Poll Ballots 2017 - Week 8

(Medina hasn't lost a game in 2017, winning 11 straight games)

 

Large Schools

1. Williamsville South (A1) - I took much time to deliberate on my first & second place vote this week.  I knew the pollsters would keep Frannies #1 and was certainly encouraged to follow suit by more than one person prior to leaving St. Francis on Friday night.  So here comes another long-winded explanation that makes perfect sense to me, but apparently not the majority.  

South & St. Francis are very similar to each other, both stylistically and in the resumes the two have built this season:

Both lost winnable nonleague games - South to Aquinas and Frannies to Bishop Grimes.  

Both split a two-game series with a team in its league - South with #4 Amherst and St. Francis with #7 Canisius.

Both beat Timon - South won by six at Timon and St. Francis won by seven at home.

Both beat a team the other lost to - South beat UPrep (UPrep won by 10 at St. Francis) and St. Francis beat Park twice (Park beat South at home by six)

Now if the only criteria to be #1 is beating Park, then the Red Raiders' two games over the Pioneers would qualify.  I see it differently.  Maybe because I've watched Park falter in three of its last four against ranked large schools.  Maybe because I watched South build a 20-point lead against the same Pioneers.  

But mainly because if we are going to have two teams ranked ahead Park and those two teams are South and St. Francis, there is a head-to-head result that has to be considered.  In between Frannies' wins over Park, South won at St. Francis by 14 points.  I went back and looked over how that game went down (article here).  The Billies led by 15 at half, the game never got closer than six in the second half, and South led by double figures the entire fourth quarter.  In a season of epic battles and finishes, that game really wasn't one of them.

2. St. Francis (MMA) - see above.  If it's any consolation, I'll remind you that I was one of three that correctly made you #1 when you beat Park the first time and spent two weeks defending that it wasn't a fluke, until you did it again.  Hopefully you guys still get me something for Valentine's Day tomorrow when I cover your game at Timon.  If not, I will understand.

3. Park (MMA) - Four losses on the season by a combined 11 points, with every one of them occurring in overtime.  The Pioneers have played a total of six extra sessions on the season  -three against St. Francis, one with Timon, another vs. Mount St. Michael, and the only game they won in OT at Niagara Falls to start the season.

4. Olean (A2) - Heading into the weekend, I hadn't cast a large school vote for the Huskies all season, despite them being a defending state champion with a 16-2 record, on a 12-game win streak.  On Saturday morning, I explained why on the radio - the only large school they had faced on the season was Maryvale, an overtime game they lost in December.  They were hosting Timon a few hours after those remarks, and I also said if they could beat the Tigers, they'd certainly be on my ballot.  After leading Timon the whole way and handing them their 2nd biggest loss of the season (by 10 points), here they are.  Clearly my poll logic should not apply to teams coached by Hall of Famers, legends or wizards.

5. Timon (MMA) - The Tigers have been very busy.  Since knocking off Park in overtime, Timon played five games in eight days, earning wins over North, Joe's, & Nichols, while dropping road games at Aquinas & Olean.  Hopefully they rest up, because the biggest week of the season so far is here:  hosting first place St. Francis on Tuesday and visiting the defending champs (Canisiuis) on Friday.

6. Amherst (A2) - Only action last week was a 13-point win in the second round of league play with West Seneca East.  The Tigers earn at least a share of the ECIC II title with a win at Hamburg this Tuesday.

7. Canisius (MMA) - The Crusaders followed up a 72-44 loss at Park with a 72-49 win against St. Joe's.  Will tune up at Aquinas on Tuesday night, before hosting Timon on Friday.  If the Tigers lose at St. Francis and Canisius also beats them, the Crusaders could move up out of fourth place in the Manhattan Cup seedings.

8. Kenmore West (AA) - Don't look now, but the Blue Devils are winners in 10 of their last 11 games.  They finish up the regular season against Niagara Wheatfield on Wednesday before the Class AA sectionals begin.

9. South Park (A2) - The Sparks finish off the regular season with a bang, visiting Middle College on Monday and hosting East on Thursday.  If they win out, the Yale Cup goes to South Park for the first time since...

10. Jamestown (AA) - After winning an overtime nail-biter against Lancaster last Tuesday, the Red Raiders will look for an outright ECIC I crown when they face Lancaster in the 'Game of the Week' rematch on Monday night.

 

Small Schools

1. East Aurora (B1) - Edged Lake Shore last week following a convincing win over Pioneer.  After hosting Batavia on Monday, the Blue Devils will look to guarantee at least a share of the ECIC III crown with a win at Maryvale on Wednesday.

2. Health Sciences (B2) - Completed their regular season with a 91-point win over Oracle, that included a 50-point outing from Davonte Gaines.  Now they bide their time until the playoffs start.

3. Cardinal O'Hara (MMA) - Who wins games at Walsh?  Well, besides Canisius, the Hawks are the only team to accomplish that this season.  Still owners of the best record among MMA Class B competition.

4. East (C2) - Added a pair of wins last week against top 10 small schools Middle College & Burgard.  If the Panthers win out this week (at McKinley & at South Park) the Yale Cup returns to Northampton for the first time since 2011.

5. St. Mary's (MMA) - Three wins last week (CCA, Niagara Catholic, & Starpoint) heading into a huge week.  It begins with a Valentine's Day love affair with Walsh, followed by games with Nichols & North Tonawanda.

6. Middle College (B2) - The Kats have dropped three of their last four since topping Health Sciences, but two of those losses came to the teams contending for the Yale Cup - East & South Park.  Middle College swept the season series with the team just below them on my ballot, Burgard.

7. Burgard (B1) - Suffered the same East & South Park losses as Middle College last week, though the East defeat was nearly a major triumph...a one-point loss.  The Bulldogs own a pair of wins over Franklinville and a big win at Medina in December.

8. Medina (B2) - Speaking of Medina...welcome to my ballot.  Owners of the second longest win streak in Section VI at 11 games and seemingly getting better every game.  Only three wins during the Mustangs' streak have come by less than double figures.

9. Franklinville (D) - Avenged a home loss to Ellicottville by taking the rematch on the road.  The strength of the win over Chautauqua Lake this season gives them a slight edge over the Eagles in this poll setting.

10. Chautauqua Lake (C1) - Very likely saw their chances of sharing the CCAA I West crown with Olean get squandered when they fell at Dunkirk last week.  That means some angry Thunderbirds will be taking flight in the Class C1 sectionals soon.

 

- centercourt

Comments

[hoopster]

Love it(expl. b/t Sth and SF)!

[ThisIsRandolph]

Interesting: RCS (9 & 0) division play. I realize that CCAA East 1 is considered weak, and early loses against Eville & Frankinville are considered. I guess it will be up to playoffs.

[Josh]

I find it interesting that you have no NFL teams ranked, especially after Lockport beat Grand Island without two of their starters.

[Kwarc]

Kenmore west isn't an NFL team? Somebody shouldn't post if they don't even know the leagues!

[StateChamps2003]

I know, I'm assuming a lot here but as it stands, it looks like East Aurora will be the #1 seed in B-1 and Burgard will be the #8 seed. Assuming they both win their respective pre-quarterfinal games, Burgard would travel to East Aurora for an intriguing sectional quarterfinal game. Burgard has a deceiving record at 10-9. 8 of their losses have come to MEC (x2), McKinley, East (x2), South Park (x2) and Health Sciences. All teams currently or at one point ranked in the polls.

Other interesting potential quarterfinal matchups would be MEC vs. Health Sciences in B-2, Olean vs. Maryvale in A-2, and Niagara Falls vs. Lockport in AA. Can't wait.

[JZ]

...and Burgard and EA had one common opponent,Lackawanna. Both games were at Lackawanna. Burgard won by 2 and EA won by 3.