Riverside girls remain on top while Dunmore girls, Scranton boys and Holy Redeemer boys also opened at No. 1.
The Riverside Lady Vikes opened the 2021-22 season in the same place where they spent every week of the 2021 season – as the top-ranked Small School girls team in the My City Mortgage Super Six Power Rankings of District 2 teams.
There are familiar faces at and near the top of the rankings, but the other No. 1 positions are occupied by different teams than those that ended last season there.
The Scranton boys and Dunmore girls are first in the Big School rankings after finishing up in the second spots last season.
Scranton Prep, in Big School girls, and Riverside, in Small School boys, are each ranked second after finishing first last season.
The Holy Redeemer boys, who lead the Small Schools, are the other No. 1 team.
The rankings were released Thursday by our partner website, NEPABasketball.com, in advance of Friday’s Opening Night.
The Crestwood boys, who led the Big School rankings, are the only final No. 1 from last season that is not ranked first or second. The Comets are unranked to begin the season, but made a case for consideration when losing on the road at No. 1 Scranton, 69-64, Friday night.
Not only did Scranton Prep finish the 2021 season as the top-ranked girls team, but the Classics actually held that spot every week of each of the past three seasons.
Scranton starts out as the Big School boys No. 1 after winning Lackawanna League and District 2 titles last season and finishing second in the Super Six.
The Knights are followed by Wyoming Valley Conference Division 1 favorite Dallas, Mid Valley, Scranton Prep, Abington Heights and Pittston Area.
Dallas is No. 2 after dropping out of the rankings as the 2021 season progressed.
Mid Valley, a District 2 Class 4A finalist last season, is the favorite to win Lackawanna League Division 3.
Scranton Prep, which has won seven straight District 2 titles, is the defending champion in Class 4A.
Abington Heights qualified for the District 2 Class 5A final last season, after losing the Lackawanna Division championship playoff to Scranton, but could not play because of COVID protocols.
A look at the all-state team is the quickest explanation for the change at the top of Big School girls.
Dunmore and Scranton Prep each had two first-team, all-state players in Class 4A.
Scranton Prep’s Rachael Rose and Cecelia Collins are now National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I starters and impact players at the University of South Carolina Upstate and Bucknell.
Dunmore’s Moriah Murray and Ciera Toomey are back for more.
The Lady Bucks lost only to Scranton Prep last season. They won the Lackawanna Division 3 title, but COVID prevented them from playing in the district tournament.
Scranton Prep won Lackawanna Division 1 and District 2 Class 4A on the way to an appearance in the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association state semifinals.
The Lady Bucks and Classics are followed by Lake-Lehman, Abington Heights, Wilkes-Barre Area and Holy Redeemer.
Lake-Lehman returns the starting lineup from the Wyoming Valley Conference Division 2 champions and District 2 Class 4A finalists.
Abington Heights and Wilkes-Barre Area won the District 2 Class 5A and 6A titles.
Holy Redeemer fell to Lake-Lehman in a playoff for the WVC Division 2 title.
The Holy Redeemer boys ascended to No. 1 from fourth in last year’s final rankings. The Royals are the clear favorite to win WVC Division 2.
The Royals are followed by Riverside, which finished first in 2021 by winning Lackawanna Division 3 and District 2 Class 3A.
Holy Cross, Elk Lake, Dunmore and Wyoming Seminary occupy third through sixth in the Small School boys rankings.
Holy Cross and Dunmore missed the District 2 playoffs because of COVID.
Elk Lake won Lackawanna Division 4 and lost in overtime against eventual state semifinalist Old Forge in the District 2 Class 2A championship game.
Wyoming Seminary won WVC Division 2 and reached the district Class 3A final.
The top three in Small School girls are in the same spots as at the end of the 2021 season.
District 2 Class 3A champion Riverside is followed by Holy Cross and Western Wayne.
Holy Cross won District 2 Class 2A.
Both Riverside and Holy Cross return a first-team, all-state player – Kylie Lavelle and Kaci Kranson.
Western Wayne won Lackawanna Division 2, playing entirely against schools from larger classifications in league play, and reached the District 2 Class 3A final.
Montrose, Elk Lake and Wyoming Seminary fill the fourth through six spots.
Montrose and Elk Lake finished 1-2 in Lackawanna Division 4. The Lady Meteors lost just once in 2021, to Western Wayne in the district semifinals.
Wyoming Seminary is trying to bounce back from a down year.
PRESEASON MY CITY MORTGAGE SUPER SIX POWER RANKINGS
(With 2021 Season Record, Final 2021 Season Rankings)
| BOYS BIG SCHOOL | GIRLS BIG SCHOOL |
| 1. Scranton (14-3, 2) | 1. Dunmore (15-1, 2) |
| 2. Dallas (9-6, NR) | 2. Scranton Prep (18-2, 1) |
| 3. Mid Valley (11-5, 6) | 3. Lake-Lehman (15-3, 4) |
| 4. Scranton Prep (12-6, 4) | 4. Abington Heights (13-3, 3) |
| 5. Abington Heights (13-3, 3) | 5. Wilkes-Barre Area (13-6, 6) |
| 6. Pittston Area (9-10, NR) | 6. Holy Redeemer (12-5, 5) |
| BOYS SMALL SCHOOL | GIRLS SMALL SCHOOL |
| 1. Holy Redeemer (12-9, 4) | 1. Riverside (19-2, 1) |
| 2. Riverside (17-3, 1) | 2. Holy Cross (12-4, 2) |
| 3. Holy Cross (11-2, 2) | 3. Western Wayne (15-6, 3) |
| 4. Elk Lake (13-3, NR) | 4. Montrose (13-1, 5) |
| 5. Dunmore (7-5, 6) | 5. Elk Lake (11-5, 6) |
| 6. Wyoming Seminary (14-3, 3) | 6. Wyoming Seminary (2-12, NR) |
