Prep Lacrosse National High School Rankings: Week 1, March 17

"Things will work themselves out."

Every March, that sentiment runs through my head while assembling my HS Top 25. It feels especially true in the early part of the season, when private school powerhouses in the Mid-Atlantic—and a hodgepodge of teams from other regions—rack up non-conference wins while most of the Northeast and their public school counterparts await the start of their respective seasons.

In the two weeks since we dropped the preseason edition of the Top 25, 10 ranked teams have yet to play a game, while another 10 have already taken at least one loss. Of those, all but four fell to another team ranked in the initial Top 25.

Preseason No. 15 St. John's (D.C.) dropped out of the rankings after one-goal losses to Boys' Latin (Md.) and newly ranked St. Paul's (Md.). California powerhouse St. Ignatius (Calif.) also fell out after a 14-11 loss to Loyola-Los Angeles (Calif.), though the Wildcats rebounded two days later with a dominant 15-9 win over No. 13 Torrey Pines (Calif.). If you missed them, check out Prep Lacrosse's preseason public school Top 20 rankings (plus capsules on every Top 10 team) here, free and unlocked.

With so many DMV and out-of-state teams taking on MIAA squads in non-conference play, early season turbulence was inevitable. The start of the league schedule next Friday should help bring more clarity. Two of the most significant results so far come from archrivals Loyola Blakefield (Md.) and Calvert Hall (Md.), who were unranked and No. 17 in the preseason, respectively. Loyola, now 3-1, secured a huge 12-9 win over a Chaminade (N.Y.) squad that had just upset preseason No. 6 McDonogh (Md.) on Friday. Meanwhile, Calvert Hall stunned preseason No. 2 Lawrenceville (N.J.) in overtime to stay unbeaten. Both teams will take on top-ranked Malvern Prep (Pa.) later this week. No. 4 Spalding (Md.) now holds the title of top-ranked team in the state, with Calvert Hall climbing 11 spots to sit just two places behind.

Elsewhere, St. Anthony's (N.Y.) moves up three spots after defeating preseason No. 4 St. Anthony's (N.Y.) at a neutral site for the third straight year (Michael Campanile covered the game's standouts in Sunday's piece). McDonogh drops out of the Top 10 after its second loss, while Lawrenceville and Culver slide back within the Top 10—all three will have plenty of chances to climb back up as soon as next week.

Otherwise, much remains the same. We kept inactive teams in their preseason spots to maintain the integrity of the rankings until they open their seasons later this month.

Having seen over 20 teams play in person last week, I'll have plenty of content coming in the next few days, so be on the lookout for more in-depth analysis, as well as additional preseason content from the rest of Prep Lacrosse's network of scouts.

1. Malvern Prep (Pa.), 3-0
Previous: No. 1

2. St. Anthony's (N.Y.), 1-0
Previous: No. 5

3. Loomis Chaffee (Conn.), 0-0
Previous: No. 3

4. Spalding (Md.), 4-0
Previous: No. 7

5. Haverford (Pa.), 2-0
Previous: No. 10

6. Calvert Hall (Md.), 3-0
Previous: No. 17

7. Lawrenceville (N.J.), 1-1
Previous: No. 2

8. Culver (Ind.), 4-1
Previous: No. 4

9. Brunswick (Conn.), 0-0
Previous: No. 9

10. Loyola Blakefield (Md.), 3-1
Previous: NR

11. Chaminade (N.Y.), 1-1
Previous: No. 8

12. McDonogh (Md.), 1-2
Previous: No. 6