As quickly because the pairings got here out, there was one evident omission.
In Div. 1, Everett discovered itself on the skin wanting in regardless of a 7-1 document. The greatest downside was that the Crimson Tide have been victimized by being within the Greater Boston League, the place lots of the groups are in decrease divisions and struggled with dropping information. Four of the wins got here in opposition to Revere, Lynn English, Malden and Somerville, who’ve a mixed 6-26 document and have been the final 4 groups within the Div. 3 energy rankings.
“I don’t want to speak too much today other than I feel really badly for the seniors,” first-year Everett coach Justin Flores stated. “We have been the most effective groups within the state (ranked eighth by the Boston Herald), we performed two groups within the Catholic Conference, beat one among them (BC High) and misplaced a troublesome sport in opposition to the opposite one (Xaverian) who’s the second seed.
“We can not control our league situation. But we are going to have to find a way to operate around this with the schedule. With the power rankings, we are going to need to fix something on our end.”
Everett definitely acquired loads of sympathy on social media as soon as the MIAA launched the match pairings. Mansfield coach Mike Redding, one of many extra revered voices within the soccer group, stated the system wants some rapid tweaking.
“You really need to re-evaluate how much the opponent value factors into power rating,” Redding stated. “Fifty percent is significant and if your mandated league games are reducing your opponent value you have no options. Everett should be in the playoffs at 7-1 and should not be sitting at home.”
As for the defending champions and top-seed in Div. 1, St. John’s Prep coach Brian St. Pierre is already in match mode. He refused to take a look at the long-term prospects for his crew; the main focus is strictly on his first-round opponent, Leominster.
“Most of the teams that we are going to face in Div. 1 are going to be really good,” St. Pierre stated. “Right now, the only thing we are looking at is Leominster. That’s the way we’ve always done things here.”
St. Pierre weighed in on the present energy rankings system.
“I appreciate all the work that goes into doing this,” St. Pierre stated. “I do assume that wins have to depend somewhat extra and that’s one thing that must be checked out. I additionally assume if we beat a Catholic Memorial, that ought to depend greater than beating a 3-3 crew. If you beat a very good crew, it’s best to get additional factors.
“I know Jim Clark puts in a ton of work. I don’t know if there is a perfect system out there.”
St. Pierre definitely makes a legitimate level along with his last remark. Going again to the Super Bowl system within the Seventies, there have been cases of groups going 11-0 however not having sufficient of an influence score to qualify for the Super Bowl. When the system modified years later to reward a crew for successful a league title, you had groups going 10-1 and never qualifying as a result of the loss got here in opposition to a crew who went on to win the league title.
One factor is for sure, there are a lot of people in Everett not blissful proper now.
SWEET 16
1. St. John’s Prep (8-0) – Defending champions capped off an undefeated common season in fashion.
2. Catholic Memorial (5-2) – Knights are clearly the favorites in Div. 2, however accidents don’t make them as positive a guess as prior to now.
3. Xaverian (6-2) – Tough draw for the Hawks with a possible second-round contest in opposition to Springfield Central.
4. King Philip (8-0) – All enterprise method results in an ideal season in Hockomock League play.
5. Milford (7-1) – Bounced again with a formidable win over a strong Franklin squad.
6. Needham (7-1) – Could be the most effective Rocket crew because the Super Bowl squad of some years again.
7. Lincoln-Sudbury (7-1) – One of a number of strong groups within the Div. 1 postseason discipline.
8. Everett (7-1) – Loads of sad campers in Crimson Tide nation after failing to qualify for the match regardless of a strong document.
9. Hanover (8-0) – Good luck making an attempt to unravel this offense within the postseason.
10. Duxbury (6-1) – After the season-opening loss, many (this scribe included) felt they may wrestle a bit. Six wins laters, rumors of their demise have been drastically exaggerated.
11. Methuen (6-2) – Battled-tested Rangers prepared for the postseason.
12. Andover (7-1) – Golden Warriors ended the common season in fashion with a dominant win over beforehand unbeaten Billerica.
13. Foxboro (7-1) – Wouldn’t or not it’s one thing if the 12 months Jack Martinelli wins his three hundredth, his crew finds a method to the state finals at close by Gillette Stadium.
14. Billerica (7-1) – You by no means need to lose a sport, however dropping the primary one the week earlier than the beginning of the playoffs isn’t very best to say the least.
15. Marshfield (6-2) – Another crew that’s heading into the postseason on a excessive observe with six consecutive wins.
16. Mansfield (5-3) – Hornets enter the postseason on a five-game successful streak after a sluggish begin.
ON THE BENCH: BC High (5-3), Central Catholic (3-5), Franklin (5-3), Taunton (5-3), Weymouth (6-2), Barnstable (7-1), Bishop Feehan (6-1), Peabody (8-0), Winchester (7-1), Dartmouth (8-0), Walpole (5-3), Woburn (6-2), Shawsheen (7-0)
Source: www.bostonherald.com