High school football: Michael O’Brien’s Super 25 rankings for Week 8

There were some difficult decisions to make this week, despite the rankings remaining very stable overall.

Bolingbrook went from No. 10 to out of the rankings entirely for losing to a good Lockport team. That’s harsh. But the Raiders best win at this point is Week 1 against Minooka. It’s a bit late in the season to keep ranking a team based on close losses to excellent teams (unless you are Marist, who I keep giving the benefit of the doubt).

Homewood-Flossmoor lost its second consecutive game and drops out as well. Those losses are to Bolingbrook and Lincoln-Way East, so no shame in that. But the Vikings fall into the same category as the Raiders. There isn’t a high-quality win yet.

The third team that falls out this week is Joliet Catholic. I’ve been a little worried all season that the Hilltoppers were getting too much respect based on how terrific they were last season. The resume so far is ok. They close wins against IC Catholic and at Providence. The home loss in overtime to Brother Rice this past week knocks them off for now.

Don’t make any mistake though, Joliet Catholic is still a monster force in Class 4A.

Three teams leaving made some room for new blood. This is finally the week that Morgan Park cracks the Super 25. The Mustangs have a huge showdown vs. No. 5 Simeon on Saturday, so we will find out everything we need to know soon.

Morgan Park is unbeaten and has wins against Richards, Phillips, Kenwood and Rich.

Naperville Central returns to the rankings after picking up consecutive wins against good teams (Naperville North, DeKalb). The Redhawks’ early loss at Plainfield North is looking quite a bit better now as well.

The final team to join the rankings this week is St. Francis. The Spartans are unbeaten and haven’t had a challenge since winning 17-6 at Lake Forest in Week 1.

Is it a stretch to put a small school ahead of Bolingbrook, Homewood-Flossmoor and a few Fox Valley schools? Probably. But the St. Francis has been knocking on the door for awhile and it has the chance to prove itself the final two weeks of the season against Riverside-Brookfield (5-2) and IC Catholic (6-1).

Week 8’s Super 25With record and last week’s ranking

1. Mount Carmel (7-0) 1Friday vs. St. Viator

2. Loyola (7-0) 2Saturday vs. St. Patrick

3. Lincoln-Way East (7-0) 3Friday vs. Lockport

4. York (7-0) 4Friday vs. Willowbrook

5. Simeon (7-0) 5Saturday vs. No. 24 Morgan Park at Gately

6. Glenbard West (6-1) 6Saturday vs. Lyons

7. Hersey (7-0) 7Friday at Elk Grove

8. Lemont (7-0) 8Friday at Hillcrest

9. Prospect (6-1) 9Friday at Wheeling

10. Marist (4-3) 11Friday vs. Carmel

11. St. Rita (5-2) 12Friday at Providence

12. Warren (6-1) 13Friday at Lake Forest

13. Maine South (5-2) 14Friday at Evanston

14. Crete-Monee (5-2) 15Saturday at Bloom

15. Neuqua Valley (6-1) 17Friday at DeKalb

16. Prairie Ridge (6-1) 18Friday at Crystal Lake South

17. St. Charles North (6-1) 19Friday at Glenbard North

18. Wheaton North (6-1) 21Friday at Geneva

19. Batavia (5-2) 22Friday at St. Charles East

20. Kankakee (6-1) 23Friday vs. Thornton

21. Lake Zurich (6-1) 24Friday vs. Mundelein

22. Plainfield North (7-0) 25Friday vs. West Aurora

23. Naperville Central (5-2) NRFriday at Metea Valley

24. Morgan Park (7-0) NRSaturday vs. No. 5 Simeon at Gately

25. St. Francis (7-0) NRFriday at Riverside-Brookfield

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