It was a rough week at the top of the preseason Super 25 with Loyola, Mount Carmel and Maine South all picking up losses.
The toughest decision was what to do with the No. 2 spot. My initial instinct was to move the Caravan up to No. 2. Jack Elliott and many new guys played well in the loss to Hun from Princeton, N.J.
But it was still a loss. And Loyola was on the road, Mount Carmel was at home. The Ramblers are skating by on history and what I saw last year, however. They were dismal on Saturday against East St. Louis.
There wasn’t much movement overall in the rankings, which is surprising—the preseason informed guesses held up better than usual.
In a nice twist, there were several teams deserving of a spot in the rankings that I couldn’t fit in. Prairie Ridge, Fremd, Oswego, Homewood-Flossmoor and several other teams had impressive starts to the season.
St. Charles North and Lyons are the two new additions to the Super 25 this week. The North Stars barely missed out on a preseason ranking and beat Palatine in Week 1. Quarterback Ethan Plumb is talented and experienced.
Lyons beat Prospect 38-21 and will face a major test at Wheaton-Warrenville South on Friday.
Palatine drops out…and so does St. Francis. It’s tough to drop a team that won its opener, but squeaking by Kenwood 27-21 is a bit concerning. Most weeks that wouldn’t have led to being dropped but there were so many teams that made big statements in Week 1. Apologies to the Spartans.
Super 25 high school football rankings for Week 2
With record and last week’s ranking
1. Lincoln-Way East (1-0) 1
No Week 2 game scheduled
2. Loyola (0-1) 1
Saturday at No. 19 Glenbard West
3. Mount Carmel (0-1) 3
Friday at St. Rita
4. Nazareth (1-0) 4
Friday vs. Kenwood
5. Warren (1-0) 7
Friday at No. 9 Maine South
6. Downers Grove North (1-0) 6
Friday vs. Downers Grove South
7. Batavia (1-0) 14
Friday vs. South Elgin
8. Cary-Grove (1-0) 8
Friday vs. Crystal Lake Central
9. Maine South (0-1) 5
Friday vs. No. 5 Warren
10. Joliet Catholic (1-0) 10
Friday at Oswego
11. Barrington (1-0) 12
Friday at No. 12 Hersey
12. Hersey (0-1) 9
Friday vs. No. 11 Barrington
13. Brother Rice (1-0) 13
Friday vs. No. 14 Marist
14. Marist (1-0) 21
Friday at No. 13 Brother Rice
15. Naperville Central (1-0) 17
Friday vs. Naperville North at North Central
16. Kankakee (0-1) 16
Friday vs. Washington, Ill.
17. York (1-0) 18
Friday at Plainfield North
18. Carmel (1-0) 19
Friday vs. Lake Forest
19. Glenbard West (0-1) 11
Saturday vs. No. 2 Loyola
20. Morgan Park (0-1) 15
Friday at Oak Park
21. Wheaton-Warrenville South (1-0) 23
Friday vs. No. 23 Lyons
22. St. Charles North (1-0) NR
Friday vs. Crete-Monee
23. Lyons (1-0) NR
Friday at No. 21 Wheaton-Warrenville South
24. St. Ignatius (1-0) 24
Friday at Fenwick
25. Sycamore (1-0) 25
Friday vs. Oswego East