SHL Rankings, Scores, and Standings Week #7

[jchitwood]

Last week saw the return of Fairfield's Chris Cox, and the most physical SHL game of the season in Peebles vs. Whiteoak. There's plenty to look forward to this week, as Manchester and Ripley look to continue their unbeaten league records. Sub-.500 teams like Whiteoak and Lynchburg are showing improvement, and are better than their records.

1. The Ripley Blue Jays (7-1, 4-0) may technically be 2nd in the SHL overall, but I'm ranking them above Manchester because of their difficult schedule. Nothing this week makes me think they'll drop out of the top spot, as they should handle North Adams and Lynchburg-Clay easily.

2. The Manchester Greyhounds (8-1, 5-0) have solidified their lead on the SHL Small School Division, dropping Whiteoak by 15 points. Difficult games still loom ahead of them (against Ripley, Ironton, and South Point), and this week they have their first of two matchups against Chris Cox and the Lions. It's always fun to see a Cox vs. Blevins showdown.

3. The Peebles Indians (6-1, 2-1) are coming off their most physical game of the season (40+ fouls called) against Whiteoak. This week they have their only game against Eastern Brown, in a rematch of one of last year's most competitive games. Given Eastern's weak offense, I can easily see the Indians full-court D holding them under 40.

4. The Wildcats of Whiteoak (4-6, 3-2) may seem a little high-ranking, because of their sub-.500 record. But if you look at the quality of teams they have played (Oak Hill, Hillsboro, Peebles, Manchester) you can see that they're better than their record. This is a team that's not afraid to get physical, and has some racehorses in the stable, as well. Their only game this week is Battle of the Cats II, when they face Fairfield.

5. The Fairfield Lions (2-7, 2-3) shoot up 5 spots in my rankings this week. The #5 spot may seem a bit rash, given that they're 5 games below sea level. HOWEVER, this is a new team, with senior Chris Cox back in action. Adding his defense point average (which I'm guessing is around 20) to Fairfield, their losses against Whiteoak, East Clinton, Vinton County, and Washington Courthouse could have easily been flipped around. They have a tough week ahead of them against Manchester and Whiteoak.

6. Eastern Brown (4-4, 1-4) stays put in the #6 spot, despite their abysmal league record. Apart from a 14-point bashing by North Adams in Week 3, they've beaten the mediocre teams (Fayetteville, Georgetown) and been beaten by the good teams (Ripley, Manchester, Whiteoak). They play good defense, but someone needs to step up and start scoring. They face St. Patrick's and Peebles this week. They are 3-0 against non-SHL teams.

7. The Lynchburg-Clay Mustangs (3-8, 2-2) beat North Adams by almost 40 on Friday, cementing their status of the best of the bottom in the SHL. They've been blown out by some tough competition (Ripley, Hillsboro, Blanchester), but lost their other 3 games by 4 points or less. Count on them breaking even this week, as they face West Union and Ripley.

8. I can't figure out North Adams (3-4, 2-2). The Green Devils start off the season on fire, going 3-1 (losing to Paint Valley by just 2 points and defeating Eastern by 14). Then Manchester obliterates them by 38 points in the Holiday Tournament, and they lose their next 2 games by a combined 75 points. This is a young team that mostly relies on one player for their scoring, so you can expect some inconsistency. Still, the margin of defeat against Lynchburg-Clay (37) and Fairfield (38) drops them on this list. Coach Young will no doubt right the ship, but look for another big defeat against Ripley.

9. The Rockets of Fayetteville (2-7, 1-4) picked up their first league win against West Union this week. Despite that, they dropped a spot to make room for Fairfield's ascension and North Adams' decline. This week they face powerhouses Peebles and Manchester, and I don't look for many Greyhound or Indian starters to play much in the 4th quarter.

10. The West Union Dragons (1-8, 0-5) have a pretty good 5th grade team, with a lot of height and speed. Their high school program continues to struggle, though. I was impressed with how hard the kids played when I saw them in the Holiday Tournament. These boys have a lot of heart. They face the Green Devils (who beat them by 25 in the ACT), Lynchburg-Clay, and Williamsburg this week.


This week's BIG GAME: Manchester@Faifield....Clash of the Titans.
The OTHER BIG GAME: Fairfield @ Whiteoak....be interesting to see how Battle of the Cats II pans out.

Your Games:

Tuesday, January 11th
*Lynchburg Clay
West Union (PPD 1/22)

*Manchester
Fairfield (PPD 2/5)

*North Adams
Ripley (PPD 1/22)

*Peebles
Fayetteville (ppd 1/18)

St. Patrick's
Eastern Brown

Friday, January 14th
*Fairfield 71
Whiteoak 48

*Manchester 72
Fayetteville 60

*Peebles 73
Eastern Brown 54

*Ripley 73
Lynchburg Clay 53

*West Union 56
North Adams 64

Saturday, January 15th
Miami Trace 56
Fairfield 64

West Union 42
Williamsburg 59

*North Adams 59
Manchester 64 (from 12/21)

Eastern Brown 48
South Point 44 (BSE)

Southern Hills League Standings

OVERALL:
Team - W/L - GB - SHL - STREAK - PCT.

MN / 10-1 / - / 7-0 / W8 / .909
RIP / 8-1 / 1 / 5-0 / W6 / .889
PEB / 7-1 / 1.5 / 3-1 / W3 / .875
ESB /5-5 / 4.5 / 1-5 / W1 / .500
NA / 4-5 / 5 / 3-3 / L1 / .444
FRD / 4-7 / 6 / 3-3 / W2 / .363
WHK / 4-7 / 6 / 3-3 / L3 / .363
LYN / 3-9 / 7.5 / 2-3 / L2 / .250
FAY / 2-8 / 7.5 / 1-5 / L1 / .200
WU / 1-10 / 9 / 0-6 / L8 / .090


DIVISION 1
Team - SHL - PCT. - GB - W/L - PCT. - STREAK

RIP / 5-0 / 1.000 / - / 8-1 / .889 / W6
NA / 3-3 / .500 / 2.5 / 4-5 / .444 / L1
LYN / 2-3 / .400 / 3 / 3-9 / .250 / L2
ESB / 1-5 / .167 / 4.5 / 5-5 / .500 / W1
WU / 0-6 / .000 / 5.5 / 1-10 / .090 / L8


DIVISION 2
Team - SHL - PCT. - GB - W/L - PCT. - STREAK

MAN / 7-0 / 1.000 / - / 10-1 / .909 / W8
PEB / 3-1 / .750 / 2.5 / 7-1 / .875 / W3
FRD / 3-3 / .500 / 3.5 / 4-7 / .363 / W2
WHK / 3-3 / .500 / 3.5 / 4-7 / .363 / L3
FAY / 1-5 / .167 / 4.5 / 2-8 / .200 / L8

*League Game.

[jchitwood]

Finally got the Lynchburg Miami-Trace score.

[jchitwood]

seriously the jays over the hounds...wow thats dumb

Jays have beaten tougher competition...so far.

[jchitwood]

were any shl games played tuesday? I assumed they were all cancelled.

[jchitwood]

Cancellation dates?

[socfan]

North Adams @ Ripley- Rescheduled for Sat Jan. 22nd.

[peeblesfan97]

I have heard Peebles will make up their game @ Fayetteville on Tuesday, January 18th.

[jchitwood]

postponements added...any word on the Eastern/St. Pat's game?

[HoundsAre4Real]

Big game for Manchester 2nite, just seems like the boys never play well when they go to Fayetteville

[jchitwood]

Scores for tonight are: Fairfield 71/Whiteoak 48....Bigger score than I expected; Peebles 73/EB 54...Eastern's really down this year; Ripley 73/Lynchburg 53...no surprises; Manchester 72/Fayetteville 60....I'm surprised it was so close; West Union 56/North Adams 64....much closer than I expected.

[streetballer]

manchester game wouldnt have been close if it wasnt for the refs

[jchitwood]

manchester game wouldnt have been close if it wasnt for the refs

[Ohioguy23]

refs had nothing to do with it......we built the lead to 20 early in the 2nd quarter,then the boys took their foot off the pedal....blake had a big night,just missed a triple-double...8? blocks i counted

[Grinder]

manchester game wouldnt have been close if it wasnt for the refs

Are you in jr high or what? I guess there is a conspiracy going on, it seems that OHSAA has told all of the officials to cheat Manchester. Grow up bud an enjoy the fact Manchester is having a great season, don't cheapen it by crying about officiating. It makes you and your school look bad.

[jchitwood]

A couple articles already online about Friday's games:
Fairfield Whiteoak:
http://highlandcountypress.com/main.asp ... cleID=6505

North Adams West Union:
http://highlandcountypress.com/main.asp ... M=69958.92

[boomer633]

Wonder if the refs will be blamed for the close score between Manchester and North Adams tonight as Manchester only wins by 5 with the final score or 64-59. Great job by North Adams to keep this game close and even leading for most of the game. Travis Coombs with another big night for Manchester with 30 points. Sounded like a great game and both teams played hard.

[BuckeyeFan2011]

Fairfield knocks off 10-1 Miami Trace 64-56. Cox with 26, Rolark with 17, Ferrell with 11.

[airforcejm]

manchester game wouldnt have been close if it wasnt for the refs

Are you in jr high or what? I guess there is a conspiracy going on, it seems that OHSAA has told all of the officials to cheat Manchester. Grow up bud an enjoy the fact Manchester is having a great season, don't cheapen it by crying about officiating. It makes you and your school look bad.

One person on a message board isn't going to make a school look bad. The game was closer than I expected though. What are the stats on Blevins? It's going to be interesting when Fairfield and Manchester play each other.

[streetballer]

wow fairfield knock off miami trace..cant wait for fairfield-manchester

[jchitwood]

Williamsburg over West Union 59-42, and Eastern Brown over South Point 48-44.