I hope you’ve enjoyed Reinhart’s Rankings: The New Era 9.
I’ve certainly had a great time putting the rankings together every week. And I need you to know that my rankings are for entertainment purposes only.
I’ve actually heard people talking about my rankings, and I’ve got quite a few e-mails and posts about the rankings over the last couple of weeks.
If nothing else, I’ve sparked some debate, which is always good.
But I’ve just tried to have some fun with the rankings, and give teams credit where credit is due. So don’t hate me if you think I’m dissing your team just because they lost a game last week.
That said, I’m ready to present my final Reinhart’s Rankings for the 2006-07 season – and what a regular season it was, with not one but two one-game playoffs to decide section championships. It didn’t get any better than that.
OK, the rankings …
- Lancaster Catholic (last week 1) 16-0, 21-2 – Section 4 champs? Check. Reigning L-L League and District 3 Triple-A champs? Check and check. Veteran players who have been through a bunch of big games, including games played in the Giant Center? Check. Plus, the Crusaders’ two losses are to York Catholic and Trinity (both by 14 points), who are ranked 1-2 in the state in Double-A. Monster game vs. McCaskey in the first round of the L-L League playoffs looms (who makes up these brackets by the way?), but expect a deep run in the next month.
- Cedar Crest (last week 5) 15-2, 21-3 – Not a bad week by the Falcons, eh? Beat Warwick on Monday in a must-win game (and senior guard Allison Smith got her 1,000th-career point on the same night), beat McCaskey on Thursday in the ultimate must-win game, just to force a tie, and then beat McCaskey again (less than 24 hours later) on a neutral court in a one-game playoff for the Section 1 crown. Whew! Just a hunch, but Crest-McCaskey IV (that’s 4, right? I stink with Roman numerals) could be on the horizon in Districts. <If they meet, and if Crest makes it 4-for-4, I’m hoping no distraught McCaskey fans heave water bottles across the floor at Crest’s bench, like at Penn Manor the other night. Not cool.>
- Lebanon (last week 4) 14-3, 17-7 – I really like the Cedars. I said before that they are my sleeper team in the L-L League playoffs, and they have enough experience and firepower to make a run in the District 3 Triple-A playoffs (if they can avoid Lancaster Catholic in the second round, like last year). Came up huge in the clutch against Lampeter-Strasburg in the Section 3 title bout on Friday. Gritty team with a bunch of seniors who can defend and shoot, and I have no problem ranking them this high. You got a problem with that?
- McCaskey (last week 2) 14-3, 20-4 – As coach Brian McCloud told me Friday after the Red Tornado’s gut-wrenching loss to Cedar Crest in the Section 1 championship game, maybe it just wasn’t meant to be for McCaskey, which could not hold on to its one-game lead at the start of the last week. Will still be a force to be reckoned with in the postseason, however. Don’t count this group out, especially with junior point guard Teasia Myers at the helm. This is when she got hot last year. Remember? If you don’t, the next time you’re at McCaskey, look for the 2006 District 3 Quad-A gold trophy in the case in the lobby. Myers’ fingerprints are all over it.
- Lampeter-Strasburg (last week 6) 13-4, 17-7 – Showed some big-time guts stepping up and knocking off Lebanon (handily: 46-29) on the last night of league play to force the one-gamer for the Section 3 crown. Still can’t believe I picked the Pioneers to finish fourth. Might have had something to do with the four new sophomore starters at the beginning of the season, I guess. Say hello to your 2007-08 Section 3 favorites.
- Conestoga Valley (last week 9) 9-7, 13-10 – Not the prettiest record of all time for a section champ, but the Buckskins gutted it out down the stretch and clinched the crown despite some serious hiccups late in the season. I’ve said from the start that CV is going to cause some headaches in the postseason. We’ll see if I’m right starting Monday.
- Hempfield (last week 3) 13-3, 19-4 – But Jeff, No. 3 to No. 7? No love for the Black Knights? Hardly true. I just had to rank teams that won section championships ahead of Hempfield, even though the Knights are having a great season, and were in the section chase right up until Monday, when Cedar Crest knocked off Warwick (giving Crest the tiebreaker). I picked Hempfield to finish second behind McCaskey, and the Knights certainly made a good run at it – and will again next year, when four starters return. Hello!
- Warwick (last week 7) 10-6, 15-8 – Really latched on to the Warriors and they’re great run this season. Great bunch of kids – kids I picked to finish fifth (woops). Not only did they finish fourth (in a dynamite section that needed a playoff to settle the score), they upset Cedar Crest and scared the living daylights out of everyone else in the section. Wouldn’t be surprised if they make some noise in Districts, either.
- Lebanon Catholic (last week not ranked) 10-6, 10-13 – Welcome to my rankings, Beavers. Lebanon Catholic flew under the radar much of the season (must’ve been that 0-6 start), but got hot when it counted. The Beavers won their last four games in a row (and 7 of the last 8) to leapfrog Lancaster Mennonite and take second place in Section 4, setting up an all-Lebanon County first-rounder when the Beavers take on Cedar Crest in the L-L League quarters. Go crazy, Lebanon County.
Also receiving consideration (listed alphabetically): Elco (10-6, 13-10), Garden Spot (7-9, 11-12), Lancaster Mennonite (9-7, 15-8), Manheim Central (11-5, 14-9), Manheim Township (7-9, 13-10).
Reinhart’s Rankings: The New Era 9 should return later this fall for L-L League football, my other favorite beat of all time.
Assuming I’m still blogging in September (and fine people like you are still clicking on my page), I’m hoping to post the same sort of stories and stats and rankings for high school football – which is pretty big around here, if you haven’t heard.
