CS8
1. Rochester – As long as Derek Leonard is roaming the sideline for the Rockets, Rochester will have a potent offense, but it’s the team’s defense that has been the difference through three weeks. Last Friday, the Rockets held a very talented Southeast offense scoreless in the first half, bottling up Gavin Webb and only gave up a late touchdown when the game was sign, sealed and delivered. Rochester hosts Lincoln this Friday. Can the Rockets pitch their first shutout of the year?
2. SHG – You can’t take much away from SHG’s 62-0 win at Lincoln. The running clock was put into place in the first half, which is pretty rare. The Cyclones host Glenwood this Friday. That’s always a much-anticipated matchup.
3. Eisenhower – Interesting stat of the week: From 2006-12, the Panthers won a combined three games. Ike has already matched that total through three weeks in 2016. The Panthers are far and away the No. 3 team in the CS8. Coming back and scoring 30 unanswered points to defeat Jacksonville on the road is evidence of that.
4. Glenwood – Glenwood did what it was supposed to in week three. The Titans beat up on a bad Lanphier team. Zak Wardlow exited the game in the first half with a leg injury that isn’t all too serious. Jubbar Cross stepped in and scored four touchdown’s, running four 107 yards on seven carries. Have a night, kid.
5. Southeast – How will the Spartans respond to getting manhandled by Rochester’s defense last Friday? After giving up over 60 points in week one, Southeast came back with a really impressive performance in week two against Lanphier. They face a monumental game this Friday, hosting Springfield High. This is a matchup with huge playoff implications. The trash talk has been spit already. Things could get testy on Friday.
6. Jacksonville – The Crimsons showed some of their youth last week. J-Ville hopped out to a 27-16 lead in the second quarter, but went the rest of the game without scoring a point. The Crimsons travel to Decatur on Friday to face MacArthur.
7. Springfield – Nice redemption win for the Senators in week three against MacArthur after losing a second half lead to Jacksonville in the prior week. The Senators certainly don’t lack any confidence when a Channel1450.com microphone is in their grill. The Solons think they have a great shot against Southeast on Friday night. We’ll see if the chatter translates to solid play in between the lines.
8. MacArthur – The Generals are frustrating to watch. There will be a splash play one minute and a penalty the next. Amir Brummett is out this week after being ejected in week three. That’s a big blow.
9. Lanphier – The Lions host Eisenhower in week four. It’s been really tough sledding for Lanphier through the first month of the year.
10. Lincoln – Lincoln has had to undergo back-to-back weeks of traveling to SHG and Rochester. Lets leave it at that.
Sangamo
1. Williamsville – The Bullets are back. 30 unanswered points after recess on the road against newcomer Maroa-Forsyth and they did it in all facets. Aside from the offensive outpouring, Williamsville also pitched a shutout in the second half. How about special teams? Ace-kicker Adam Clark went a perfect 3-for-3 on big-time field goals, playing a key part in the Bullets’ statement win. When you play strong in all three phases and mount comebacks in consecutive weeks against Auburn and Maroa, you deserve to be firmly entrenched at No. 1. What does week four have in store for Williamsville? North Mac. No further explanation needed.
2. Maroa-Forsyth – The Trojans led Williamsville 22-13 at the break, but got worn down and out-physicaled by the Bullets after halftime. Remember, Maroa is a 2A school, so that might be a problem during a tough Sangamo slate. For 24 minutes, Josh Jostes’ club looked the part in their first real test of the season. We’ll see if Maroa can continue that for an entire game, something the first teamers didn’t have to play before last week.
3. Auburn – You just get that feeling that the Trojans haven’t quite hit their stride yet. Auburn’s experience was on full-display on the road against Pleasant Plains last week. Tai Haney’s pick six sealed a comeback win for the Trojans and the running game finally got going. The arrow is pointing up for Auburn and we’ll find out more about this team’s identity this week against Athens.
4. Athens – The Warriors’ defense has given up just 16 points this year. That’s simple math for us media folk, but it’s also pretty easy to be impressed by what the Warriors have done on the defensive side of the ball. Athens – Auburn is on of week four’s best matchups.
5. North Mac – The Panthers are averaging 48 points per contest through three weeks and that’s with a boatload of penalties that have taken away hundreds of potential yards offensively. (Seriously). North Mac has played some of the bottom tier teams in the Sangamo and Williamsville is up next. The Panthers can’t afford to play sloppy against the No. 1 Bullets or things could get ugly. Can North Mac rekindle the 2015 magic and defeat Williamsville on Friday night?
6. Pleasant Plains – The Cardinals are steadily improving every week. Although Plains has just one win to show for it, this is a young team that is benefitting from in game experience. The Cardinals travel to Maroa this week. If they can put together a clean game, the Birds could clip the Trojans on the road.
7. New Berlin – After a week one thrashing at the hands of Maroa, New Berlin slid down to No. 10 in our Power Rankings. The Pretzels have since nearly upset North Mac and then picked up Trevor Compardo’s first career win against PORTA last week. Way to respond, Pretzel Nation.
8. Pittsfield – The Saukees are in year three of their initial five year rebuilding window. From 2015 to this season, you’ve seen some improvements, but the Sangamo has also improved as a conference.
9. PORTA – Since a solid first half against North Mac is the season opener, the Jays have had a tough time on both sides of the ball.
10. Riverton – The Hawks still haven’t scored this season. That trend may snap this week against PORTA.
