Published: 9/30/2022 5:59:37 PM
Modified: 9/30/2022 5:55:24 PM
Want to know where your team stands heading into October? Check out the MIAA Power Rankings.
The MIAA released its first list of power rankings for the fall season on Friday, offering a glimpse of which teams are in a good position to play in the state tournament, and who has some work to do to compete with the state’s best later this month.
Teams are ranked based on a formula that factors in average margin of victory and opponent ranking. The top 16 in each division — as long as they have a record over .500 — make the state tournament in football, while the top 32, as well as any team with a better-than-.500 record, qualifies for the state tournament in all other sports. As always, the power rankings are based off records recorded on Arbiter.com, which are not always up to date.
If the season were to end now, the Division 4 field hockey field would be littered with Recorder area schools.
Greenfield (5-2-2) sits as the No. 2 seed while Frontier (5-1-2) is in the No. 4 spot. Pioneer (5-1) has had a great season and the MIAA has taken notice, ranking them No. 6. Franklin Tech (6-2-1) is the No. 13 ranked team while Turners Falls (3-5) sits at No. 31. All five schools would earn automatic bids if the season ended today. Mohawk Trail (0-7) is ranked No. 44 while Mahar (1-8) is the No. 51 seed in Div. 3. Central Mass. power Uxbridge is the No. 1 seed in the initial field hockey rankings.
The Div. 5 volleyball field is also littered with Recorder area schools. Frontier and Turners are the highest-ranked teams, the Redhawks (10-0) sitting at No. 2 and Thunder (8-2) the No. 6 ranked squad.
Franklin Tech (No. 20, 7-2), Athol (27, 6-3) and Mohawk Trail (29, 2-4) all cracked the top 32 as well. Greenfield (2-5) is just outside the field, sitting at No. 35 in the rankings. Pioneer (39, 1-6) and Mahar (51, 0-8) are on the outside looking in.
The high school football season is still young, but as of now, no Recorder area school sits inside the top 16. Greenfield, the lone area football team to make the inaugural state tournament a year ago, is ranked No. 18 in the Div. 7 field following its 2-1 start.
In Div. 8, Franklin Tech (No. 21, 1-2), Frontier (23, 2-1), Mahar (31, 2-1) and Athol (41, 0-3) are all out as of now. With more than half the season to play, each team will have plenty of chances to up their making and crack the top 16.
In boys soccer, the defending Div. 4 runners-up are in position to host games throughout this year’s tourney. Frontier (3-0-2) sits at No. 2 in the power rankings, with four other Western Mass. squads joining them in the top 10. Mahar (2-5-1) is just outside the field, ranked No. 34. Pope Francis is the top-ranked team in the Div. 4 field.
In Div. 5, Pioneer (2-4-1) is ranked No. 22. Athol (37, 0-5-2), Greenfield (38, 1-5-1) and Franklin Tech (70, 6-2-1) will need strong finishes to get in, though the Eagles would be in if the season ended today as their record is over the .500 mark.
Frontier is currently the lone Recorder area school in the top 32 from the girls soccer contingent, with the Redhawks (4-2) the No. 30 ranked squad in Div. 5. Greenfield (48, 3-3), Pioneer (52, 3-3-1), Athol (67, 3-4) and Franklin Tech (71, 3-4) round out the remainder of local squads in Div. 5.
Mahar (2-7) is ranked No. 43 in the Div. 4 field.