The statewide playoffs are inching closer for Franklin County winter sports teams. A sure sign of the upcoming playoff madness is the first set of rankings for the statewide tournament.
The Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) released its first power rankings on Friday. The rankings include girls basketball, boys basketball, boys hockey and girls hockey.
The top 32 rated teams qualify for the tournament, regardless of record. The MIAA uses margin of victory and opponents’ overall ratings to factor into their rankings. These metrics create a team’s overall rating.
The Frontier Regional girls basketball team (6-1) is No. 2 overall in Division 4. The only team ahead of the Redhawks is Millis High School. Wahconah, a team that the Redhawks just beat on the road, is ranked sixth. Frontier is the highest ranked team in Franklin County. Also in Division 4, the Redhawks boys squad is ranked 16th. Wareham is the top-seed in the rankings.
Winners of three straight games, the Greenfield hockey team is ranked No. 27 in Division 4. Martha’s Vineyard Regional is the top overall seed. The Green Wave’s most recent victory over Longmeadow did not factor into the rankings.
The Mahar Regional girls team (5-1) is 13th in the Division 5 out of 83 schools. Greenfield (3-4) is No. 29 in the same rankings. Pioneer Valley Regional (33rd , 3-3), Franklin Tech (38th, 3-5) Mohawk Trail (43rd 3-3), Athol (50th, 2-6) and Turners Falls (74th, 0-6) rounded out the Division 5 rankings for girls hoops. Hopedale is ranked No. 1 at the top of the rankings in Division 5.
The Greenfield boys basketball team (4-3) found itself ranked 27th in Division 5. Franklin Tech (4-3) drew 52nd in the rankings. Athol (3-4) is ranked 53rd while crosstown rival Mahar (1-7) came in ranked No. 70. Turners Falls (77th, 2-3), Pioneer Valley Regional (79th, 0-7) and Mohawk (86th, 0-7) rounded out the Division 5 ranking for Franklin County.
Drury is on top of the list in Division 5.