Feb. 6: Top 10 and class-by-class rankings
Happy Super Bowl champion Monday, folks. Great ball game last night. Congrats to all the Giants fans out there.
As for the weekly rankings… as promised, there are some changes throughout the Top 10 this week. Beyond that, there are plenty of tweaks to most of the other lists below.
Let’s hear your thoughts…
TOP 10
1. Mount Vernon (14-2) — The Knights continue to roll along close to home. They’ll host New Ro on Friday, and see if the Huguenots have closed the gap.
2. Stepinac (10-10) — The Crusaders were routed on Friday at Hayes, but they nearly bounced back to win at Bishop Loughlin. Their roller coaster season continues.
3. Tappan Zee (17-0) — TZ is a mentally tough team with skill and toughness. That’s a great mix for the playoffs. If they can avoid foul trouble, the Dutchmen will be awfully tough to beat.
4. New Rochelle (11-4) — The Huguenots played very well defensively on Saturday in their win over Iona. They still struggle to score in the halfcourt. With a little transition offense, they area dangerous.
5. Albertus Magnus (13-2) — The Falcons go to Spring Valley today and Tyler Sayre needs just 10 points to break the program’s all-time scoring record.
6. Byram Hills (12-4) — Injuries have slowed down the Bobcats, but they remain a serious contender for another gold ball.
7. Iona Prep (16-3) — The Gaels are not playing their best, especially on offense. They didn’t get many good shots on Saturday. When they did, they didn’t make them. They’ll need to find a little more firepower to thrive going forward.
T8. Kennedy (10-5) — After a mediocre week, Kennedy played well on Saturday against Poughkeepsie, the very type of team it may need to beat in the playoffs. That’s a good sign.
T8. Peekskill (12-4) — What a crazy split between Peekskill and Kennedy. According to the Kennedy players, Peekskill was a completely different team the second time around. The Red Devils look like they’re peaking.
10. Fox Lane (13-2) — The Foxes endured a tough game Wednesday to survive against Greeley. They’re not perfect, but they really do create some tough matchups. They’ll be a tough out in the playoffs.
On the bubble: Tuckahoe, Clarkstown South, Mahopac, White Plains, Carmel, Woodlands, Dobbs Ferry.
Small-school Top 10
1. Albertus Magnus
2. Tuckahoe
3. Woodlands
4. Dobbs Ferry
5. Croton-Harmon
6. Briarcliff
7. Pleasantville
8. Rye Country Day
9. Sacred Heart
10. Rye Neck
CLASS AA
1. Mount Vernon
2. New Rochelle
3. Fox Lane
4. Clarkstown South
5. Mahopac
6. White Plains
7. Carmel
8. North Rockland
9. Horace Greeley
10. Arlington
CLASS A
1. Tappan Zee
2. Byram Hills
T3. Peekskill
T3. Kennedy
5. Pearl River
6. Poughkeepsie
7. Brewster
8. Pelham
9. Our Lady of Lourdes
10. Beacon
CLASS B
1. Albertus Magnus
2. Woodlands
3. Dobbs Ferry
4. Croton-Harmon
5. Briarcliff
6. Pleasantville
7. Rye Neck
8. Blind Brook
9. North Salem
10. Valhalla
CLASS C/D
1. Tuckahoe
2. Hamilton
3. Children’s Village
4. Greenburgh Academy
5. Keio
CHSAA/Privates
1. Stepinac
2. Iona Prep
3. Rye Country Day
4. Sacred Heart
5. Salesian
Rockland
1. Tappan Zee
2. Albertus Magnus
3. Pearl River
4. Clarkstown South
5. North Rockland
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What the hell are you thinking not putting tuckahoe in the top ten teams in section 1
Josh,
Lets see a Yonkers Top 3 Ranking, there are now 8 High Schools in the City of Yonkers.
1. Saunders
2. Riverside
3. Gorton
JOSH,
IF MURRAY ST. CAN BE IN THE TOP 10,WHY CAN’T TUCKAHOE?
Is there a Rockland County Championship this year? If so, who, when and where?
ROCK BB,
NO,NOT THIS YEAR
I think Josh looks at talent plus results (i.e Stepinac). I think what he is saying is he beleives tuckahoe could not beat any of the top 10 on a neutral court. Would they be favored over Fox Lane? Don’t know who Tuckahoe beat or their schedule. Just a guess.
I appreciate the line of thinking and logic behind your rankings Josh. That a .500 team like Stepinac can be ranked ahead of an undefeated TZ.
Juxtaposition Josh ’s approach with the NYS Sports Writers Assn. state rankings. They are strictly about wins and losses. For example, they have Mount Vernon with two losses to nationally ranked powerhouse schools placed at number 3 behind an undefeated Kingston squad [Boys & Girls is #1]. I also find it a tad ludicrous that they have Lincoln High [ NYC] at #12, Christ the King at #19 and Cardoza at #23. How would #2 Kingston fair against them?!
Using common sense it would seem to be fairly obvious that MV has the more impressive record with quality wins against the likes of Cardoza, South Shore, Roman Catholic, Leesburg FL, and St. Rita’s of Chicago. vs. Kingston’s quality wins over Newburgh, Poughkeepsie, and Middletown.
But what the heck….ranking ultimately means little to nothing when it comes time for March Madness of Sectionals and States.
correction ” How would Kingston fare against them… not fair!” Sorry Mrs. Colton [my 11th grade English teacher @ MVHS].
I think Stepinac is a very ggod team and understand them being ranked high , but number 2, at 10-10 ? Put them in the top 5 but not at 2. Also agree with Tuck, maybe not a difficult schedual but they are just dominating. Arlington behind Greeley in AA ? Josh, must have been some Super Bowl party.
I understand Tuckahoe’s sentiments but the lack of class is not the way to go. I thought the facebook comment function was rolling out the end this? Tuckahoe jas been in many of our top 10’s for at least a month. Many of the bloggers calling for them now were among the faction that always whined about their weak schedule even though they easily took out a playoff AA team.
Calling out Josh, especially in a tactless way isn’t going to get him to do what you want. Too much of this going on. I’ll catch you guys Championship weekend in March—need a break from this.
CG
The Sportswriters rankings are a joke. Always have been. Those guys never watch games. Josh, that looks like a hidden hit by you against Mt Vernon. You say that MV continues to roll close to home. They were rolling away from home too. They are 6-2 in games played outside of Westchester against much tougher competition. They had one bad game, much like Christ the King had against Neumann Goretti.
mvhs65,
The NYSSWA are notoriously bad rankings teams in all sports. Its just pretty much impossibe to rank teams from around the state by sportswriters that haven’t seen the teams play. The Post which usually does well with the city rankings has CTK #1, Jefferson #2, Boys #3, Lincoln #4 and Hayes #5. Looking at records alone, which the NYSSWA seems to do is absurd.
jcirocco,
10-10 isn’t the prettiest of records, agreed. But when you compare Stepinac’s schedule it is on a differest stratosphere from all the Westchester/Rockland schools except MV. Think about it, Stepinac plays Hayes 2x, St Rays 2x, Mount 2x, Holy Cross, Xaverian, Loughlin, LI Lutheran, St Marys, Burke Catholic, Harborfields, All Hallows 2x, two solid out of state teams, very good St Peters team and a solid Farrell team. If we consider Cardozo and New Ro to be ‘very good’ teams, MV will play 10 games against very good teams during the regular season. If you look at Stepinac’s schedule, depending on how you rank some of their opponents, they’re playing somewhere between 14-19 games against ‘very good’ competition. Obviously, MV is limited to a shorter season and is stuck playing several games against Sect 1 teams that they will blow out, but Stepinac’s schedule is deserving of a lot of respect.
mvhs65
I agree to a certain extent, yes they are a good team playing a tough sched so rank them high but not at # 2 is all im saying. You can only play the teams that are put infront of you and for a team like Tuckahoe give them thier due. This is a very good team in its class and bang up every team thats put in front of them. The rankings at the end of the day dont mean much but would be nice for them to get recognized.
Sorry , that was intended for Hoops
cirocco,
I disagree completely – teams do not only play the teams put in front of them. In HS basketball, each coach/AD has complete discretion in choosing several non-league games a year. In other words, they can choose who they play. I really don’t see much of an argument for any teams ranked below Stepinac to jump them since the schedules are on such a different level. Would Tappan Zee, Albertus or New Ro beat St Rays this year? No way. I mean no disrespect to any of the schools mentioned or also ranked – lots of good teams locally this year – but I’m just trying to be realistic about the caliber of competition.
Tuckahoe has actually done a great job from what I’ve noticed this year stepping up to play some A and maybe even AA schools…and winning
jcirocco
Not trying to be a wiseguy but unless you go to CHSAA games you do not appreciate the difference between the competition Step faces and Sect1 teams. If any of the other top 5 teams in Josh’s rankings (except MV of course) played Step’s schedule they probably would not have a single win. Yes, the difference in competition is THAT much.
What teams in Josh’s top 10 should be replaced by Tuckahoe. Great small school, no doubt but when you move up in class the game is a little different.
65.. I doubt Mrs. Colton will find out
IS THE RANKING ABOUT WHO SCHEDULE!!!.. OR IF YOU WIN!!!
PPR,
Showing you can be competitive and win some games with top teams on an excellent schedule is obviously the key. If a team plays a great schedule, but gets blown out left and right it would be a waste.
In the case of MV, they may have lost by 4 to Neumann-Goretti, however NG is a top 50-100 Nationally ranked team and it speaks very highly of MV that they were playing closely with a team that good. Stepinac lost by 6 to St Rays on opening night – St Rays was ranked in the top 50-100 in the country – it spoke highly of Stepinac that they were able to play with a team that good. Fortunately for Step, St Rays is in their league and Step won the rematch at home
WHEN YOU SCHEDULE A TEAM YOU SCHEDULE THEM WITH THE IDEA THAT YOU CAN BEAT THEM!!.. SO IF YOU LOOSE TO THEM… YOU SHOULD BE PUNISHED FOR LOOSING AND NOT GIVEN A EXCUSE (B/C THE OTHER TEAM IS BETTER) AS TO WHY YOU LOST AND WHY YOU SHOULDNT BE DROPPED FROM THE RANKS!!..... I THINK IT’S ALL B/S!!... THAT YOU CAN KEEP TURNING A BLIND EYE TO A TEAM THATS LOOSING GAMES AND KEEP REWARDING THEM B/C THERE BUS PULLED UP TO THE GAME THAT THEY SCHEDULED B/C THEY BELIEVE THEY COULD WIN!!.. I HAVE NEVER SEEN BEFORE A TEAM RANKED #2 WITH 10 LOSES!!....SMH!!... B/C A TEAM HAS A BETTER SCHEDULE THEN YOU ( that they are obiviously struggling with) THAT DOES NOT MEAN THEY ARE BETTER THEN YOU!!!
PPR,
You just don’t like Stepinac at all man…ts actually kinda funny! Rankings are to choose the best TEAMS, not the best records. You know this…every sports fan in the world knows this…you’re just talking nonsense. Stepinac’s only had one game that was a complete blowout this year (against Hayes away last week). Hayes was ranked #33 in the country by one publication last week. I just saw this week Orlando Christian is ranked #33 in the country by another publication (the team that blew out MV). No disrespect to the teams ranked below Stepinac (all deserving teams), but NONE of them have played a schedule remotely close to what Stepinac has played. I don’t see any of the teams ranked #3-10 being anywhere close to 10-10 if they played Step’s schedule.
Rock BB… No Rockland County Championship this season.
haywood… Tuckahoe had been in the Top 10. Right now, I’d put 10 teams ahead of them. The way I look at it, I think Tuckahoe is No. 11. That isn’t that bad.
Just a thought.
I believe all of TZ’s players have gone through thier school districts grammar schools, middle school and high school. They have all lived in the TZ area their whole young lives and many have siblings in these schools as well. What’s my point? It is that George Gain has done a masterful job of coaching the home grown players he was given. Every kid is legit and on the level and always has been since he got there and before. My question, outside of the catholic schools where parents pay tuition AND local school taxes for their kids to get a Catholic school education, can every puplic school team in Section One make the same claim of their program this year AND in years past?
This statement says it all about Stepinac, “The Crusaders were routed on Friday at Hayes, but they nearly bounced back to win at Bishop Loughlin. Their roller coaster season continues.” Nearly bounced back for a win? Still lost and never drop in the rankings? C’mon Man!
cadet…......
No doubt you are right that Ms. Colton would know. I’ve taken the liberty to declare that the lessons we’ve learned in life, including grammar, transcend the physical plane. I believe that somewhere Ms. Colton’s spirit is snickering…”Come on James my boy..You should know better!”
God bless you Mrs. Colton!
HSFan February 6th, 2012 at 2:38 pm
This statement says it all about Stepinac, “The Crusaders were routed on Friday at Hayes, but they nearly bounced back to win at Bishop Loughlin. Their roller coaster season continues.” Nearly bounced back for a win? Still lost and never drop in the rankings? C’mon Man!
I TOTALLY AGREE!!.. THE RANKING IS A MESS AND THE METHOD FOR DECIDING EACH TEAM IS DIFFERENT!!
HOOPS
SO IN YOUR EYES NO MATTER WHAT STEPINAC DOES ( WIN OR LOSE) THEY SHOULDN’T LOSE THERE #2 RANKING!.. YOUR FUNNY AND THE SAME B/S WENT ON DURING THE FOOTBALL SEASON!... STEPINAC GETS THE EXCEPTION!!.. THER MEASURED ON WINS OR LOSES!.. THERE MEASURED ON IF THE GOT TO THE GAME ON TIME!!! IT DOES NOT MATTER IF YOU GIVE 55 POINTS IN A FOOTBALL GAME OR GET BLOWNOUT BY HAYES!!!.. YOU AND HIM ALWAYS FIND A DIFF. EXCUSE!... SMH!!...
*THERE NOT MEASURED ON WINS AND LOSES , THEY ARE MEASURED ON IF THEY GOT TO THE GAME ON TIME!!
PPR,
There hasn’t been a ranking system in the history of sports that only looks at W/L and ignores schedules.
Of course, Stepinac is not divinely annointed to #2. Not at all! If Step went out and lost to mediocre teams like Spellman or St Johns Prep, etc, then I might agree they deserve to drop. But I absolutely do not agree that Step deserves to drop after losing close games to excellent teams like Xaverian (who beat CTK), Loughlin (who has played almost every close including CTK) and Mount (beat St Rays). Step also beat a St Rays team that has been nationally ranked for most of the reason…are there any teams ranked below that which can say anything close? Of course not.
In terms of New Ro, they’ve probably played the #3 schedule around (but in all fairness, #3 by a huge margin). Lets look at what New Ro and Stepinac have done against their one common opponent St Mary’s, LI. New Ro lost by 16. Stepinac won by 17 and was up by as much as 30 in the 2nd half. Not much of a comparison.
HSFan,
Who should be ranked ahead of Stepinac and why?
Josh,
How long are you going to sit and let people bash you and others? Not cool.
Dobbs beat Woodlands referees were awful and had no control…
Statesman… They can say whatever they want about me as long as it doesn’t cross the line of decency. It doesn’t bother me. If I think one team is better than another, I will rank them ahead of that team. It’s that simple. I don’t think it’s an insult to rank Tuckahoe as the 11th-best team in the coverage area. Others do. That’s up to them.
Was there something said about someone else that you take umbrage with? I didn’t see anything, but I could’ve missed it.
No prob, Josh—you got thick skin. Didn’t appreciate sect 1 calling ppr a tool.
I believe like many of the posters I understand the game better than the casual fan, but I know I cannot make an evaluation on 90% of the teams because have NOT SEEN THEM PLAY. There are so many nuances that determine the evaluation of teams and how they match up with various opponent.
For instance, I have made some assessments on a possible TZ-Peekskill post season match-up based on what I have read, because it seems Peekskill is starting to play well and MAY provide TZ a difficult matchup. Nevertheless, the fact remains I have NEVER seen TZ play and cannot make a evaluation based on first-hand knowledge. The other fact is that by definition there is only probably one (maybe two) real professional sports journalist on this blog and I defer to him because he mostly gets it right and his evaluations don’t appear political.
Possibly Josh will walk us through the process that he utilizes in determining his rankings. It appears (as many of you have stated) that he strictly looks at whether he feels a team is better than another team regardless of classification or their RECORD. If we are to assume the logic of some of the posters then Murray State is the only team deserving of a #1 ranking in college basketball.
On another note, Mamaroneck beating New Rochelle today is possibly their biggest win in 20 years. Granted New Rochelle is not the team they normally are, but it must be a confidence builder for the team and especially the coach. As a coach, it must be difficult to absorb the type of loses they normally receive without it becoming demoralizing after a while. Congrats to Mamaroneck and keep your head up NR.
statesman,
You have a great point. Josh definitely has a thick skin. I haven’t seen Tuckahoe so its hard for me to chime in. I will say one thing though, that in all my years following local basketball and seeing some excellent Tuckahoe teams and players – Jamal Webb, Willie Shaw, Dave Roberston, etc, I don’t remember Tuckahoe EVER being ranked ahead of WP. Regardless if Tuckahoe is ranked #9, #10, #11…still a remarkable year for them. Keep in mind, it wasn’t until the last couple years with this blog that the small schools were ever ranked with the AA and A schools
If you are a true fan and appreciate the forum that Kevin and now Josh have provided for section 1 basketball fans it should be appreciated to its fullest. To truly create a top 10 which includes an array of schools and 5 different divisions is an extremely arduous task. Josh absolutely has imputed logic and probably has seen more games than most, which is a very good barometer but not fool proof by any stretch of the imagination. Having seen a select few games and reading or discussing others, one thing is clear. After MV-TZ it ends there, everything else is a crapshoot. Stepinac’s strength of schedule is pertinent despite the losses. Section 1 at all divisions has been competitive and many teams inconsistent as they search for their identity and hope they hit their stride at this time of year,
truly only MV-TZ can stake that claim. To be in the top 10 your schedule should be competitive to be considered. Josh your job is tough but appreciated. to all others get a grip as the boys will now determine the true rankings in a few weeks.
Good point Mr. Bball – All if our opinions will be moot in a few weeks & we’ll have the answers to our questions. I think this year has been different from all other years because you always had that solid base of schools such as MV, WP, NR, IP, STEP, NR (recent years) & other clearly defined schools. This is a unique year.
ppr,
its not about who you schedule or about your record. Its about how you perform on the court.
Stepinac is clearly the 2nd best team in the county. Its not even close. Mt Vernon is on a whole different level. I think Mt Vernon beats stepinac by 20+, but I also think Stepinac beats TZ by 15-20. Its that much of a drop between #1 and #2 as well as #2 and #3. As hoops said, lets just compare common opponents. Step beats st marys by 17, and new ro lost to st marys by 16. Same goes for football season. Stepinac beat WP by 24 pts. New ro beat wp by 1pt.
STATES
I AM!!... IT’S OK!!...
BUT YOU NOTICE WHEN I GET BACK AT THEM!!.. THEY CAN NOT HANDLE IT!!... 
Hated,
Very true, keep doing what you do brother.
Josh,
If Byram is 12-4, how can they have 6 games left? I thought teams were only allowed 18 games?
Statesman… That’s a bad job cutting and pasting by me. That was last weeks description for Byram and I never changed it. ... It’s been fixed now. Thanks for the heads up.
Josh,
No problem at all. Thought they got a champions exemption clause or something, haha.
JOSH
WHY IS MY POST WAITING MODERATION!! WHEN SEC1 USE THE SAME EXACT WORD THAT I USED!!..
JUST LIKE I SAID YOU HAVE CERTAIN IP ADDRESS TARGETED AND YOU ALSO BIAS!!... SMH!!
PPR,
You seem to have a persecution complex. Why do you also moan and whine about ‘unfairness’ and ‘bias’? My posts get the Awaiting Moderation tag all the time – I’d assume many other regular posters do as well sometimes – what makes you think you are ‘targeted’?
Little known fact: TZ’s Donohue and O’Shea both attended Albertus their freshman year. Imagine McGuinness, Sayre, Donohue, Sullivan, and O’Shea
I don’t disagree that Stepinac may be a powerhouse compared to other teams in the section but if Alabama Football was 7-5 and Boise State was 10-2, Alabama wouldn’t be ranked higher. I know its not the same but think about.
I think you got to give an undefeated team (TZ) the number two spot based on the unblemished record against tough Rockland competition.
HOOPS
I NEVER WHINE!!!.. ARE YOU MAD B/C I SPEAK THE TRUTH!!... SORRY!!!
HSFan February 7th, 2012 at 8:13 pm
I don’t disagree that Stepinac may be a powerhouse compared to other teams in the section but if Alabama Football was 7-5 and Boise State was 10-2, Alabama wouldn’t be ranked higher. I know its not the same but think about.
I TOTALLY AGREE WITH YOU!!!....SMH!!!!!
HSFan,
The analogy wouldn’t be Alabama and Boise St – Boise St still plays some top quality competition, not as good as Alabama but still good. The better analogy would be more like Alabama at 6-6 vs. a top DII team 12-0. I’d still take the 6-6 Alabama team every day of the week, but thats just my opinion.
PPR,
No one would accuse you of ever ‘speaking the truth’, don’t worry
HOOPS
LOL!!.. YOUR TOO FUNNY!!...
Another fact about TZ, the power forward from last years team Taj Vines went to nyack and then transferred to TZ so easy with all the home grown talk.
AMHS,
that literally has nothing to do with the team this year what on earth are you talking about?