Week 9 Rankings and Recap

<strong>1. Lake Highland Prep (11-0) </strong> LHP did not have a game this week. They’ve had some time to rest since their big win over Montverde. The Highlanders look like an excellent candidate to repeat as 4A Champions. 4A looks a little tougher this season, but LHP also looks like they’ve taken a step up from last year. <strong style="font-size: 1rem;">2. Montverde (13-1) </strong> MVA is also on a little break. They still have 4 teams on their schedule that are ranked in our top 15 starting with Palm Bay tonight, Plant on Friday, and DME on Saturday. They didn’t shy away from competition at all this season, and it shows. <strong>3. American Heritage (12-2-1)</strong> AH Plantation is continuing to show why they are one of the best in the state. Their only two losses were to two of the top teams in the entire nation. Last week, they picked up two wins against a good team in STA and a quality team in North Miami. Could the Patriots win 5A for a fourth year in a row? I think they have a really good shot with the lineup they put out, but I think 5A is a smidge stronger this year than last<em>. </em> <em>Week 9 Results: W @ St. Thomas Aquinas (53-43), W vs. North Miami (60-41) </em> <strong>4. Blanche Ely (9-0-1)</strong> Ely used an impressive second half to pull away from Miami Christian after being down 1 at the half. This is not a team that I would want to play against come playoff time. They are absolutely loaded, but once again, I think 6A is even better this year too. <em>Week 9 Results: W vs. Boyd Anderson (76-34), W vs. Miami Christian (63-45)</em> <strong>5. Winter Haven (10-0)</strong> WH had their busiest week of the season, and they took care of business. This is another team that has a lot of talent, and they will need it if they want to make their way to the state tournament. [player_tooltip player_id="91537" first="Trinity" last="Hardy"], [player_tooltip player_id="145100" first="Jayla" last="Murray"], [player_tooltip player_id="219962" first="Shomari" last="Phillips"], and [player_tooltip player_id="91519" first="Jasmine" last="Peaks"] all scored in double digits against Eustis. <em>Week 9 Results: W @ Eustis (69-47), W @ Liberty (61-15), W vs. Lake Wales (80-35), W vs. Mitchell (88-37)</em> <strong>6. Central Pointe Christian Academy (18-1)</strong> Luckily, for most of the other schools listed, this is another impressive Independent team in Florida that they will not have to see when the postseason arrives. They took down three of the better teams in the state while holding all three to 35% or below shooting from the field. This has to be the best defensive team in the state. I was very impressed with [player_tooltip player_id="219994" first="Naylee" last="Cortes"] and [player_tooltip player_id="219993" first="Silkiari" last="Vazquez"] when I saw them in person. <em>Week 9 Results: W vs. Braden River (67-33), W vs. City of Life (34-27), W vs. Palm Bay (54-40)</em> <strong>7. Braden River (8-3)</strong> This team is not the same without [player_tooltip player_id="91479" first="O’Mariah" last="Gordon"] (for obvious reasons). Central Pointe handled them pretty easily without her, but it would be a much different game if she played. They’ll have two tough matchups this week with Booker and Fort Myers. Hopefully OG will be healthy for those two, or [player_tooltip player_id="91507" first="Cheyenne" last="Stubbs"] and other Pirates players will need to step up in a big way. <em>Week 9 Results: L vs. CPCA (67-33)</em> <strong>8. Plant (16-1)</strong> Plant is proving their legitimacy as the top 7A team in the state. In last week’s win, [player_tooltip player_id="91489" first="Kendal" last="Cheesman"] has 14 points with 5 assists and was helped by [player_tooltip player_id="145094" first="Nyla" last="Jean"] (12p) and [player_tooltip player_id="166173" first="Tanner" last="Strickland"] (10p). The Panthers have a few more tough games before they can avenge their heartbreaking 7A title loss from last year. <em>Week 9 Results: W @ Newsome (51-24)</em> <strong style="font-size: 1rem;">9. Palm Bay (14-2)</strong> The Pirates had a roller coaster of a week with a massive victory and a tough loss. Both of their losses have been to two of the best in Florida, but they’ve both also been 14 point games. This team still has all of the pieces to make a run in 5A. They’ll have another big test with Montverde tonight. <em>Week 9 Results: W vs. Edgewood (83-5), L vs. CPCA (54-40)</em> <strong>10. Dunbar (18-0)</strong> The Tigers took two easy dubs last week, but they will have their hands full this week against Fort Myers. They beat them by 9 in the last matchup, so it they can get by them again, they could finish the regular season undefeated. <em>Week 9 Results: W vs. Palmetto Ridge (74-16), W @ North Fort Myers (95-5)</em> &nbsp; <strong>Next Five:</strong> <em>Tampa Bay Tech (5-0), Westminster (11-3), FSU High (11-2), DME (12-3), Wekiva (14-3)</em>