Please remember the legal notices from my Top 10 preview, they are still in effect for each of these articles ALL SEASON LONG.  Particularly the pacifism point.  Enjoy the rest!   Well, the third week is in the books and again a number of games have impacted movement in the Top 10! Most importantly, the huge win for Boca Raton over previously undefeated Saint Andrew’s gives them a big boost while Benjamin scored a needed win over previously undefeated St. Thomas Aquinas.  On top of that Barron Collier proved their worth in a loss to #1 Jupiter.  And a major surprise Friday night in the Palm beach area as previously undefeated Columbus Catholic went down to Dwyer. As did the Thursday storms as Jupiter-Boca Raton (which would probably have decided the #1 spot) had to be rescheduled for later in the season!  And Ponte Vedra suffered a Thursday rain out against a solid opponent.  A number of the northern schools are going through some of the weaker games on their schedule so I don’t expect too much movement from them for the next few weeks. As you read through this please remember that the season is still young and that the early weeks will likely show a lot of movement as teams start to get really going.  I tend to emphasize quality wins quite a bit and teams who lose early will not be as penalized in my mind.  It is only my opinion at a particular point in time, so don’t get too upset if it takes time for me to notice your team’s breakout season!  One thing to keep in mind when viewing these polls is that so many of the top teams are playing each other this year so don’t solely look at W-L records, particularly when teams play out-of-state powerhouses from hotbed areas. Don’t forget to look for our Coaches Poll later in the week!   So, here is the new Top 10 Media Poll going into the week starting March 10th!   #1 Jupiter #2 Boca Raton #3 Saint Andrew’s – tie #3 Lake Highland Prep – tie #5 Lake Brantley #6 Barron Collier #7 Lake Mary #8 Ponte Vedra #9 St. Thomas Aquinas – tie #9 Benjamin – tie Also considered in the next tier:  Tampa Jesuit, Vero Beach   Two PUBLIC High Schools at the top of the polls!!  And 6 of the Top 8!! Jupiter retains the top spot by defeating Barron Collier and Wellington this week.  What would have been the game of the week with Boca Raton was rained out and is likely to be made up in April right now.  Next week they face stern tests:  at Saint Andrew’s on Tuesday and Lake Mary at home on Friday.  Hardly a stroll in the park . . . Boca Raton makes the most significant move in the polls after its Tuesday victory over Saint Andrew’s and with an overwhelming performance over Ransom Everglades.  Thursday’s rain out versus Jupiter robbed us fans of an intriguing game for now.  Next week they host St. Thomas Aquinas and travel to Pope John Paul II.  Both will test their mettle and we will see if a lofty poll placement leads to loftier expectations. Saint Andrew’s and Lake Highland Prep are currently in the same position in their season.  They both have suffered losses to higher rated teams but have taken care of business otherwise against good competition.  LHP knocked off Hagerty and Georgia power Lovett last week and will take on the nation’s #1 team Boy’s Latin on Saturday in Boca Raton.  Good luck to them!  Saint Andrew’s took down Pope John Paul II and lost the Boca game.  They host Jupiter on Tuesday and Gulliver Prep next week so expect another result that will impact the polls! Lake Brantley slips one spot solely due to Boca Raton leapfrogging them.  LB does not yet have a win similar to Boca’s over SA and Ponte Vedra and really won’t be tested too much until the last 5 games of the season.  It will be difficult for them to move up until that part of the schedule kicks in due to how I rate teams.  They did take care of Boone comfortably and have a potential trap game against a rising program in Seminole. Barron Collier makes the jump to #6 based on their very impressive performance against Jupiter Friday night.  BC exhibited what I thought was the best team defense I’ve seen so far this season.  The schedule was not particularly tough until Friday and we will need to see a signature win for them to continue up the polls.  Their next opportunity for that is this upcoming Friday when St. Thomas Aquinas comes to town.  Later in the season Vero Beach also makes a visit.  Coach Trent Carter really has his program on the right track and all of a sudden the bottom quarter of the playoffs brackets looks like a real 3-way dogfight between them, STA and Columbus Catholic. Lake Mary remains in the #7 spot, surviving an upset bid from Seminole 9-8 early in the week and a solid win over Bartram Trail too.  We will really know about them this week with a road trip to Jupiter. Ponte Vedra remains #8 with a one win week over Bartram Trail after being rained out against Bolles.  They are currently in the weaker part of their schedule so it will be hard for them to move up until the March 27th road trip to Jupiter, which starts an interesting 3-game swing to there, Hagerty and an under-the-radar Melbourne Central Catholic.  PV is likely on cruise control until then.  This week brings games against Nease and two out-of-state games against South Carolina schools. St. Thomas and Benjamin are tied for 9th.  Although Benjamin did knock STA off on Friday, it was in overtime on their home field so I feel comfortable with this dual ranking until we see more results for both.  STA has had to overcome a rash of injuries on attack and Benjamin has had injury issues too.  STA has an impressive road win over Vero Beach on its resume.  This upcoming week has STA traveling to both Boca Raton and Barron Collier as part of a season-ending run akin to lacrosse’s version of a death march.  Benjamin has it easy this week until they step in in class and take to the road the following week to play two MIAA schools.  Both these teams need to be lauded for their scheduling this year. Just outside the Top 10, garnering consideration are Tampa Jesuit, which still needs to come up with a quality win before I can move them up and Vero Beach.  Tampa Jesuit will get their opportunity with a game later this month against national power Gonzaga (DC), a major program the last few seasons.  Quite the stern test.  Vero has righted the ship some this week and still has a number of chances to garner key wins later in the season.  Columbus Catholic will really have to work hard to get back into consideration for the Top 10 after last night’s shocking 16-4 loss to W.T. Dwyer.  Could Dwyer actually replicate CC from last season as a team that came on very strong at the end of the season?  The schedule is set up for that possibility as they travel to Vero and SA, and host Benjamin, Boca Raton and Jupiter!  Possibilities abound! One school that has not been mentioned before that I am starting to pay attention to is Melbourne Central Catholic, which came up with an impressive 14-6 mid-week win over Martin County.  MCC will have an opportunity for a Top 10 win when they host Ponte Vedra on April 2nd so we will monitor them to see if they can run the table going into that game. Thanks for reading and good luck to everyone!