With the calendar turning to October, the state tournaments for fall sports move closer. The Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association released its first set of power rankings on Tuesday morning. Sports include field hockey, football, soccer and volleyball.
The top 32 teams qualify or the tournament. Teams below qualify for a preliminary game with a record .500 or better.
The undefeated Frontier Regional field hockey team ranks eighth in the state in Division 4. Cohassett ranks No. 1 in the rankings. Dennis-Yarmouth, last year’s state champion, is fourth overall. In the same rankings, Greenfield is No. 29. Mohawk Trail Regional ranks 36th in the state. Turners Falls comes in at No. 41. Mahar Regional ranks 47th in Division 5. Franklin Tech is 46th in Division 3.
For boys soccer, undefeated Franklin Tech is No. 20 in Division 5. Boston International is at the top of the power rankings in Division 5. Elsewhere is Pioneer (49th), Mahar (52nd) and Mohawk (64th). Frontier Regional ranks 18th while Athol is 62nd in Division 4. Abington is the top-ranked team in Division 4.
Moving to girls soccer, the Pioneer Valley Regional squad (6-0-1) ranks 10th in Division 5. Mahar Regional is next up for local squads at 19th. Elsewhere in Division 5 is Franklin Tech (26th) and Greenfield (31st). Perennial powerhouse Granby ranks first overall in Division 5. The Rams are still seeking their first state championship.
In Division 4, Frontier drew No. 18 in the rankings. Athol comes in at 59th in Division 4. Mount Greylock is No. 1 in the same rankings.
In Division 5 volleyball, Franklin Tech ranks No. 7 in Division 5. Mahar (16th), Pioneer (21st), Greenfield (30th), Turners Falls (36th), Mohawk (42nd) round out the local teams vying for the tournament. Pioneer Valley Christian (9-0) is at the top of the rankings in Division 5.
Frontier ranks 12th in Division 4. East Bridgewater (8-0) is at the top of the power rankings. Athol is at No. 32 in the same rankings.
Switching over to Division 8 football, the Franklin Tech football team is No. 2 in the rankings. Frontier Regional ranks eighth in the same division. Lee High School ranks first overall. Elsewhere in Division 8 is Greenfield (21st), Mahar Regional (23rd) and Athol (33rd). In football, the top 16 teams with at least three wins and seven games played qualify for the tournament.
