Anonymous wrote:Patriot beat Battlefield 8-6. Shakeup near the top?

Nice - good for them. Think those guys have now split and only other Patriot loss is vs Riverside (and they beat Yorktown). Can't recall if Battlefield played Riverside or anyone of that caliber - but I'd probably give them the nod to move up (just beat team right above you head-to-head, almost have to move up). Interesting to see what the rankings editors do with #2 and #3 next week.

And Robinson only won by 17 - looks like they're slipping....

Anonymous wrote:Patriot beat Battlefield 8-6. Shakeup near the top?

Hard fought game, but not sure how you move them ahead. They are now 1-1 against each other and is Battlefield's 1st loss. They stay 2 and 3.

Patriot beat Battlefield 8-6. Shakeup near the top?

Guess we need to see LB/Yorktown, LB/Langley and Langley/Madison to sort this out.

Langley/Madison could face each other in regionals. LB should be #2 in Region C and could face Yorktown or Langley in states if either can get the #1 seed in Region D (or a Madison rematch). Whoever gets #2 seed in Region D gets the death sentence of playing Robinson in the first round of states.

Wish more of these teams could make the state tourney. Region A looks terrible - Cosby is a weak #1 seed and Colonial Forge currently has the second best record and lost to Patriot 19-0. Battlefield and Patriot should waltz into the state semis and play each other for the fifth time in one season (kind of boring).

1-3 are locks. For 4 through 7 you could justify:

Current rankings - trends and perception

4. Madison - "playing best now"
5. Lake Braddock - Beat Madison, but crushed by Robinson
6. Yorktown - Beat Madison, loss to Langley was flukey?
7. Langley - Beat Yorktown, lost to Oakton

Hybrid models

4. Lake Braddock - Beat Madison - only losses are to #1 and #2
5. Yorktown - Beat Madison, loss to Langley was flukey?
6. Langley - Beat Yorktown
7. Madison - Lost to Yorktown and LB

4. Lake Braddock - Beat Madison - only losses are to #1 and #2
5. Yorktown - Beat Madison, loss to Langley was flukey?
6. Madison - Lost to Yorktown and LB but feels stronger than Langley
7. Langley - Beat Yorktown but feels weaker

Head to head matters most

4. Lake Braddock - Beat Madison - only losses are to #1 and #2
5. Langley - Beat Yorktown - only public school loss to Oakton in first game
6. Yorktown - Lost to Langley
7. Madison - Lost to Yorktown and LB

Don't agree that Robo has developed the most over the season. They were already top-notch and just keep refining. I think biggest improvement has been Madison (I'm not a Mad parent). All that said, it's playoff time next week, and that's a whole new season. I hope all the players have a great time!

lots of pro madison folks, totally fine, the editors may live in Vienna

Madison has lost to JWR, Yorktown, and LB head to head so no way should they be ranked higher than Yorktown and LB. There is not other barometer than head to head.PP is correct on that. Perceived "ups and downs" are just that.

Playoffs will tell. Been great season thus far. JWR consensus #1, they are deep, talented, and very well coached. The championship goes through them. I think they win every playoff game by 10+

Anonymous wrote:I agree. I sort of like Madison at #4. They seem to have developed the most over the course of the season.

I'd say it's pretty obvious that Robinson has developed the most over the course of the season. They played a couple closer games early on, and after seeing what they did to Lake Braddock how could anyone say they haven't improved the most?

Head to head was definitely factored in but it isn't the only factor. Unranked Richmond Spiders beat #2 UVA this season but didn't jump ahead of UVA in the polls because everyone understood that UVA is still the better team most days. Yorktown and Langley are very close, as are LB and Madison, but the editors felt that Madison and Yorktown had slightly better resumes and playoff chances at this point in the season despite the head to head losses.

love the poll but would vote that a "coaches poll" would have Langley and LB over Yorktown and Madison. Head to head definitely matters.

Playoff will sort it all out No one beats Robo.

Don't sleep on Battlefield/Patriot on Thursday night. Do we know enough about these two teams? Close game probably leads to no change. If Battlefield beats Patriot badly does Patriot take a dive in the rankings? What if Patriot upsets Battlefield?

Excellent job on the rankings again this week - well done. I also like Madison at #4 - they have had steady upward trajectory performance wise all year while Yorktown/LB have had ups and downs. Right now I'm pretty confident Madison would escape Yorktown (esp. with recent Langley result) and would be pretty close but get past LB as well (just given their Robinson game was really not competitive at all). Cluster of teams from WestPo on down (WestPo, Westfields, Oakton, Woodson) are all pretty much even and could beat/lose to each other any evening. Couple last regular season games and district playoffs should help 1 or 2 get firmer hold on #8-10 slots. Thanks again for doing rankings each week - definitely has made season enjoyable.

I agree. I sort of like Madison at #4. They seem to have developed the most over the course of the season.

Anonymous wrote:You are right - LB has only lost to #1 Robinson and #2 Battlefield. That loss to Robinson was ugly though. Madison and Yorktown both played Robinson much closer. Yorktown/Robinson was first game of the season though and maybe Rams have just improved more than others.

And Robinson/Madison was the following week, also very early in the season. Both teams have improved dramatically since then

You are right - LB has only lost to #1 Robinson and #2 Battlefield. That loss to Robinson was ugly though. Madison and Yorktown both played Robinson much closer. Yorktown/Robinson was first game of the season though and maybe Rams have just improved more than others.