PALM BEACH COUNTY – Week 6 was a tough one for several of our ranked teams.
We had four losers from last week’s Top 10, and one of them will tumble out of top tier as a result. Aside from top-ranked Atlantic and sixth-ranked Palm Beach Gardens, every other Top 10 team that played last week faced the real possibility of losing their games.
Let’s get right to the latest update of our team rankings.
TOP 10: WEEK 6
1. Delray Beach Atlantic (7A; 3-1) [LW: 1]
2. Palm Beach Lakes (7A; 4-0) [LW: 2]
3. Palm Beach Central (8A; 4-1) [LW: 4]
4. Palm Beach Gardens (8A; 4-1) [LW: 6]
5. Delray Beach American Heritage (4A; 3-2) [LW: 7]
6. Benjamin (3A; 4-1) [LW: 3]
7. Glades Central (4A; 3-3) [LW: 5]
8. Santaluces (8A; 3-1) [LW: NR]
9. Cardinal Newman (3A; 3-1) [LW: 8]
10. Seminole Ridge (7A; 3-1) [LW: NR]
Dropped from rankings: Former No. 9 Forest Hill (8A; 3-2), Former No. 10 Jupiter (8A; 4-2)
Teams on outside looking in: Forest Hill (8A; 3-2), Jupiter (8A; 4-2), King’s Academy (3A; 4-2), Park Vista (8A; 4-2), Royal Palm Beach (7A; 3-2)
EXPLANATION OF CARDINAL NEWMAN DROP
Yes, you read that right.
Cardinal Newman dropped one spot from No. 8 to No. 9, despite its 21-14 win over Melbourne Central Catholic in Week 6.
Why did this happen?
One word: Santaluces.
The newly-ranked team makes its season debut at No. 8 because of what transpired in Week 5. The 28-7 upset win (back then) over Cardinal Newman was a eye-opener for our team because it let us know that Santaluces had to enter the rankings at some point.
And to that, both Cardinal Newman and Santaluces currently have a 3-1 record. So it simply means the head-to-head result would be the deciding factor for us in this respect.
WELCOME TO THE TOP 10, SEMINOLE RIDGE
This one was easy.
At 3-1, Seminole Ridge had to be in this week’s Top 10 – especially since its only loss was a tight one at home (20-14) to then-No. 9 Forest
Hill, which is on a two-game losing streak right now. The 37-6 home win over fellow Top 10 contender Royal Palm Beach (3-2) in Week 6 was impressive in its own right.
Bottom line: At this point in the season, no team with just one loss – aside from St. Andrew’s (4-1) – will be excluded from the Top 10. We’re already at the halfway point to the regular season, which means that current records will really matter – at least for the vast majority of the time.
OTHER TOP 10 MOVES
It made sense to move idle Palm Beach Central (4-1) up from No. 4 to No. 3 this week. The only loss for the Broncos this season (to date) was to No. 1 Atlantic (3-1) in Week 1 (40-13 blowout defeat at home).
Palm Beach Gardens (4-1) is now at its season-high ranking at No. 4. The two-spot bump up from No. 6 is primarily due to the fact that then-No. 5/now-No. 7 Glades Central is back at .500 (3-3) with a Week 6 road loss to 4A state powerhouse Cocoa (27-20 defeat).
Finally, we have American Heritage (3-2) and Benjamin (4-1).
The Stallions reached the top half of our rankings for the first time this season simply due to its well-earned 20-13 road win over the Buccaneers in Week 6. As for the Bucs, this loss, combined with a relatively weak regular-season schedule, made it easy to drop them three spots from No. 3 to No. 6 this time out.
STILL CLOSE
Forest Hill (3-2), King’s Academy (4-2), and Park Vista (4-2) will be jockeying against each other for at least one Top 10 spot next week. All they need to do is win their respective Week 7 games and hope for a loss from No. 7 Glades Central, No. 8 Santaluces, No. 9 Cardinal Newman, and/or No. 10 Seminole Ridge.
If this happens, be on the lookout for another shakeup in the rankings next week.
WEEK 7 SLATE
No. 1 Atlantic: Home vs. Clearwater International Academy (4-1) – Thursday, Oct. 3, 7 p.m. kickoff
No. 2 Palm Beach Lakes: Away at No. 3 Palm Beach Central (4-1) – Friday, Oct. 4, 7 p.m. kickoff
No. 3 Palm Beach Central: Home vs. No. 2 Palm Beach Lakes (4-0) – Friday, Oct. 4, 7 p.m. kickoff
No. 4 Palm Beach Gardens: Home vs. Park Vista (4-2) – Friday, Oct. 4, 6 p.m. kickoff
No. 5 American Heritage: Home vs. Coral Glades (2-4) – Friday, Oct. 4, 7 p.m. kickoff
No. 6 Benjamin: Away at Calvary Christian Academy (6-0) – Friday, Oct. 4, 7 p.m. kickoff
No. 7 Glades Central: Away at Dwyer (1-3) – Friday, Oct. 4, 6:30 p.m.
No. 8 Santaluces: Away at Spanish River (0-5) – Friday, Oct. 4, 6:30 p.m. kickoff
No. 9 Cardinal Newman: Away at St. John Paul II (2-2) – Friday, Oct. 4, 7 p.m. kickoff
No. 10 Seminole Ridge: Away at Okeechobee (1-4) – Friday, Oct. 4, 7 p.m. kickoff
Here’s to a prosperous Week 7 for every team – ranked or not – in Palm Beach County.
NEXT RANKINGS UPDATE: Monday, Oct. 7
