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Well the cup tournaments made it even harder to pick a Top 20. With Nos. 2-6 all losing in cup play, both sides of the state tournament bracket look wide open. This is the final Top 20 ranking until the season-end ranking after the NJSIAA tournament.
Check out the White/Blue Top 20 ranking for lower-division teams.
Top 20 (records as available through 2/29/03)
1—Delbarton (18-3-5, 11-0-2 MCSSIHL Mennen) Last Week – 1
Mennen Cup: champion (MB 3-2)
State Tournament: parochial No. 1 (vs. HC/MD)
Only Top-6 team not to lose last week, and the Green Wave finally beat Beard to win sixth straight Mennen Cup.
2—Bergen Catholic (14-6-3, 9-3-2 Gordon Conference) Last Week – 7
Gordon Cup: champion (SHP 4-2)
State Tournament: parochial No. 7 (vs. MB)
Disappointing all season, the Crusaders put it together for a fantastic Gordon Cup run.
3—Seton Hall Prep (14-9-1, 11-3 Gordon Conference) Last Week – 5
Gordon Cup: runner-up (BC 2-4)
State Tournament: parochial No. 2 (vs. SJMet/ND)
Pirates earn huge 2-1 win over CBA but can’t continue Gordon Cup dominance in final.
4—CBA (15-8-1, 8-5-1 Gordon Conference) Last Week – 2
Gordon Cup: semifinalist (SHP 1-2)
State Tournament: parochial No. 3 (vs. PC)
Colts lose second game on ice all season in semifinals after impressive 5-0 demolition of DBP.
5—St. John Vianney (14-6-2, 10-4 Gordon Conference) Last Week – 6
Gordon Cup: semifinalist (BC 2-3)
State Tournament: parochial No. 6 (vs. BE)
Lancers go out in first cup game and face stern state-tournament test.
6—Don Bosco Prep (14-8-1, 8-5-1 Gordon) Last Week – 3
Gordon Cup: lost first round (CBA 0-5)
State Tournament: parochial No. 4 (vs. MKA)
Ironmen have lost three in a row against quality competition.
7—Bishop Eustace (16-2-1, 11-2-1 Southern Red) Last Week – 10
Handchen Cup: champion (SA 5-1)
State Tournament: parochial No. 11 (@ SJV)
Crusaders win surprisingly lopsided cup final to reach highest ranking of year.
8—Pope John (19-4-1, 12-0 Northern Red) Last Week – 8
Hoerner Cup: champion (Para 2-1)
State Tournament: parochial No. 9 (@ SA)
Lions unconvincing in narrow cup final victory, but they do run the table.
9—Ridge (15-4-3, 9-3-2 Central Red) Last Week – 11
McInnis Cup: champion (SPP 5-3)
State Tournament: public No. 1 (vs. Jef/MH)
Red
Devils earn only win of the year against SPP on the biggest stage.
10—St. Augustine Prep (18-2-2, 11-1-2 Southern Red) Last Week – 9
Handchen Cup: runner-up (BE 1-5)
State Tournament: parochial No. 8 (vs. PJ)
Hermits need to regroup in search of first-ever state tournament victory.
11—Morristown-Beard (12-5-5, 7-2-4 MCSSIHL Mennen) Last Week – 12
Mennen Cup: runner-up (Del 2-3)
State Tournament: parochial No. 10 (@ BC)
Crimson come up just short again, losing cup to Delbarton for fifth time in six seasons.
12—St. Peter’s Prep (22-3, 13-1 Central Red) Last Week – 4
McInnis Cup: runner-up (Rid 3-5)
State Tournament: parochial No. 5 (vs. RBC)
Marauders severely outplayed in cup final but have talent to reach semifinals and beyond.
13—West Essex (13-6-4, 5-4-4 Central Red) Last Week – 15
McInnis Cup: semifinalist (SPP 3-4)
State Tournament: public No. 3 (vs. WMC/IH)
Knights face tricky tests to reach public semifinals.
14—Middletown North (20-5, 11-3 Southern White) Last Week – 18
Dowd Cup: champion (TRS 3-2)
State Tournament: public No. 5 (vs. Mill/Pri)
Lions triumph in ultra-competitive Dowd Cup to prove No. 5 seed is no fluke.
15—Toms River South (17-6, 11-3 Southern White) Last Week – 17
Dowd Cup: runner-up (MidN 2-3)
State Tournament: public No. 6 (vs. WO/Hac)
Indians fall one-goal short of season-long rival Middletown North.
16—Morris Knolls (15-7-2, 7-5-1 MCSSIHL Mennen) Last Week – 13
Mennen Cup: semifinalist (Del 2-12)
State Tournament: public No. 2 (vs. OT)
Golden Eagles need strong tourney to recover from 10-goal Mennen Cup loss.
17—Randolph (12-7-3, 7-4-2 MCSSIHL Mennen) Last Week – 14
Mennen Cup: semifinalist (MB 0-2)
State Tournament: public No. 4 (vs. WWPS/Ste)
Defending public champion Rams still have the speed to go all the way.
18—South Brunswick (12-10, 6-8 Southern Red) Last Week – NR
Handchen Cup: semifinalist (BE 5-6)
State Tournament: public No. 7 (vs. Rwood)
I’m not a complete believer, but the Vikings earn some respect with RBC win, BE performance.
19—Montclair (13-8-4, 5-6-3 Central Red) Last Week – NR
McInnis Cup: semifinalist (Rid 1-2)
State Tournament: public No. 13 (vs. Lak)
Mounties showed well in cup play and should meet Randolph in an intriguing second-round game.
20—Paramus (17-6-1, 7-5 Northern Red) Last Week – NR
Hoerner Cup: runner-up (PJ 1-2)
State Tournament: public No. 8 (vs. ML/Nut)
Spartans more than respectable in championship loss to Pope John.
Best of the Rest (ranks 21-32, alphabetically)
Bridgewater-Raritan
Chatham
Lakeland
Mendham
Middletown South
Montclair-Kimberley
Montgomery
Notre Dame
Paramus Catholic
Red Bank Catholic
Rumson/Fair Haven
WWPS
Previous Polls: Dec. 15 | Dec. 22 | Dec. 29 | Jan. 5 | Jan. 12 | Jan. 19 | Jan. 26 | Feb. 2 | Feb. 9 | Feb. 16
White/Blue Polls: Dec. 29 | Jan. 5 | Jan. 12 | Jan. 19 | Jan. 26 | Feb. 2 | Feb. 9 | Feb. 16 | Mar. 1