1) Lanphier – The Lions have done what they were supposed to do through two games of the conference schedules. Lanphier picked up wins over Eisenhower and SHG, two teams near the bottom of this list, this week. Neither win was particularly impressive, but in this year’s CS8, that’s probably just the way it’s going to be.
2) Southeast – The Lanphier love didn’t go without Southeast noticing this preseason. The Spartans made that clear after Tuesday’s win against Springfield High. After Saturday’s 26 point thrashing of MacArthur, there’s real reason to second guess what we thought we knew about this team.
3) Jacksonville – The Crimsons looked the part with a strong win over Lincoln at the Showcase. Then they overlooked Pleasant Plains on Tuesday and took their first loss of the season. Plains is the top team in our area Power Rankings, but those are exactly the kind of lapses we’re worried about with this team.
4) MacArthur – The Generals might have thought Saturday’s matchup with Southeast was in the bag after beating them by double digits exactly one week before. That mentality could get you beat on any given night in the CS8. The Generals rebounded with a strong win over Centennial on Tuesday.
5) Glenwood – Up a spot after Saturday’s win over Springfield High, don’t be surprised if it’s just the beginning of Glenwood’s long term rise in these power rankings. The Titans are on the road at rival SHG on Friday. That’s never an easy place to go get a win.
6) Lincoln – The Railers battled with Jacksonville on Saturday, but they couldn’t overcome the size advantage the Crimsons had on them. KJ Fry has proven to be a classic Railer deep threat and Aron Hopp is pumping life into this team. They need more contributions across the board if they’re going to beat the teams at the top of this list, though.
7) Rochester – The Rockets are on the come after an impressive win in a highly physical matchup with SHG at the Showcase on Saturday. Rochester wants to be looked at as a threat in the conference this season. They can take the first step towards earning that respect when they host ever-ready Lincoln on Friday.
8) Eisenhower – You don’t have to watch “The Stephons” very long to see why Eisenhower is a frightening 8 seed. Stephon Bobbitt and Stephon Jarrett kept Saturday’s game against Lanphier from getting ugly. It doesn’t get any easier as they follow up a game with the top team on this list with a matchup on Friday with the team ranked No. 2.
9) SHG – The Cyclones helped produce what might have been the most entertaining game of the Showcase on Saturday in a loss to Rochester. There’s a lot to like in the pieces Carey McVickers has. They don’t have a typical “go to” guy and it looked like the Cycs were trying to figure out who’s supposed to do what in this system on Saturday. But when they figure it out, SHG could be very scary.
10) Springfield High – The Senators have started the CS8 schedule with a pair of losses to Glenwood and Southeast. Isaac Nelson and Keon Day might be the best scoring tandem in the Conference, but the Senators have to get stops at some point too. Giving up 83 points, like they did against Southeast on Tuesday, won’t win many games.
1) Pleasant Plains – The Cardinals shifted from being a very good small school team, to being a very good team period on Tuesday when they traveled to Jacksonville and beat the Crimsons who sit in the No. 3 spot in the Central State 8 power rankings. It looks like Williamsville might be amongst their toughest tests in the Sangamo this year and we don’t have to spend long wondering how that will shake out. Plains hosts the Bullets this Friday.
2) Williamsville – The Bullets jump PORTA and take over the No. 2 spot this week, thanks to the impressive outcomes of their last three games. Wins over North Mac and Peoria Heights might have been expected, but on Tuesday, Williamsville unleashed more offensive fire power than we were giving them credit for having. This makes Friday’s game at Plains a battle of what might be the two best teams in the area.
3) PORTA – Honestly, PORTA didn’t do anything to fall. The Bluejays have handled their business and then some against Havana and Beardstown over the past week. We concede that we may be influenced by the eye test here. Meaning, we’ve seen more of Williamsville than we have of PORTA. That will change soon enough.
4) Athens – The Warriors were without Nick Hanner (ankle), Hunter Maxwell (hip) and Devin Richardson (coach's decision) on Tuesday and still Athens led Williamsville by two at the half. It makes sense that Athens ran out of gas while missing 60 percent of their starting lineup. But it also makes sense, to us, that they’re capable of beating anyone, especially when they get those three back in the lineup.
5) Pawnee – The Indians won a rare double header on Saturday, beating Calvary at the Showcase at the PCCC, and then they traveled to Tri-City where they pulled out a one-point win on tired legs. On Tuesday they kept rolling in a win over Lutheran. We haven’t seen anything that makes us believe they’re not a top 5 team on this list.
Honorable Mention
Lincolnwood – The Lancers are on the outskirts of the Area teams, but they are making enough noise for us to keep an eye on them. The combination of the Morrisonville kids and the Lincolnwood kids seems to be working pretty well. Bryan Graham is a guard to watch this year and with Seth Foster at his side, the woodshed will be a scary place for teams to play this season. Graham scored his 1,000th career point in a one point win over their county rivals on Tuesday.
