St. Frances earns No. 9 preseason ranking

St. Frances is ranked No. 9 in the USA Today Super 25 preseason poll after finishing with the No. 4 ranking last fall. The Panthers, 13-0 last season, have been declared Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference champions for 2018 after the other schools in the conference opted not to play them this fall. That shows “just how dominant the Panthers have become,” USA Today said in Tuesday’s rollout of its 2018 high school football rankings. In losing their A Conference opponents in late May and early June, the Panthers’ strength of schedule plummeted, because they had to scramble for games when most of the top programs had already filled out their schedules. The Panthers’ exceptional talent offset that. Senior Shane Lee, rated the No. 4 inside linebacker in the country by 247Sports, has committed to defending national champion Alabama. Darrian Dalcourt, rated the No. 14 offensive guard, also has committed to the Crimson Tide. Panthers running back Joachim Bangda, the 12th-ranked recruit out of Washington, also has an offer from Alabama. For the past two years, the Panthers have gone undefeated through the A Conference. Last season, they outscored their conference opponents, 534-61, and were No. 1 in the Maryland media poll. They polished off the season with a 41-3 win over Bingham (Utah) in the Geico State Champions Bowl Series. players who scored all 29 goals, 37 assists and 95 points from last season. The Greyhounds open Aug. 27 when they host Rutgers at 7 p.m. ... Saramago is one of 32 NCAA Division I soccer players named to the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List. COACHING: Navy promoted Mark Risbridger to assistant coach and added Mamadou Diouf as volunteer assistant coach for the Midshipmen.