LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Lots of jostling in this week’s NFCA Fall High School Top 25 Coaches Poll, just not at the top, as East Coweta won three more games to remain at No. 1 for a fourth straight week.
The two-time defending Class 7A state champion (17-0) Indians rolled to lopsided wins over Northgate, Wheeler and Alexander by a combined score of 33-2, and are now 85-2 over the last two-plus seasons. They’ll put their unbeaten record on the line tomorrow against Northside in the Ram Classic at Walnut Grove High.
Nebraska’s Papillion-LaVista (21-0) won all five of its games to remain solidly in the No. 2 spot, while fellow unbeatens Erie (13-0) of Colorado and Georgia’s Westfield (14-0) both jumped ahead of Blue Springs South (9-1), who lost a heartbreaker, 8-7, to Park Hill on Tuesday.
Elsewhere, Wesleyan (21-0) stayed perfect and gained two places — to sixth — with a five-win week, while undefeated Chatfield (16-0) broke into the poll at No. 7, and North Gwinnett (19-1) scored three wins to move up to eighth. Prairie View’s first loss dropped the (12-1) Thunderhawks to ninth, and Collins-Maxwell (27-1), who ended its season as Iowa’s Class 1A state titlist, maintained a place the top 10.
Oklahoma’s Tuttle (24-2) is the other newcomer this week at No. 21, while Nebraska’s Gretna and Colorado’s Legacy dropped out.
State rankings submitted by NFCA member coaches are used to compile the NFCA Fall High School Top 25 Coaches Poll. Teams are chosen based on performance, roster quality and strength of schedule. Five states — Colorado, Georgia, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Missouri — play a fall fastpitch schedule, while Iowa recently completed its summer season.
NFCA Fall High School Top 25 Coaches Poll – Sept. 19, 2019
Rank |
Team |
2019 Record |
Previous |
1 |
East Coweta (Ga.) |
17-0 |
1 |
2 |
Papillion-LaVista (Neb.) |
21-0 |
2 |
3 |
Erie (Colo.) |
13-0 |
4 |
4 |
Westfield (Ga.) |
14-0 |
5 |
5 |
Blue Springs South (Mo.) |
9-1 |
3 |
6 |
Wesleyan (Ga.) |
21-0 |
8 |
7 |
Chatfield (Colo.) |
16-0 |
NR |
8 |
North Gwinnett (Ga.) |
19-1 |
9 |
9 |
Prairie View (Colo.) |
12-1 |
6 |
10 |
Collins-Maxwell (Iowa) |
27-1 |
7 |
11 |
Binger-Oney (Okla.) |
22-1 |
11 |
12 |
Assumption (Iowa) |
41-2 |
10 |
13 |
Golden (Colo.) |
14-0 |
14 |
14 |
Elkhorn (Neb.) |
15-2 |
12 |
15 |
Roff (Okla.) |
22-2 |
13 |
16 |
Sequoyah (Tahlequah, Okla.) |
30-2 |
16 |
17 |
Rock Canyon (Colo.) |
13-1 |
17 |
18 |
Loveland (Colo.) |
13-1 |
18 |
19 |
Kiowa (Okla.) |
26-3 |
15 |
20 |
Grayson (Ga.) |
17-2 |
20 |
21 |
Tuttle (Okla.) |
24-2 |
NR |
22 |
Skutt Catholic (Neb.) |
13-2 |
21 |
23 |
Banks County (Ga.) |
21-3 |
19 |
24 |
Troy-Buchanan (Mo.) |
10-2 |
22 |
25 |
Lincoln North Star (Neb.) |
15-4 |
23 |
Dropped out: Gretna (Neb.) and Legacy (Colo.).