SHL Rankings, Scores and Standings Week #6

[jchitwood]

Holiday Tournaments have wrapped up, with Eastern Brown taking first prize in Brown County, Ripley winning the Ripley Pepsi Challenge, Lynchburg taking home second place in the Wilkin Scholarship, and Manchester winning their first-ever Adams County Tournament victory.

Now we’re back to the grind as teams face a week of League games that will separate contenders from pretenders. Your rankings and games:

1. The Ripley Blue Jays (5-1, 2-0) are in a three-way tie for 1st place in the SHL overall. Tuesday they play Eastern Brown. Before injuries to Eastern, this was one of the most anticipated matchups of the season, but now Ripley is probably the favorite by about 10 points. The Jays won their Pepsi Challenge handily, and so far they've shown other SHL teams how hard it is to win in the Wild West.

2. How much fun is it to be a Manchester Greyhound (5-1, 2-0) right now? The Hounds squeaked by league favorite Peebles by 2 points in one of the greatest SHL showdowns these nearsighted eyes have ever seen, then they win their first Adams County McDonalds Holiday Tourney.

They have a HUGE week of league games ahead of them, facing the SHL Div. 2-leading Whiteoak Wildcats. They then host Eastern Brown in the Gym Down by the River on Friday. If the Hounds want to keep their momentum rolling into a league championship, this should be their week.

3. The Peebles Indians (5-1, 1-1) rebounded from their loss against Manchester by blowing out West Union. The loss will refocus the team and make them stronger, long-term. Coach Arey’s Indians are no doubt looking forward to the January 25th Manchester rematch, at the Reservation.

4. North Adams (3-2, 2-0) looks to continue their undefeated league record against Lynchburg on Friday. Currently the Legendary Dave Young's Green Devils are tied atop the Div. 1 SHL with Ripley. I don't think they have the players to stay there all year, but they can make gains against a subpar Mustang squad.

5. The Wildcats of Whiteoak (4-4, 3-0) have yet to lose a league game (unless their match against NA earlier in the year was a league game, in which case I'd have standings to correct). That means they currently lead the SHL Div. 2 standings against powerhouse rivals Peebles and Manchester. That lead is in jeopardy this week as they play two road games against the Hounds and the Tribe. It’s hard to win in the Gym Down by the River and the Sweat Lodge.

(all right…“Sweat Lodge” isn’t the best nickname for the Peebles gym, but I’m open to suggestions…. “teepee” sounds lame, as does “long house” and “adobe hut”…how about the “Buffalo Killing Fields”? Or the “Warpath”? Although “Warpath” sounds more like something you’re on and not something you visit, isn’t it? It’s hard to think of a nickname without reducing oneself to a lot of American Indian puns. If you like, we can have a contest to nickname the Peebles gym…it’s not as easy as the Lion’s Den, Dragons’ Lair, The Green Seventh Circle….)

ANYWAYS...Whiteoak has one of the toughest SHL schedules (along with Fairfield, Manchester, and Ripley) and only their early-season loss to North Adams keeps them out of the #4 spot.

6. Eastern Brown (4-2, 1-2). Eastern isn't having the year anyone expected, but it's not too late to salvage their hopes at a league title with a win over Ripley. Even with injuries, it's hard to count out Buchler's Boys. They scored their highest season total--60--against Georgetown in the BCT finals (unless I'm missing the score of their Western Brown game)...that offense needs to improve for them to take down Ripley.

7. The Lynchburg-Clay Mustangs (2-6, 1-2) play Miami Trace in the SHL’s only Saturday game. They had impressive showing in the Wilkin Scholarship tournament.

8. Ye Rockets o'Fayetteville (1-6, 0-3) face the WU Dragons, in league play. It should be a competitive game, as both sides need to start racking up some SHL victories.

9. The West Union Dragons (1-5, 0-3) continue to struggle, but should be competitive this week when they play Clermont Northeastern. CNE is 0-3 against SHL teams this season, and here’s hoping they continue that streak in the Dragon’s Lair.

10. The Fairfield Lions (0-6, 0-2) have struggled to find their first win after losing Chris Cox to an injury. They have a good chance to score a W against Fayetteville on Tuesday, but will have their hands full against Ripley on Friday. The Lions have one of the toughest schedules in the SHL, and they need to grab victories where they can find them until Cox gets healthy.

This week's BIG GAME: Whiteoak @ Manchester....if the Cats upset the Dogs, it will shift the balance mightily in Division 2.
The OTHER BIG GAME: Ripley @ Eastern. Must win for the Warriors..are they going to be 100% healthy anytime soon?

Your Games:

Tuesday, January 4th
Cleremont Northeastern 61
West Union 38

*Fayetteville 51
Fairfield 65

*Ripley 55
Eastern 46

*Whiteoak 61
Manchester 75

Wednesday, January 5th
*Fairfield 85
North Adams 47

Friday, January 7th
*Eastern 39
Manchester 53

*Fairfield 51
Ripley 61

*Fayetteville 66
West Union 38

*North Adams 37
Lynchburg Clay 74

*Whiteoak 70
Peebles 78

Saturday, January 8th
Lynchburg 59
Miami Trace 66

*Manchester 77
West Union 39

Southern Hills League Standings

OVERALL:
Team - W/L - GB - SHL - STREAK - PCT.

MN / 8-1 / - / 5-0 / W6 / .889
RIP / 7-1 / .5 / 4-0 / W4 / .875
PEB / 6-1 / 1 / 2-1 / W2 / .857
ESB /4-4 / 3.5 / 1-4 / L2 / .500
NA / 3-4 / 4 / 2-2 / L3 / .428
WHK / 4-6 / 4.5 / 3-2 / L2 / .400
*LYN / 3-6 / 5 / 2-2 / W1 / .333
FAY / 2-7 / 6 / 1-4 / W1 / .222
FRD / 2-7 / 6 / 2-3 / L1 / .222
WU / 1-8 / 7 / 0-5 / L6 / .111


DIVISION 1
Team - SHL - PCT. - GB - W/L - PCT. - STREAK

RIP / 4-0 / 1.000 / - / 7-1 / .875 / W5
NA / 2-2 / .500 / 2 / 3-4 / .428 / L3
*LYN / 2-2 / .500 / 2 / 3-6 / .333 / W1
ESB / 1-4 / .200 / 3.5 / 4-4 / .500 / L2
WU / 0-5 / .000 / 4.5 / 1-8 / .111 / L6


DIVISION 2
Team - SHL - PCT. - GB - W/L - PCT. - STREAK

MAN / 5-0 / 1.000 / - / 8-1 / .889 / W6
PEB / 2-1 / .667 / 2 / 6-1 / .857 / W2
WHK / 3-2 / .600 / 2 / 4-6 / .400 / L2
FRD / 2-3 / .400 / 3 / 2-7 / .222 / L1
FAY / 1-4 / .200 / 4 / 2-7 / .222 / L7

[socfan]

chitwood, add another game to the schedule for this week: North Adams will host Fairfield in a make-up league contest on Wednesday night.

[jchitwood]

chitwood, add another game to the schedule for this week: North Adams will host Fairfield in a make-up league contest on Wednesday night.

thanks.

[squiggy]

add another league game manchester@west union on sat jan,8

[jchitwood]

done and done.

[TribeManiac10]

Just throwing wigwam out there again for the Peebles gym.

[jchitwood]

hard to think of somethig that's not a bad Indian pun...

[jchitwood]

Manchester over Whiteoak, 75-61. Manchester 's now in the driver's seat in the small school division.

[jchitwood]

According to c103, Fairfield stops the bleeding and gets their first win over Fayetteville. Ripley is looking invincible in the Big School division after dropping EB by nine, and West Union has a disappointing 23-point loss to CNE.

[airforcejm]

I expected Manchester to win by more but i'll take it. They had a 20 point halftime lead at 40-20. Whiteoak made adjustments and came out playing some good D. They are much better than what their record is. It sucks to see WU lose to CNE. I was hoping the SHL would go undefeated against them.

[jchitwood]

Chris Cox has returned, and is apparently 100% healthy after scoring 24 points tonight. I had heard that he tried to return in a previous game, but had to sit out. This is definitely good news for Fairfield, and bad news for North Adams.

[jchitwood]

Highland County Press article: http://highlandcountypress.com/main.asp ... cleID=6359

[jchitwood]

A resurgent Fairfield thumps North Adams, 85-47

http://highlandcountypress.com/main.asp ... cleID=6359

[jchitwood]

Cox scores 35, Lions lead 71-29 at end of the third.

[jimmy chipwood]

What in the world is going on with North Adams lately? Back to back 38 point beatings - I dont know if that has ever happened in history of school. Even during the thin years of 1986-88 I cant remember them getting pounded this bad. Anybody know something the rest of us dont?

[jchitwood]

Dollich led the team in scoring with 10...I think that's a season low for him.

I haven't seen NA play this year...I expected them to lose to Manchester by a high margin, but wins against Whiteoak and Eastern made me turn my head. They are a young team, so you can count on them being inconsistent.

[airforcejm]

The Fairfield and Ripley game will be a good one to watch. Now that Cox is back I think Fairfield has a good chance at winning.

[jchitwood]

ttt

[airforcejm]

Manchester is up 23-17 at the half.

[jchitwood]

Very physical game in Peebles, the refs are calling fouls when kids are breathing hard. PHS up 32 to 29 on Whiteoak.