By Kai Raymer (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Our power rankings are based on dominance by class. Strength of schedule and recent success are also considered.
Overall record, class level and previous ranking are listed in parenthesis.
- Catholic (17-3, Class 2, PR: 1) – Contrary to what you may think, these rankings aren’t based on head-to-head results. But looking at what Catholic’s done this season, it’s hard to argue that the Irish aren’t our best overall team, regardless of class. Their losses: Class 4 No. 10-ranked Lee’s Summit West (2-1), Class 4 Branson (PKs) and an early-season loss to rival Rogersville. Locally, they’ve taken down the area’s top Class 4 teams: Republic, Carthage, Kickapoo, Ozark and, most recently, a red-hot Nixa team. Calvin Sanders scored twice to lead Catholic to a 3-0 win at Nixa on Oct. 5. The Irish conclude the regular season on Thursday, then compete in their district tournament next week. For Catholic, it’s a chance for redemption: Two years ago, the Irish were upset in overtime in the district finals by host Fatima.
Upcoming schedule: Oct. 17 vs. Aurora, Oct. 18 vs. Willard, Oct. 22-24 @ Class 2 District 10 tournament (Fatima High School)
- Laquey (16-3, Class 1, PR: 2) – Before last night’s 2-1 home win over Fatima, it was fifty-four goalsand counting for Hornets senior Brandon MacDonald. He scored seven in Laquey’s 10-0 home win over Osage last week. The MSHSAA single-season goals record is 76. MacDonald could already be at No. 4 on that list before districts start. He’s on the verge of surpassing former Kickapoo star and MLS veteran Jack Jewsbury (59). Did I mention that Laquey is really good, too? The Hornets have won five straight since a double-overtime loss to Camdenton. They’ve held the No. 1 spot in the Class 1 rankings in the last two state polls. Laquey’s the top seed in its district tournament, which it hosts, and would likely face either Greenwood, New Covenant or Fair Grove in the Class 1 quarterfinals.
Upcoming schedule: Oct. 17 vs. Richland, Oct. 19-20 @ Stover Classic, Oct. 22-26 @ Class 1 District 5 tournament (Laquey High School)
- Ozark (17-3, Class 4, PR: 4) – Ozark has dominated all local teams outside of Catholic and Nixa, but where would they rank among the state’s top Class 4 teams? We saw a glimpse of their potential last Friday when the Tigers played No. 7-ranked Vianney to a 1-0 loss, a game that came down to a penalty kick. Ozark also received a few votes in the latest Class 4 state poll. The Tigers have steamrolled everyone else in their path since a late-September setback against Nixa and appear ready for the postseason. They clinched a share of the conference title with a 3-1 win over Republic last night. Ozark’s first step will be advancing through a tough Class 4 District 10 field that includes Nixa, Kickapoo and a much-improved Branson team.
Upcoming schedule: Oct. 18 vs. West Plains, Oct. 23 @ Smith-Cotton, Oct. 25 @ Waynesville, Oct. 30-Nov. 1 @ Class 4 District 10 tournament (Branson High School)
- Monett (15-5, Class 2, PR: 3) – That mid-season 4-0 loss to Catholic seems to be a thing of the past. Monett has stood toe-to-toe with the area’s top Class 4 teams, and while they don’t have the wins to show for it that Catholic does, the Cubs have held up well. They won’t be an easy out in the postseason. Monett has had losses to Ozark (3-1) and Carthage (2-1 in double overtime) and wins over Cassville, Bolivar and Webb City since our last power rankings. Jason Puente scored five goals in Monett’s 5-4 win at Webb City last night. That should put him (unofficially) less than a dozen goals away from the state’s all-time career record.
Upcoming schedule: Oct. 18 @ Neosho, Oct. 23-25 @ Class 2 District 9 tournament (Monett High School)
- Fair Grove (14-5-1, Class 1, PR: 8) – Does the road to the Class 1 state title come through Southwest Missouri? I mean, they’ll play the title game in St. Louis, but judging by the latest state poll, the strongest contenders to win it all reside here. Laquey, New Covenant and Fair Grove went 1-2-3 in the Oct. 11 state poll. We know what Laquey can do, New Covenant’s capable but dealing with some injuries right now, and Fair Grove may have the most explosive attack of them all. The Eagles have scored at least four goals in 11 straight matches. They thumped Rogersville 4-1 on Oct. 9 after having their nine-game winning streak snapped in a wild 7-6 overtime loss at Marshfield on Oct. 4. The Eagles are the top seed in the Class 1 District 6 tournament. If they can win their semifinal match, New Covenant or Greenwood would await in the finals. Fair Grove beat both in the regular season.
Upcoming schedule: Oct. 19-20 @ Stover Classic, Oct. 23-25 @ Class 1 District 6 tournament (Cooper Sports Complex in Springfield)
- Nixa (13-6, Class 4, PR: 5) – The Eagles cooled off a bit since their late-September surge, but the losses came against two of the state’s better programs: Class 2 No. 1-ranked Springfield Catholic (3-0) and Class 4 No. 2-ranked Chaminade (4-1). You can bet coach Evan Palmer will have his squad ready for a competitive Class 4 District 10 tournament that includes Ozark, Kickapoo and Branson. We’ve seen what the Eagles can do at full strength. Eagles senior Hunter Daniels recently had the best scoring week in program history, tallying nine goals and four assists in four games. He’ll likely receive all-state honors for the second straight season, which is not easy to do as a Class 4 player from this area.
Upcoming schedule: Oct. 18 @ Branson, Oct. 23 vs. West Plains, Oct. 25 @ Glendale
- Glendale (13-7, Class 3, PR: 6) – If there was one word to summarize this 2018 boys’ soccer season, it would be… injuries. Unfortunately. Some teams (Glendale, Rogersville) had their star players taken out by injuries. Others (Kickapoo, New Covenant) had their depth tested with multiple starters going down. The Falcons are still the favorite to advance from Class 3 District 10 (which includes Lebanon, Marshfield and West Plains), but they’ll need to really come together to make a run in the Class 3 state tournament. Glendale would likely face a rematch with Rolla in the sectional round. Those two teams went to double-overtime in the regular season meeting, with Glendale prevailing 3-2. Glendale’s large and talented senior class will look to go out with a bang. The Falcons, who won 4-2 at Branson last night behind two goals from Max Elmer, can clinch an outright Ozark Conference title tonight by beating Parkview.
Upcoming schedule: Oct. 23 @ Willard, Oct. 24 @ Hillcrest, Oct. 25 vs. Nixa
- Rolla (14-8, Class 3, PR: 7) – The Bulldogs have scoring threats all over the field, and it was Carson Arnold’s turn in a recent 6-2 win at Central. He tallied a hat trick as Rolla improved to 6-1 in its last seven games (update: now 7-1 after last night’s 4-1 win over Camdenton). The lone loss came against defending Class 3 state champ Parkway Central, 2-1. Rolla will host its district tournament and, should it advance through, would face Glendale in sectionals for the third year in a row.
Upcoming schedule: Oct. 17 vs. Kickapoo, Oct. 19 @ Rock Bridge, Oct. 19 @ Father Tolton Catholic
- Greenwood (6-10, Class 1, PR: Unranked) – Class 1 is by far our most unpredictable group, and no team exemplifies this better than Greenwood. The Blue Jays have once again turned their season around in October. Since 2015, Greenwood’s a remarkable 21-4 in this month. Greenwood only has six wins this year, but they’re 3-0 in October thus far (wins over Aurora, New Covenant and Rogersville). Greenwood plays tough competition early then peaks when it matters most. Another crazy stat: Greenwood’s received ZERO votes in the Class 1 state rankings this year but has victories over the top two teams (Laquey, New Covenant) and a 4-3 loss to the No. 3-ranked team (Fair Grove).
Upcoming schedule: Oct. 18 @ Thomas Jefferson Independent (Joplin) Oct 23-25 @ Class 1 District 6 tournament (Cooper)
- New Covenant Academy (15-6, Class 1, PR: 9) – Perhaps Tuesday night’s 1-0 win at Cassville is a sign the Warriors are returning to form (and full health) in time for districts. NCA’s been state-ranked all season but hasn’t fared well against their peers locally: the Warriors are 0-3 against Laquey, Fair Grove and Greenwood. NCA will have a chance to change that next week, first with a semifinal matchup against Greenwood. The Warriors do have some respectable wins this year: Central, Rogersville and Marshfield among them. NCA’s 15 wins are the most in a single season in at least a decade.
Upcoming schedule: Oct 23-25 @ Class 1 District 6 tournament (Cooper)
Knocking on the door: Republic (13-8, Class 4), Carthage (11-6-2, Class 4), Branson (14-7, Class 4), West Plains (13-6, Class 3), Aurora (9-8-3, Class 2)
