Eagles Soar, Falcons drift - San Diego Top 10 Rankings

Two birds are heading in different directions. It sounds like the beginning of a Robert Frost poem, but it aptly describes one of the emerging themes of the updated Top 10 rankings in SD.

One on hand, you have Santa Fe Christian, my preseason No. 6 team, which has done nothing but top the No. 5 and No. 2 teams in my preseason rankings en route to a 7-0 start. The Eagles lay claim to the No. 2 spot in this week's Top 10 (more on why later).

On the other hand, you have Torrey Pines, which is playing better basketball of late, defeating San Marcos earlier this week for their second win of the season. But the Falcons are off to a 2-4 start with losses to Mira Mesa, Corona Centennial, Cathedral Catholic and Victory Christian, the latter three in games decided either by less than two possessions or in overtime. They round out my Top 10 at No. 10 this week, a nod to the strength of schedule they've played to date.

Francis Parker holds on to my No. 1 spot, at least for the time being, because they haven't lost a game to in-town competition and have played one of the toughest schedules in Southern California without the services of their point guard, sophomore Columbus Palmer. In a game they dropped at the Take Flight Challenge vs Arcadia on Friday, they were without Palmer and freshmen guards Tyson Tominna and Kamran Shirazi, who were stuck in a five-hour pileup on Interstate 5 due to a situation in Del Mar Heights that snarled traffic around the region for most of the day.

Following Francis Parker and the Eagles are Mission Bay, Mira Mesa and Victory Christian to round out the Top 5. The Marauders rebounded from the stunning loss to Montgomery in the Bucs Thanksgiving Classic with wins over Del Norte, Sage Creek, Rancho Bernardo and a solid win over Victory Christian on Friday.

Victory Christian played Santa Fe Christian the closest of any team so far this season, losing by 2 in a tightly contested game opening weekend at Montgomery High, and they rebounded from the Mira Mesa loss with a watershed program win over Torrey Pines at their December Knights Showcase.

Rounding out the Top 10 are San Marcos, Cathedral Catholic, Madison, St. Augustine and Torrey Pines.

The Knights got a quality win over Cathedral Catholic at the Victory Christian event, while Cathedral Catholic gets a benefit of the doubt of sorts after its win over Torrey Pines, as the Dons have only played four games so far this year. The Warhawks won their Regional Rumble last week, with wins over Maranatha Christian, Rancho Bernardo, St. Augustine and Poway to start their season 5-0.

And St. Augustine, without the services of key junior Jackson McCall until the sit-out period ends Jan. 1, has looked underwhelming to start, but did pick up a win over previous Top 10 team Olympian last week to start the year 4-1.

We will unveil an expanded and updated Top 25 after this week, which includes a loaded tournament schedule locally.

The Full-Time Hoops Top 10

1. Francis Parker (3-5) Lancers were competitive in losses to Harvard Westlake, St. John Bosco, Mira Costa and Arcadia, leading in each of those games.

2. Santa Fe Christian (7-0) Eagles riding high after Bucs Thanksgiving Classic championship and dismantling of Sage Creek in a nonleague rematch to a Bucs tournament game in which the Bobcats gave them a scare.

3. Mission Bay (4-2) Competitive showing against Santa Margarita shows the team's ceiling. Loss against Santa Fe Christian showed some of their weaknesses.

4. Mira Mesa (7-1) Montgomery loss the only thing keeping them potentially out of the Top 3 - for now.

5. Victory Christian (3-2) Solid wins over Carlsbad, Torrey Pines and Christian (on the road) bode well for Knights.

6. San Marcos (4-3) - Knights will rue that late-game collapse against Mira Mesa on opening night.

7. Cathedral Catholic (2-1) - Solid road win at Torrey Pines offsets loss to San Marcos at December Knights. Schedule picks up this weekend in Sacramento at the Father Barry Classic.

8. Madison (5-0) - Win over St. Augustine and championship win over Poway will pay dividends down the road.

9. St. Augustine (4-1) - Saints have to pick things up after a lackluster performance at the Regional Rumble.

10. Torrey Pines (2-4) - Like St. Augustine last season, Falcons get credit for scheduling tough to begin the year.

Tournaments this week

North County Classic, Dec. 8-13, Final day site at San Marcos - Dante Carey's annual event has a solid eight-team, two-pool field, including La Jolla Country Day, Rancho Buena Vista, Scripps Ranch, Murrieta Mesa, Rancho Bernardo, La Costa Canyon, Mira Mesa and the host Knights. Games are held at home team sites until the final game, where all eight games will be held at San Marcos.

Ravens Tip Off Classic, Dec. 8-12, Canyon Crest Academy - Inaugural Event includes a two-pool, eight team field of Escondido Charter, Preuss, Madison, San Dieguito Academy, Montgomery, Army Navy Academy, Point Loma and the host Ravens. All games at CCA.

Armstrong Horsman Automotive Tournament, Dec. 1-13, Final day site at West Hills - One of the longest running tournaments in San Diego has several big matchups this week, including Victory Christian at UC Dec. 10, Bishop's at Steele Canyon Dec. 11 and the tournament's featured Showcase game, Torrey Pines vs San Marcos Dec. 13 at West Hills.