Boys Super 7 poll-Week 5

UA joins poll as Northland remains No. 1

Monday,  January 5, 2009 2:02 PM

From staff reports

There's only one change in the Super 7 this week, but there really seems to be little difference between second-ranked Dublin Scioto and No. 7 newcomer Upper Arlington, which replaces Canal Winchester.

That's right, the Bears barely make it into the rankings despite being 8-0. The reason? In addition to having the top six from last week all win their games, UA has played a relatively easy schedule so far. We'll learn more about the Bears over the next couple weeks when they play Hilliard Davidson on Saturday and Dublin Coffman -- which again just misses the rankings -- on Jan. 16.

The most likely candidate to have a struggle this week is Grove City, which must play host to Gahanna on Tuesday and travel to an improving Pickerington Central on Friday. If the Greyhounds survive those two games, they would set themselves up for a big move.

Any other potential worries this week? It's always a worry for the teams in the OCC-Ohio -- in this case, Newark must play Pickerington Central on Tuesday and Pickerington North on Friday.

It doesn't seem like Scioto will budge from No. 2 any time soon, but then again, we didn't think the Irish would struggle as they did against Independence last week. Whether that means Scioto is vulnerable remains to be seen.

1. NORTHLAND (4-0 overall, 2-0 City-North) -- Last week: Did not play. This week: At Columbus East (Tuesday); Home vs. Whetstone (Friday); At Ohio State vs. Cincinnati Aiken in Play-by-Play Classic. Previous ranking: No. 1

2. DUBLIN SCIOTO (7-1, 4-0 OCC-Cardinal) -- Last week: Def. Independence 50-45 in overtime (Dec. 30); def. Mount Vernon 41-29 (Jan. 2). This week: Home vs. Olentangy Liberty (Tuesday); At Dublin Jerome (Friday). Previous ranking: No. 2

3. DeSALES (7-1, 2-0 CCL) -- Last week: Def. Corona del Mar (Calif) 69-42 (Dec. 29); def. Plant City (Fla.) 57-41. This week: Home vs. Hartley (Friday). Previous ranking: No. 3

4. WORTHINGTON CHRISTIAN (6-1, 1-1 CCL) -- Last week: Did not play. This week: Home vs. Columbus Academy (Tuesday); Home vs. St. Charles (Friday); at Ohio State vs. Trotwood-Madison (Saturday) in Play-by-Play Classic. Previous ranking: No. 4

5. NEWARK (6-2, 3-1 OCC-Ohio) -- Last week: Def. Westerville South 61-44. This week: Home vs. Pickerington Central (Tuesday); At Pickerington North (Friday); At Logan (Saturday). Previous ranking: No. 5

6. GROVE CITY (6-1, 3-1 OCC-Ohio) -- Last week: Def. Cincinnati Oak Hills 65-52. This week: Home vs. Gahanna (Tuesday); at Pickerington Central (Friday). Previous ranking: No. 6

7. UPPER ARLINGTON (8-0, 4-0 OCC-Central) -- Last week: Def. Bloom-Carroll 61-47; def. Centerburg 80-48. This week: At Westland (Tuesday); Home vs. Hilliard Davidson (Friday). Previous ranking: Not ranked

Others to watch: Beechcroft, Dublin Coffman, Gahanna