CS8
1. Rochester – The loss of D’Ante’ Cox will hurt the Rockets on both sides of the ball as the senior wide receiver and defensive back broke two bones in his arm during last weeks thrashing of Jacksonville. There is still a chance that Cox could come back at some point this year. Luckily for Derek Leonard, though, Rochester has a lot of depth and that defense continues to thrive, pitching a week five shutout against the Crimsons.
2. SHG – Through the first month of the season, the Cyclones were running the football down everybody’s throats. Last week, though, SHG showed off the aerial display. Wide receiver, Michael Heeley scored five touchdowns and even lined up at running back. Diversifying that attack makes SHG that much scarier.
3. Eisenhower – The Panthers had no problems with Southeast. Caleb Dehority accounted for five total touchdowns and running back, Bryson Bonds continues to make a name for himself. Eisenhower faces its toughest test of the year so far this Friday, when Ike travels to Glenwood. The Panthers are seeking revenge from last seasons beat down that the Titans handed over.
4. Glenwood – The Titans were in need of a spark on the offensive side of the football heading into their week five game vs. Springfield. David Hay’s group got that in quarterback, Jubbar Cross. The junior playmaker threw for two touchdowns and ran for a score in a convincing win that seriously enhances Glenwood’s playoff hopes. The Titans seemed to have rallied around the switch, but can that carry over through the final four weeks of the regular season?
5. Jacksonville – The Crimsons got pasted by Rochester last Friday, but that’s been happening to everybody. With two wins and four weeks to play, the playoffs are still within striking distance. Jacksonville’s final four games are as followed: home vs. Lincoln, at Glenwood, home against Lanphier and Southeast.
6. Springfield – Roy Gully said that his Senators were overly confident heading into a must-win game vs. Glenwood last week. The offense sputtered, turned the ball over and couldn’t get much going. The playoffs are no in doubt for the Senators.
7. Southeast – Since Southeast handled Lanphier in week two, the Spartans have lost handily in three consecutive weeks. Southeast stares down a difficult game vs. SHG in week five.
8. MacArthur – The General picked up their first win of the season last week against Lincoln.
9. Lanphier – We’ve got another city game this Friday at Memorial Stadium. Can Lanphier pick up its first win vs. Springfield?
10. Lincoln – The Railers offense has scored some points through five weeks. That’s a plus compared to last season.
Sangamo
1. North Mac – Man, this is starting to feel familiar. North Mac goes for two at home to beat rival Auburn in the final minute of the game and improve to 5-0. More Panther magic. Now, with four weeks to play, North Mac has just two teams with winning records left on the schedule. Can Athens or Maroa spoil another 9-0 season in Virden?
2. Athens – The Warriors don’t ask for accolades. They don’t trumpet their success from any mountaintop. They just pull into town, get off the bus, deliver beatings, and leave you wondering what just happened. Think of it this way. Athens has a chance to beat Maroa in two straight meetings when they play on Friday. In the past five years, only one team has done that to the Trojans. Tolono Unity.
3. Williamsville – The Bullets got back to their bread and butter against Pleasant Plains, which means that Jace Franklin’s new nickname is apparently Bread and Butter. If there was a lesson learned from the loss to North Mac, it’s that you have to feed a guy like that at every opportunity. A 51-14 win last week at Pleasant Plains, in which Frankin scored four times, was confirmation of that point.
4. Maroa-Forsyth – The Trojans have outscored their opponents 256-63 en route to a 4-1 start, but only two of those opponents currently sport winning records. It’s a long way of saying the schedule gets a little thicker the rest of the way. A win over undefeated Athens on Friday would fix whatever confidence issues the Trojans have after the Week 3 loss to Williamsville. Because that’s what Maroa is short on. Confidence…
5. Auburn – North Mac isn’t the only team feeling deja vu all over again. Just like last season, the Trojans have dropped some terribly close games in heartbreaking fashion and at 2-3, things get real serious at this point. Auburn will likely have to beat Maroa in Week 8 or New Berlin in Week 9 to get to five wins.
6. New Berlin – The Pretzels’ bounce back has been one of the best stories of the first half of the season. You know what would make that story even better? If they can figure out how to get two more wins in the final four weeks of the season and make the playoffs. But, with Williamsville, Plains, Athens and Auburn still on the docket, that’s far from a guarantee.
7. Pleasant Plains – The Cardinals are sliding and now it appears they’ll be without quarterback Zach Ely this weekend against North Mac. The Cardinals were a sneaky pick against the Panthers who may have let their guard down for a week after two huge wins. But alas, without their first stringer taking snaps, it looks like the Cardinals are headed to 1-5.
8. PORTA – PORTA has a simple task at hand to keep their hands on the No. 8 spot. Beat No. 9 Pittsfield.
9. Pittsfield – Pittsfield has a simple means by which they can move up a spot from No. 9 this week. Beat No. 8 PORTA
10. Riverton – Riverton didn’t just score their first points of the season last week against New Berlin, they scored 22 of them. They’ll be tougher to come by against an Auburn team who’s going to be playing with a new found sense of urgency this week.
