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Super 8 rundown: Singing the same song

Print | Comments () Posted by Staff February 8, 2011 11:50 AM

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You may think Malden Catholic has struggled, but recent wins over Xaverian and BC High prove otherwise. (Barry Chin / Globe Staff)

By Jake Seiner, Globe Correspondent

The song remains the same this week in the Globe’s projected Super 8 field, with the same 10 teams as last week doing a bit of shuffling but holding court on the tournament spots.

1. Malden Catholic (11-2-2) – Struggles? What struggles? Just when it looked like Massachusetts may have found a chink in the Lancers’ armor, BU-bound Brendan Collier blew up for eight goals in three games last week. Among the three wins was a 9-0 shellacking of Xaverian and a 5-2 win over BC High.

2. Catholic Memorial (7-5-1) – The wintry weather postponed the Knights’ showdown with St. John’s Prep last Tuesday until Feb. 25, meaning second place in the Catholic Conference might not be decided until CM’s final game. Before that, the squads will make up a Dec. 27 postponement this Tuesday.

3. St. John’s Prep (8-4-1) – The Eagles have reeled off three straight 4-1 wins against BC High, Austin Prep, and Xaverian since losing to MC. Prep holds a one point advantage over CM in the Catholic Conference at the moment, thanks primarily to the league’s second best offense (5.08 goals per game) behind MC.

4. Hingham (8-4-4) – Hingham snapped a four-game winless streak with a dramatic 5-3 win over St. Mary’s Saturday. Alex Pompeo netted the game-winner for the Harbormen in that one with 49 seconds to play. Hingham’s schedule is a bit lighter than usual over the next two weeks, meaning the Harbormen have a chance to roll with any momentum gained heading down the home stretch.

5. St. Mary’s (9-2-3) – The Spartans have already wrapped up the Catholic Central Large and are playing to ensure themselves a spot in the Super 8 field. The loss to Hingham snapped an eight-game unbeaten streak for St. Mary’s which stretched through the entire month of January.

6. Weymouth (14-1-1) – The Wildcats continued their dominance the Bay State Conference with wins over Milton and Newton North. Weymouth is 11-0-1 in the league, and if the ‘Cats and Braintree both win their remaining conference games, it’d set up a de facto league title game between the schools on Feb. 16.

7. Central Catholic (10-4-0) – The Raiders were 9-0 in January and have rolled through their Merrimack Valley/Dual County League schedule with one exception –– a Dec. 22 loss to first-place Billerica. The Indians are the only thing keeping Central Catholic from a sure-fire Super 8 spot, meaning the Raiders will essentially play for their post-season destiny Wednesday night when they travel to Billerica.

8. Xaverian (7-5-1) – Midway through January, it looked like the Hawks were primed to be MC’s top challenger in the Catholic Conference, but since topping St. John’s Prep in a 6-4 barn-burner on Jan. 19, Xaverian has dropped five straight. If last week’s 9-0 loss to MC and 4-1 loss to St. John’s Prep don’t mark rock-bottom for the Hawks, the squad could be the lone Catholic Conference contender left out of the Super 8 field.

9. BC High (7-4-3) – The Eagles hold onto the nine-spot despite a 5-2 loss to Malden Catholic Saturday –– mostly a credit to the squad’s 3-1 win over Reading earlier last week. BC High has been hampered by a weak in-conference showing, but could improve on it’s 1-4-1 CC record this Saturday against CM.

10. Reading (10-3-1) ¬– The Rockets trail Winchester by three points and Woburn by two in the Middlesex league, but have also played fewer games than both. Reading could close the gap this week with contests against Belmont and Woburn.

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Several reporters and editors contribute updates, news and analysis to the High School Sports Blog.

Bob Holmes: A Reading resident (Go Rockets!) and Boston College graduate, Holmes is the Boston Globe High School Sports Editor. We remind you now that his weekly picks are often made in jest so everyone just calm down when he picks against Everett for 11 straight weeks. Contact him at rholmes@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @GlobeHolmes.
Craig Larson: A native of West Springfield (Leo Durocher anyone? Tim Daggett?) and Curry College graduate (a proud Colonel!), Larson is the sports editor for the Globe's regional sections: South, West and North, as well as a frequent contributor on the college beat. Abington to Xaverian: it all starts with the schools. Have a compelling story idea? Contact him at clarson@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @GlobeLars.
Zuri Berry: Berry attended the same high school as sports legends O.J. Simpson and Joe DiMaggio. (Guess which one is his hero.) He's a South Boston resident (formerly of Eastie) and the editor of the High School Sports blog as well as the go-to-guy for everything high school sports on Boston.com. Contact him at zberry@boston.com and follow him on Twitter @ZuriBerry for all of the latest updates.

Then there are our winter correspondents: