According to the most recent AJC rankings, the top teams are Lambert's boys and Milton's girls in 6A-7A and Westminster's boys and Blessed Trinity's girls in A-5A. According to the LaxPower.com RPI rankings, Lambert's boys and Milton's girls are the top overall teams.
The regular season winds down this week and playoff seeding will have been determined by this blog's next post on Tuesday, which is when I'll release my annual state tournament predictions for all lacrosse brackets.
In the meantime, here are some programs to keep an eye on:
Allatoona Buccaneers (12-6)
Upcoming matches: The Bucs ended their regular season on Wednesday with a 15-13 victory over Harrison.
Notes: While the Bucs find themselves outside of the AJC's top 10 in 6A-7A, they own a No. 7 RPI ranking, regardless of classification. Not to mention, they're coming off their first state title in program history. Last season, they beat Westminster to claim the A-AAAAA crown. Quality wins include a 12-7 win over GAC, the No. 5 team in A-5A, and Westminster, the No. 1 team in A-5A.
Mill Creek Lady Hawks (15-3)
Upcoming matches: The Lady Hawks completed their regular season on Wednesday with a 22-1 win over Gainesville.
Notes: The Lady Hawks, who are ranked No. 4 in 6A-7A, closed the regular season on a nine-game win streak. Their only losses of the season were to Lake Highland Prep-Florida — the state's No. 25 team in the LaxPower.com RPI rankings — No. 3 North Gwinnett and A-5A's No. 1 Blessed Trinity. Two of those losses were by 1 point, with the other coming by 2 points. Quality wins include No. 5 Walton, No. 6 Northview, No. 7 Cambridge, No. 8 Johns Creek, Florida's No. 3 Bishop Moore, Illinois' No. 2 New Trier and A-5A's No. 3 Westminster.
Walton Lady Raiders (11-6)
Upcoming matches: The Lady Raiders close their regular season on Saturday at home against Hutchison School-Tennessee (15-0).
Notes: The Lady Raiders are the high class' defending state champions, a season removed from Shocking The World with a 9-8 win over Milton in the championship game, ending Milton's run of six consecutive state titles. They remain highly competitive this season and own a No. 5 ranking in 6A-7A. They'll close the regular season with a tough test that should, win or lose, leave them well-prepared for another postseason run in which they'll again be seen as underdogs to top-ranked Milton. Hutchison School, they team they host on Saturday, is Tennessee's No. 1 team according to the LaxPower.com RPI rankings, and they're also the only team in the state that's undefeated.
Credit: Seth Ellerbee
Credit: Seth Ellerbee
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