RANKINGS: Top Illinois high school football teams
Class rankings across Illinois
Class 8A
No schools in central or southern Illinois in the rankings.
Class 7A
Normal Community (4-0) continues its run through the rankings as the only Central Illinois team to be in the Class 7A rankings. Their win last week increases their rank from a tie for ninth to seventh.
Other regional schools in Central and Southern Illinois receiving votes include Pekin 3, Collinsville 2, Moline 2, and Geneva 2.
Class 6A
In similar fashion, only one downstate school is in the Class 6A rankings: East St. Louis (3-1). Their 106 points increase their rank to top the rankings. ESL was third last week.
Other regional schools receiving votes include Springfield High 6 and Chatham Glenwood 3.
Class 5A
Rochester remains on top of the Class 5A rankings with their 301 record and 100 votes.
Three regional schools gained spots in the rankings this week. Peoria High (3-1) rose one spot from seventh to sixth. Metamora (4-0) was tied for tenth last week and rises two spots to eighth. Mahomet-Seymour (4-0) was not in the rankings last week but makes its debut at tenth.
Other regional schools receiving votes were Marion 6.
Class 4A
There isn’t an outrageous amount of change to the Class 4A rankings from last week to this week. Or at least this is true with the top five.
Among those not changing their positions are Sacred Heart-Griffin (3-1) and Quincy Notre Dame (4-0). Both teams are second and fifth respectfully.
A 2-2 team seems out of place in a ranking system like this. However, Chicago Phillips and Coal City somehow making rankings gains from last week, both jumps of two places.
Mt. Zion (3-1), which was tied for tenth last week, made a position gain to ninth. What is confusing is why their performance was evaluated much lower than the 2-2 teams. That is something I will never be able to comprehend.
Other regional schools receiving votes include Bethalto Civic Memorial 12, Carterville 9, Dixon 4, Murphysboro 2, and Cahokia 1.
Class 3A
Very little has changed from last week in the Class 3A rankings. The only change comes in the form of a former tied-for-ninth scenario last week. The outcome appears to be a terrible decision.
Montini scored their first victory of the season and somehow earns enough points to stay at ninth. Meanwhile, an undefeated Reed-Custer (4-0) gets snubbed and gets the slap-down to tenth. Again, that makes zero sense at all.
The teams in the top eight positions are all currently undefeated at 4-0. Among them are Monticello, Tolono Unity, and Williamsville.
Other regional schools receiving votes are Benton 3, Paxton-Buckley-Loda 2, Nashville 1, and Carlinville 1.
Class 2A
This is starting to become a recurring theme. How in the world can two 2-2 teams be in this ranking?
That was apparently the case in the Class 2A rankings as Rockridge and Sterling Newman barely hold on to a tie for tenth.
Outside of those disastrous decisions, the ranking is mostly unchanged. St. Teresa, IC Catholic, Maroa-Forsyth, and Breese Mater Dei hold the top four spots. All four schools are also undefeated.
Due to the toppling of the fifth-ranked team, three schools are getting a slight bump. Undefeated teams Downs Tri-Valley, Bismarck-Henning, and Pana now sit at fifth, sixth, and seventh.
Rushville-Industry rises to eighth from tenth, and Knoxville debuts at ninth.
Regional schools receiving points include Athens 3 and Tremont 2.
Class 1A
Here poses the newest quandry. How can you not give votes to Nokomis (3-1)? They blew out Sullivan/Okaw Valley in Sullivan. They bounced back to defeat East Alton-Wood River following a loss to Central A&M. They clearly showed a seminar in domination last week against Litchfield. And yet the clowns who vote on these polls show zero respect to the Redskins.
Lena-Winslow remains on top with their 4-0 record.
Two teams that were tied last week have gone their own ways. Mt. Sterling-Brown County remains at second with a 4-0 record, while Central A&M (3-1) drops to third.
Winchester West Central, Camp Point Central, Carrollton, and Annawan/Wethersfield each made gains.
Not budging from its position outside of Lena-Winslow is Fulton (3-1) which is in the same spot as last week: seventh.
Abingdon (4-0) and Forreston (3-1) made their debuts in the rankings at tied for eighth and tenth respectively.
Regional schools receiving points include Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley 12, Cumberland 7, and Greenfield-Northwestern 6.
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Jake Leonard, a broadcast media and journalism veteran, is the editor-in-chief of Heartland Newsfeed. Leonard is also GM and program director of Heartland Newsfeed Radio Network, wrestling editor and contributing writer for Ambush Sports, a contributing writer for My Sports Vote and Midwest Sports Network, and a former contributor to Bleacher Report and Overtime Heroics. He resides at home in Nokomis, Ill. with his dog Buster.
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