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The Texas Top 20

August 24 — Did we mention that Houston is a mess? Another week, another rash of "upsets" which are becoming par for the course. And one thing is becoming very clear — the so-called "district of death" may once again be evenly matched from top to bottom, but that doesn't necessarily mean any of the Cy schools are among the city's elite. In fact, this year's toughest district in Houston is shaping up to be 20-5A, featuring Clements, Dulles, FB Austin, Elkins and others.

Of course when it comes to upsets nothing down south compared to Churchill's sweep of top-ranked Westlake less than a week after Westlake swept Churchill in the finals of the Duncanville tournament.

This week many of the state's top teams will warm up for next week's power-packed Pearland Memorial Volleyball Classic with big tournaments across the state.

So as we begin the countdown to Pearland and a chance for Houston teams to redeem themselves after Duncanville, here's where we rank the Top 20 teams in Texas (last week's rank in parenthesis).

1. Churchill (2)
To the victors go the spoils. The Chargers move to the top of the rankings this week and they did it the old fashioned way — they earned it. The sweep of Westlake capped an impressive week that included wins over SA O'Connor and NB Canyon.

2. Austin Westlake (1)
See above. The Chaps proved they are vulnerable, but they are still the deepest team in the state. Look for a rebound next week in Pearland. If they are going to break the 1-1 tie with Churchill, it will have to happen in San Marcos since they have been moved out of each other's region.

3. Amarillo (3)
Sandies continue to roll with wins over Lubbock Coronado, Tascosa and Pampa. This week they travel to Allen where they will join Arlington Martin, Arlington, Lake Highlands and the hosts for what promises to be an interesting - and challenging - weekend of action.

4. SA Clark (4)
Three quality wins over New Braunfels, Boerne and Austin Bowie and a tournament championship to go with it all. Could this be the team to watch in Pearland?

5. Arlington Lamar (6)
An easy week, with sweeps of Flower Mound, FM Marcus and Plano East.

6. Arlington Martin (8)
Despite wins over Plano, Allen and Marcus, the Warriors still don't look as solid as a year ago. Defense and passing has been suspect. And they could use another "go-to" on the outside. The next two weeks - Allen and Pearland tournaments - will tell us a lot about this team

7. Lubbock Coronado (9)
Followed impressive showing in Duncanville with wins over Tascosa and Hereford, but loss to Amarillo shows the Mustangs still have a way to go if they hope to improve on last year's regional semifinal finish.

8. Lake Highlands (10)
Ho-hum week with wins over Ennis and Red Oak. Beat Arlington again to firmly position themselves with Lamar and Martin as one of top teams in North Texas.

9. Katy (12)
Continued their roll with wins over Cy Fair and Langham Creek and now takes the hot seat as the Houston area's top-ranked team. That's not a position that has been friendly over the first couple of weeks.

10. Houston Stratford (13)
Are the Spartans back on track? Wins over Cy Fair and Pearland, which won the 32-team LaPorte tournament over the weekend, would make you think the answer is "yes." But then again, it's a new week in Houston and that means anything can happen. This week's schedule includes Clear Creek and Katy.

11. Kingwood (14)
Wins over Klein and Mansfield will give this young team more confidence.

12. Clements (17)
Watch out for these guys (excuse us) ... gals. Wins over Clear Creek and Westfield were solid. More tough tests ahead.

13. Dulles (NR)
Big week of wins, including Clear Lake, Deer Park, Tomball, Friendswood and FB Austin.

14. New Braunfels (NR)
Lost to Clark, but picked up wins over Round Rock, SA Lee, Judson and Taft.

15. Round Rock (5)
Nothing is easy in Central Texas. Just when it seemed like the Dragons were going to roll through another week of action, they stumble against New Braunfels. Wins over Bowie and O'Connor were good ones.

16. Allen (16)
While Allen's most high profile resident Carly Patterson was winning the Olympic all-around in gymnastics, the Eagles were struggling against yet another Arlington team. This time it was Martin and it was anything but a gold medal performance. The Eagles have two brutal weeks of tournaments ahead.

17. Arlington (NR)
Lost to Lake Highlands (again) but beat Weatherford. Based on Elkins' rebound, they deserve a spot in the rankings along with Cleburne.

18. Dripping Springs (NR)
Another emerging Central Texas power. Last week we said they needed a quality win to move up into the rankings. They got it with a victory over Bowie while also knocking off CC Flour Bluff, Calallen and San Marcos.

19. Cleburne (NR)
Followed up strong showing at Duncanville with wins over Midway and Paschall. And if Elkins deserves a spot in the rankings so do the teams that beat them as long as they keep winning.

20. Elkins (NR)
Knocked off Deer Park, Cy Falls and Clear Lake. Losses to Dobie, Arlington and Cleburne during the first week are still hard to overlook, however. We're guessing they were just Elkins getting off to a slow start.

Teams To Watch

Aledo - We overlooked these guys much of last season but after they won the Bev Ball over the weekend we're not going to make that mistake again.

Austin Bowie - Last week we said this was a team that still needs to prove it belongs near the top. Quality win over SA Reagan was offset by losses to Clark, Round Rock and 4A powerhouse Dripping Springs which means the jury is still out on this team.

Boerne - Had losses to Clark and went 1-1 with MacArthur in two matches while picking up wins over Lee and Clearbrooke.

Cedar Park - Earned another week on the list with wins over Hays, St. Michael's Academy and Pflugerville Connally.

Clear Lake - Tough week with win over Cy Creek but losses to Dulles and Elkins.

Cy Creek - Trip to the Top 20 was a short one, thanks to losses to Stratford and Clear Lake.

Cy Falls - Last week we said they must get past Elkins to solidify position among state elite. They didn't. More big tests this week.

Lake Travis - A team with potential and still hanging around.

MacArthur - Wins over O'Connor and Boerne earn a spot on the list.

El Paso Coronado - Is this the team that finally ends Franklin's string of dominating El Paso? We still think Franklin is the top team in El Paso but they split with Abilene over the weekend to fall out and Coronado is highly ranked in the coaches' poll so we're willing to give them a chance.

San Antonio O'Connor - Just when this team burst onto the scene and seemed ready to make a statewide statement they run into Churchill, MacArthur and Round Rock. Ouch.