officially starting Thursday, it's time to break out the preseason
rankings. Updated top 10s will run every Thursday here on the high school sports blog. I have two quick previews for big games Thursday and Friday and the normal week-ahead preview will be up late Sunday night.
In brackets are their rankings in the category at the end of last year.
Power Rankings
1. Northampton (1)
2. Minnechaug (3)
3. West Springfield (4)
4. East Longmeadow (7)
5. Palmer (6)
6. Central (2)
7. Wahconah Regional (NR)
8. Ludlow (7)
9. Amherst (NR)
10. Monument Mountain (8)
GazetteLand Rankings
1. Northampton (1)
2. Amherst (2)
3. Belchertown (4)
4. Easthampton (3)
5. Hampshire (7)
6. South Hadley (5)
7. Hopkins Academy (8)
8. Smith Academy (10)
9. Holyoke Catholic (9)
10. Frontier Regional (11)
11. Granby (6)
12. Gateway Regional (12)
13. Smith Vocational (13)
Division 1
1. Northampton (1) - Defending state champs return best one-two punch in region, but don't sleep on the supporting cast.
2. Minnechaug (3) - Strong inside-out game make the Falcons the most likely team to knock off Hamp.
3. West Springfield (4) - The squad grew up a lot last year in a run to the semifinals. Can they take the next step?
4. East Longmeadow (6) - The Spartans made an incredible leap forward last year and could even be ranked too low here.
5. Central (2) - New coach Jay Fenlason will have this team focused and prepared. But can they overcome the graduations of Felicia Barron and Esther Wallace?
6. Ludlow (7) - The most likely challenge to East Longmeadow in the Suburban League.
7. Amherst (8) - The big sleeper team this year on the bottom of half of the top 10, but must overcome missing sophomore center Mariah Lesure until the new year.
8. Holyoke (5) - Graduation hurt, but the team has size and athleticism.
9. Agawam (9) - Good size returning enough to get into the top 10.
10. Longmeadow (NR) - The best of what's left.
Division 2
1. Palmer (1) - Alyssa Orszulak leads a talented returning squad from last year's sectional champs.
2. Wahconah (4) - Has everyone back and looks poised to go deep this year.
3. Monument Mountain (2) - You know they'll be in it until the end.
4. Mahar (5) - Genny Averill's back and should lessen the loss of Morgan Murphy inside.
5. Mohawk (6) - The Franklin North is going to be fun to watch this year.
6. Belchertown (8) - Returns its starting five from a team that took a big step forward last year.
7. Athol (NR) - Catie Brighenti and company could move the team much higher on this list.
8. Easthampton (7) - Allyson Rannikko is the best inside defender in Division 2.
9. Hampshire Regional (NR) - Still playing that ridiculous schedule, but will be much improved.
10. Commerce (3) - Lost a lot to graduation, but returners are confident after last year's run to the Cage.
Division 3
1. Lee (1) - Will miss seeing Tom Cinella at the Cage each and every year.
2. New Leadership (4) - Bilqis Abdul-Qaadir is worth the price of admission every day.
3. Sabis (5) - Alex Chappell is the next great Division 3 guard.
4. Monson (7) - Time for a run to the Cage?
5. Lenox (3) - Will emerge from the wars in Berkshire County ready for the postseason.
6. Hopkins (6) - Need to find some scoring.
7. Smith Academy (NR) - Could come out of nowhere to contend in the Franklin South.
8. McCann (8) - Point guard Nhi Nguyen doesn't get enough attention, according to most opposing coaches.
9. Ware (9) - Too high? Too low? We'll know in a few weeks.
10. Putnam (10) - The likely cream of the Tri-County.
*Note: I'm going to wait to post the preseason All-Division teams until next week.*
Two great games to kick off the season. I'll have the first full weekly preview posted on Sunday night.
THURSDAY, DEC. 11
Monument Mountain at Belchertown -- We'll find out a lot about both teams right away. Belchertown wants to prove it can hang with the big boys this year and Monument should be looking to put the hammer down right away. I'll be interested to see how Monument deals with Belchertown's size inside, especially the Del Valle sisters, while the Orioles will have to prove they can handle the ball against the always intense Spartans pressure.
FRIDAY, DEC. 12
Amherst Regional at Central -- The Hurricanes will have to south to play against the perennial power without Lesure, but could give themselves a huge confidence boost with a 'W' here. Central, meanwhile, plays its first game under Fenlason and its first without Barron. Do the Golden Eagles have the leadership to win a big game early?
