Varsity Xtra rankings as of Oct. 7, 2012:
DIVISION I
1. Hamilton 5-2
2. Brophy 6-2
3. Mountain Pointe 6-1
4. Desert Ridge 6-1
5. Desert Vista 5-2
6. Chandler 5-2
7. Highland 5-2
8. Mountain View 5-2
9. Red Mountain 5-2
10. Basha 5-2
Hamilton’s impressive victory over Desert Vista pushes it to the top spot for the first time this season. Brophy struggled to put away Westview to drop to No. 2. Mountain Pointe stays at No. 3 despite a sluggish effort against Corona del Sol, while Desert Ridge moves up after a good win over Basha. The Thunder drop a spot to No. 5, while Chandler moves up one after a rout of Dobson. It’s a very tough call after the top six spots. Highland and Mountain View may not be better than Red Mountain and Basha, but they had impressive upsets this week and have been playing well, so they’ll get the benefit of the doubt. The Mountain Lions have struggled the past couple weeks and are not looking like the same team that beat Brophy earlier in the year. The Bears had turnover problems which doomed them against Desert Ridge. Desert Mountain and Westview drop out with losses but are still right in that mix for the top 10.
DIVISION II
1. Ironwood Ridge 7-0
2. Centennial 6-1
3. Salpointe 7-1
4. Marcos de Niza 6-1
5. Cesar Chavez 7-0
6. Chaparral 4-3
7. Horizon 6-1
8. Apollo 6-1
9. Perry 5-2
10. Notre Dame 3-4
Everyone in the top 10 won this week, so there are no changes. Chaparral almost dropped a spot after having trouble putting away Mesquite but hangs onto the No. 6 spot for now.
DIVISION III
1. Saguaro 5-2
2. Sabino 7-0
3. Queen Creek 7-0
4. Liberty 7-0
5. Desert Edge 7-0
6. Cactus 5-2
7. Williams Field 7-0
8. Thunderbird 4-3
9. Paradise Valley 5-2
10. Sunrise Mountain 6-1
The Division III rankings stay the same, as well, with everyone victorious. Liberty’s outcome was most in doubt, but the victory came against a tough Greenway squad, so Liberty stays at No. 4. Williams Field has turned it up the past few weeks but hasn’t made much headway in the rankings because everyone above it keeps winning. Paradise Valley’s 15-point win over Arcadia looked closer than it was.
DIVISION IV
1. Blue Ridge 8-0
2. Show Low 7-0
3. Seton Catholic 6-1
4. Coolidge 6-1
5. Mingus 6-1
No changes here, as everyone won out this week. Coolidge will play at San Tan Foothills next week and has scuffled a bit in a loss to Poston Butte two weeks ago followed by a relatively narrow victory against struggling Combs this week, while Seton Catholic travels to Higley next Friday. Circle the calendar in two weeks, as Blue Ridge and Show Low meet again in the White Mountains.
DIVISION V
1. Northwest Christian 7-0
2. Yuma Catholic 6-1
3. Scottsdale Christian 5-1
4. Tempe Prep 6-1
5. Morenci 7-0
Arizona Lutheran falls out of the rankings after its blowout loss to Northwest Christian, which moves Tempe Prep up to No. 4 after the Knights' win on Friday night and opens the door for Morenci to slide into the rankings just ahead of Thatcher and Benson. Good matchup next week with Scottsdale Christian traveling to Phoenix Christian, which narrowly defeated Valley Christian on Friday night. Tempe Prep should win next week against Sequoia, which is big because San Tan Foothills and Northwest Christian are the last two regular-season games on the Knights’ schedule.
DIVISION VI
1. Pima 6-0
2. Scottsdale Prep 7-0
3. Mogollon 6-1
4. Joseph City 6-1
5. Joy Christian 7-0
Scottsdale Prep moves up to No. 2 after a huge win against Mogollon last Saturday, while the Mustangs drop one spot to No. 3. This week, Mogollon won big over upstart Mesa Prep and Scottsdale Prep (despite some injuries) had little trouble with Chandler Prep. Everything else went chalk.
THE WEEK AHEAD
The most notable Division I matchup has Highland playing at Mountain View, while Brophy and St. Mary's also renew their storied rivalry. Division III has a pair of games worth watching: Desert Edge vs. Liberty and Sunrise Mountain vs. Paradise Valley. The top small-school matchup is in Division V, with Scottsdale Christian battling Phoenix Christian.
