The opening week is in the books and there was only really one difficult decision to make. Should Loyola be No. 1?
I had the rankings all set to go when I headed to Wilmette this morning to see the Ramblers against Cincinnati St. Xavier.
Loyola dominated. The Ramblers were rock solid and imposing on defense and their passing attack was incredibly precise for the first game of the season. And then the running game produced some highlight breakaways. It was something.
Loyola looked better than Mount Carmel. But it is only one game and I’m not sold on that Cincinnati team. So for now the Caravan sticks in the top spot. The Ramblers were bumped up to No. 2.
St. Ignatius, Willowbrook and Hinsdale Central all drop out after losing. The Wolfpack lost 19-14 to St. Patrick. That’s a really great first win for Luke Mertens, the Shamrocks new coach. It sets up an incredibly fun Week 2 matchup against rival Notre Dame, which blanked Willowbrook 28-0.
The Dons are a team that I seriously considered ranking in the preseason. I saw them late in the season last year and knew they would be worth keeping an eye on this season. The same with Nazareth, which joins the Super 25 after beating Kankakee 2-0 in LaGrange Park.
There still isn’t a Public League team in the Super 25 but two teams are very close.
Simeon was impressive against Wheaton-Warrenville South on Saturday at Gately and easily could have slid in to one of the bottom slots. Morgan Park beat Richards 30-2.
Week 2’s Super 25With record and last week’s ranking
1. Mount Carmel (1-0) 1Saturday vs. Phillips at Gately
2. Loyola (1-0) 3Saturday vs. United
3. Lincoln-Way East (1-0) 2Friday vs. No. 4 Batavia
4. Batavia (1-0) 4Friday at No. 3 Lincoln-Way East
5. Bolingbrook (1-0) 5Saturday vs. Simeon at Gately
6. Glenbard West (1-0) 6Friday vs. Downers Grove South
7. Warren (1-0) 9Friday at No. 9 Maine South
8. Neuqua Valley (1-0) 11Friday vs. Wheaton-Warrenville South
9. Maine South (1-0) 13Friday vs. No. 7 Warren
10. Prairie Ridge (1-0) 8Friday at Burlington Central
11. Marist (1-0) 12Friday at Richards
12. St. Rita (1-0) 6Friday vs. Brother Rice
13. Naperville North (1-0) 14Friday at No. 16 Glenbard North
14. Prospect (1-0) 18Friday vs. Barrington
15. Lockport (1-0) 20Friday vs. Metea Valley
16. Glenbard North (1-0) 17Friday vs. No. 13 Naperville North
17. Nazareth (1-0) NRFriday vs. No. 24 Lemont
18. Cary-Grove (1-0) 21Friday vs. Crystal Lake South
19. Joliet Catholic (1-0) 22Friday vs. IC Catholic
20. Notre Dame (1-0) NRFriday vs. No. 25 St. Patrick
21. Kankakee (1-0) 10Friday vs. Washington, Ill.
22. Crete-Monee (0-1) 15Saturday at Andrean, Ind.
23. Jacobs (1-0) 24Friday vs. Crystal Lake Central
24. Lemont (1-0) 25Friday at No. 17 Nazareth
25. St. Patrick (1-0) NRFriday at No. 20 Notre Dame
