Cathedral tames Calif. in NSCAA boys poll

Cathedral tames Calif. in NSCAA boys poll
by Will Parchman
February 13, 2014

In some states, like Mississippi, the winter high school boys season has already drawn closed the curtain. In others, like Hawaii and Florida, state champs will be decided this weekend. Still others, like Texas, have yet to reach the postseason and are still moving through all-important district play. Regardless of specific circumstance, the NSCAA regional boys polls this week reflect the heightened time of year.

Perhaps the biggest mover this week was Los Angeles power Cathedral, which hopped into the coveted No. 1 slot as the southern half of the state gears up for the CIS tourney bracket reveal next week. Here's a glimpse at the second batch of rankings from Regions I-IV and some top stories from each.

Click here to see the latest NSCAA boys national poll

Region I

Montverde assumes its customary spot atop Florida as usual, but the big shocker this week came from Cypress Bay, which had its quest for a Class 5A state title four-peat shockingly ended by unheralded Columbus. The 2-1 overtime win on Friday booked Columbus' place at the state tournament this week for the first time in school history. Columbus, which moves into the poll at No. 10 this week, had won just one regional tournament game before this season. Boca Raton supplants Cypress Bay at No. 3 with its 20-1-2 record in the state 5A semifinals this week.

1. Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.)

2. Oviedo (Oviedo, Fla.)

3. Boca Raton (Boca Raton, Fla.)

4. Merritt Island (Merritt Island, Fla.)

5. Melbourne (Melbourne, Fla.)

6. Sun Lake (Land O' Lakes, Fla.)

7. Gulliver Prep (Miami, Fla.)

8. Palmetto (Palmetto, Fla.)

9. Fleming Island (Orange Park, Fla.)

t10. West Orange (Winter Garden, Fla.)

t10. Columbus (Miami, Fla.)

t10. American Heritage (Delray Beach, Fla.)

Region II

Brother Martin's 19-0-0 record stands tall in the state of Louisiana as a beacon of success, so the New Orleans program naturally kept hold of its top spot this week. Madison Central and Northwest Rankin swapped spots at No. 2 and No. 4 this week after Central won its second straight 6A state title last week to wrap up a 22-1-2 season. In Louisiana, it's an especially interesting time of year in Division I, since No. 1 Brother Martin, No. 3 St. Paul's and No. 7 Catholic are all in the same bracket.

1. Brother Martin (New Orleans, La.)

2. Madison Central (Madison, Miss.)

3. St. Paul's School (Covington, La.)

4. Northwest Rankin (Brandon, Miss.)

5. Bolton (Alexandria, La.)

6. St. Louis Catholic (Lake Charles, La.)

7. Catholic (Baton Rouge, La.)

8. Northlake Christian (Covington, La.)

9. Brandon (Brandon, Miss.)

10. Pearl (Pearl, Miss.)

Region III

There was no change in Texas inside the top six this week as teams plunged into district play. The most notable shift came from 5A behemoth Allen, which posted a 3-1 loss to No. 1 Marcus to drop to 6-4-1 to start February. Klein Forest moved into the poll to replace the Eagles at No. 7.

1. Marcus (Flower Mound, Texas)

2. Coppell (Coppell, Texas)

3. The Woodlands (The Woodlands, Texas)

4. Laredo United (Laredo, Texas)

5. Rivera (Brownsville, Texas)

6. Liberty (Frisco, Texas)

7. Klein Forest (Klein, Texas)

8. Rockwall (Rockwall, Texas)

9. Duncanville (Duncanville, Texas)

t10. Brandeis (San Antonio, Texas)

t10. Faith Christian (Grapevine, Texas)

Region IV

Voters could no longer ignore L.A.'s Cathedral, which rocketed from No. 3 to the top of California's coveted region for the first time this season. Cathedral boasts several DI commits, including Axel Mendez, who also plays with the L.A. Galaxy academy and is headed to UC Santa Barbara in the fall. The CIS-SS brackets aren't released until next week, but expect Cathedral to get plenty of glances as the state favorites to win all the hardware. Loyola, last week's No. 1, slides down to No. 2. Hawaii state favorite at No. 9 Iolani begins its state tournament journey on Thursday this week.

1. Cathedral (Los Angeles, Calif.)

2. Loyola (Los Angeles, Calif.)

3. Edison (Huntington Beach, Calif.)

4. San Clemente (San Clemente, Calif.)

5. Brophy Prep (Phoenix, Ariz.)

6. Servite (Anaheim, Calif.)

7. El Toro (Lake Forest, Calif.)

8. Hamilton (Chandler, Ariz.)

9. Iolani School (Honolulu, Hawaii)

10. Monte Vista (Danville, Calif.)

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