Photo: Central’s Akin Solebo controls the ball against Prep Charter. Courtesy of Kyla Brown.

Teams compete for playoff berths based solely on record regardless of size. They also are in a competition with schools of the same size classification. One team in 3A, 2A, and 1A each advances to the District 12 championships. The winner of these games goes to the State Championships.

Catholic League

Teams compete to finish in the top ten to win playoff spots.

1. La Salle CHS (3A)

The Explorers have left behind some early season setbacks and hit top form as the season is rounding to a close. La Salle’s big wins against St. Joes and Judge, and a 7-0-1 record in league, put them at the top.

2. Archbishop Wood (3A)

Wood is tough this year, and no team will look forward to meeting them. Falling 0-1 to St. Joes and a 1-1 tie with Judge have dinted Wood’s record, dropping them to the No. 2 spot.

3. Father Judge (3A)

The draw with Wood is only the second game in the league that Judge has not won.

4. St. Joseph’s Prep (3A)

St. Joe’s captain created a headliner goal when he took the ball forty yards and placed the ball just inside the post. Unfortunately, St. Joe’s ended the week with an upset going the other way, when Carroll found an overtime winner.

5. Roman Catholic (3A)

Beating Lansdale was great for the Cahillites, who seem to annually exchange a 1-0 result with the Lansdale side.

6. Lansdale Catholic (2A)

Lansdale will compete to return as 2A champions of the league. The schedule only gets harder in the final two weeks of league play for the side.

7. Archbishop Carroll (2A)

Wins keep coming in the mid-season for Carroll, who have five league wins in a row, and are playing through a tough schedule that includes sides like West Chester Rustin and Lower Merion. Expect them to challenge for the 2A title.

8. Bonner-Prendergast (2A)

A 3-0 win over Conwell-Egan pushes Bonner up a few spots.

9. Conwell-Egan (2A)

Close results against top table teams in the early season are in the past as Conwell-Egan lost a few contests to lower tier teams. A late season push will be needed if the Eagles want to challenge Lansdale for the 2A title.

10. Archbishop Ryan (3A)

Losing 0-4 against Judge last week speaks volumes about the defensive strength of Ryan.

11. Cardinal O’Hara (2A)

O’Hara continues to struggle in the league.

12. McDevitt (1A)

McDevitt has a tough road through the soccer talent of the Catholic League. This year they will be the Catholic League 1A champion regardless, as they are the only 1A team in the league.

Public League

Records are listed for A Division sides. Below the top four or five teams in A-Division there is a lot of parity, with any team being capable of beating another on any given day. This will set up an exciting finish as teams fight to get into the top eight spots — and thus, the playoffs, — and avoid the bottom two, and relegation.

The two B-Division playoff (and promotion) spots seem to be locked up by Ben Franklin and Furness, while C Division’s two playoff (and promotion) spots will likely go to Swenson and Science Leadership Academy.

1. Northeast (8-0-0) 3A

The Vikings pulled a narrow win over Washington 3-2 on Sept. 29 to retain their hold on the top of the league.

2. Central (7-1-0) 3A

Central had their first league loss against Fels after a solid 5-1 win against Lincoln on Monday. NE comes to the Lancers on Oct. 8. A win could secure first place, but a loss could drop the Lancers to third.

3. Washington- (6-2-0) 3A

A narrow loss to NE, and a 5-0 win against Southern, show that Washington can compete with anyone.

4. PACS (7-2-0) 1A

PACS did well to handle FTC 4-2 on Oct. 1. Their last two games will be tough, facing Washington and Northeast, but with a strong performance already they can expect to finish high on the table.

5. Fels (4-3-0) 3A

Fels beat Central 3-2 on Wednesday, a big result speaking to the talent on the side.

6. FTC (4-4-0) 2A

FTC can expect a strong end of season, having already faced the best teams. The teams left, though, are in the middle-of-the-pack fight.

7. Olney (3-3-1) 3A

Olney has some good results and looks likely to finish mid-table.

8. Lincoln (2-6-0) 3A

Losing to Southern in their first game was a low point, but they beat PAC, a big result. Scoring six against Palumbo on Wednesday will give them confidence.

9. Furness 2A

The B Division side has a perfect record, winning by big margins. There is a big step up between A and B division competition, and Furness will have to take that step on Oct. 16 in the play-in round. Furness is 2A and may contend with FTC for the title. An 11-0 result against High School for the Future is now in the past, though historians may ask when the mercy rule should have been instituted.

 10. Prep Charter (2-6-0) 1A

While Prep has struggled to find results, they have lost all their games by small margins and could make a late surge for a playoff berth. Prep will be in danger of relegation and will need results in its last three games.

11. Ben Franklin 3A

The B-Division side will need their best players to contribute in the playoffs. A tough non-league schedule will add to the Electrons’ experience when they face A Division competition. A rollicking win of 9-6 against Martin Luther King HS does create questions about defensive discipline.

12. Southern (2-6-0) 3A

Two wins may be enough to escape relegation. With every game any result is possible, and South will fight hard to stay in the top level of Public League competition.

13. Bartram (1-5-2) 3A

A 1-1 tie with Olney was a good result. Bartram will need to make a late surge if they expect to find themselves in the playoff picture. A failure to get any results will drop Bartram into the relegation spots.

14. Palumbo (0-7-1) 1A

Palumbo finds itself at the bottom of the A Division after five weeks of play, with only three games left to find a miracle.

 15. Masterman 1A

A big win against E & S will not be enough to come in first or second in the B Division.

 16. E & S

The biggest result of the season for the North Philly magnet school will be a 3-2 win over Ben Franklin, but three losses likely will be too many for the side to stay in the playoff picture.

17. Frankford 3A

Frankford is enjoying a mid-table year in B Division.

 18. Swenson

Winning 4-0 against Roxborough have set Swenson to go back to B Division next year.

19. Science Leadership Academy

Also recording a lot of big wins in C-Division, SLA will consider themselves on the short list for a playoff berth and promotion. A 3-1 win over formerly undefeated Roxborough will boost morale.

20. Roxborough

While failing to win against C Division leaders Swenson and SLA, Roxborough will take confidence in their hard work and look to next year as a chance to get in the playoff picture and promoted.

There are a number of B-Division sides and C-Division sides that I have not mentioned. Add your two cents below if you want to disagree with the rankings.