1- St. Thomas More 13-0
This was probably the least stressful decision in the whole entire rankings. The Cavaliers have defeated a lot of really good teams, highlighted by Washington and Corsica-Stickney. They have 4 big games in the first two weeks of February, so they will have plenty of chances to prove the #1 spot.
Tough games:
Feb 02 vs Belle Fourche
Feb 05 @ Winner
2- Aberdeen Central 12-0
The Golden Eagles are undefeated, and have a 50-45 win against Brandon Valley. Some fans will look at the Golden Eagles schedule and say they haven’t faced a lot of really good teams, but winning is important, and the Golden Eagles have won every game that has mattered so far…Which is all of the games. Also, the Golden Eagles play a tough schedule at the end of the season, so they will be well prepared for the postseason.
Tough Games:
Feb 06 vs O’Gorman
Feb 20 @ Harrisburg
3- Washington 7-2
Yes, the Warriors have two losses. But looking at those losses, one of those is against STM and another goes to Harrisburg, 3 days after losing to STM. Sometimes when you lose a big game, you continue to think about that loss for the next game. They have since gotten back on track, and will have a tough schedule at the end of February to prepare for the postseason.
Tough games:
Feb 18 @ Brandon Valley
Feb 23 @ Mitchell
4- Sioux Falls Christian 12-1
The win against West Central was excellent for the Chargers, and the only loss Sioux Falls Christian has is against Unity Christian of Iowa. They play STM on the 12th, in a game that could be the preview for the Class A championship.
Tough games:
Feb 11 @ Western Christian (IA)
Feb 20 @ Sioux Valley
5- Harrisburg 10-1
With a great win against Washington and a single loss against Brandon Valley, the argument could be made that the Tigers deserve to be ranked higher. Harrisburg at #5 was the toughest decision to make, but essentially, there is 3 teams with undefeated records against South Dakota teams above them. So why should Washington be ranked above the Tigers? Good question. The media poll has only a 5 point difference between the two teams, and we think that it is more:
3A. Washington
3B. Sioux Falls Christian
3C. Harrisburg
The Tigers are a great team with plenty of chances to prove they can be ranked higher, so expect Harrisburg to remain at #5 for a very short time.
Tough games:
Feb 09 @ O’Gorman
Feb 13 vs Mitchell
6- West Central 11-2
The Trojans have two tough losses against an undefeated White River team, and SFC. So if White River is undefeated, why not have them listed above West Central? Well, great question again. When the staff had to come together and make a decision on these rankings, we gave a lot of credit to West Central for their 10-point win over Winner. The loss to White River was a neutral-site loss, but no hate on the Tigers, they are a great team who will probably play in the Class B State Championship. But for now, the staff believes Winner and Corsica-Stickney should be rated higher than White River and West Central should be rated ahead of Winner.
Tough games:
Feb 09 @ McCook Central-Montrose
Feb 13 vs STM
7- Winner 12-1
They have a great win over Corsica-Stickney, and we explained how we decided on the rankings in the West Central section. The Warriors also have a few big games against STM and White River, so again, the rankings could change very quickly.
Tough games:
Feb 04 vs STM
Feb 09 @ White River
8-Corsica-Stickney 13-2
The Jaguars were defeated by Winner and STM, and the two games were on the 14th and 16th of January. It is tough to play two really good teams back-to-back, and the Jaguars should be 18-2 going into the postseason.
Tough games:
Feb 02 @ Burke
Feb 04 @ Irene-Wakonda
9- White River 10-0
It was very difficult to put White River this low. The Tigers are a great team with an undefeated record, AND have wins against Hamlin and West Central. We tried our best to explain the rankings and if you think that White River should be ranked higher, the argument can be seen.
Tough games:
Feb 06 @ New Underwood
Feb 09 vs Winner
10- Brandon Valley 9-3
The Lynx have 3 losses, but otherwise have defeated Harrisburg and O’Gorman. They have a rematch against the Lady Knights on Tuesday, and a great matchup against Washington on February 18th.
Tough games:
Feb 02 @ O’Gorman
Feb 18 vs Washington
“Near The Rankings” by class:
AA
Mitchell
O’Gorman
A
Aberdeen Roncalli
Hamlin
B
Hanson
Ethan
