Deron Powell Power Rankings: January 18th

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CS8

1) Lanphier: Lanphier hasn’t played since last week’s Power Rankings, when they held on to the top spot despite a loss at MacArthur. It’s safe to say that in next week’s Power Rankings we’ll have some more definitive data to help us with the coin flip that tis Lanphier/Southeast.

2) Southeast: Southeast sits in the same spot they did last year in the build up to City Tournament, but it feels like they’ve had considerably more “respek put on they name” this season. If you still doubt whether or not the Spartans are capable of going back to back at City, you’re not paying any attention.

3) MacArthur: Yes, MacArthur lost to Eisenhower on Friday, but they still sit ahead of the Panthers in the Power Rankings. Mac’s win over Lanphier is still the best win between the two and it seems to us that Mac and Ike could play 10 times and split them five to five.

4) Eisenhower: MacArthur also has just two conference losses at this point and after Tuesday’s loss at Jacksonville, Eisenhower now has four. Eisenhower has and will almost surely continue to alter the final CS8 standings, but it’ll probably be in a spoiler role. It’s hard to find a path for them to earn at least a share of the title.

5) Glenwood: If the Power Rankings are a reflection of who’s playing best currently, then the Titans get a big boost based on their recent run. The Titans have logged wins over Jacksonville and Lincoln since last week’s rankings. The loss on Tuesday to MacArthur shows the limitations this year’s Titans are faced with based on matchup issues.

6) Lincoln: We hate to beat the dead horse, but Friday’s 22 point overtime scoring output in a loss to Glenwood again shown the light on the offensive issues the Railers have encountered this season. They’ve got a makeup game with MacArthur at home tonight (Wednesday) and if they want to have any chance in the CS8 race, they can’t add to their three losses.

7) Jacksonville: The Crimsons picked up one of their most impressive wins of the season on Tuesday when they beat Eisenhower at The Bowl, avenging a 24 point loss to the Panthers from earlier this season. The Crimsons, namely James White, made almost everything they put up on Tuesday. If White returns to 2015-16 form from behind the arc, it makes the Crimsons considerably more dangerous. Friday’s matchup with Lincoln will help us shake things out between No. 6 and No. 7.

8) Springfield High: The Senators still have those two wins over Glenwood on their resume, but not much else. Here’s hoping High Pride doesn’t let it affect their turnout at City Tournament this week.

9) SHG: Because of ICE STORM OF THE CENTURY postponements, SHG hasn’t played a game since  January 6th. That will be a 13 day layoff between their last game and opening night of City Tournament on Thursday. That could either be really good or really bad for Kyle Krager’s Cyclones. <—- HOT TAKE.

10) Rochester: The Rockets travel to MacArthur and then host Glenwood on Saturday.

 

AREA

1) Pleasant Plains: The Cardinals took down previous long standing No. 1 Williamsville on Friday night in the Sangamon County Tournament finals. Our suspicions that Plains was starting to trend in the right direction was confirmed, not only with that win, but also with a win at PORTA on Tuesday night. Those two victories have propelled Plains from No. 5 last week to No. 1 on this list.

2) Williamsville: The Bullets were denied a County championship but they took down geographic rival Riverton and upstart New Berlin on their way to the title game. The Bullets are well coached, but not stacked with enough talent to take nights off. That defense will keep them in most games though.

3) New Berlin: The Pretzels didn’t respond to Williamsville’s defense as well as one might have hoped in the County semifinals. That being said, they had a three point third quarter lead in that eventual loss. It’s all about growth for this New Berlin team and being better composed against a team who makes their hay by getting up in you defensively is the next step for these Pretzels.

4) Athens: Athens stays in the No. 4 spot, but mostly because nobody did anything to supplant them. The Warriors dropped two of three at the County Tournament and time is running out for this team to figure out who they are now.

5) PORTA, or Auburn, or Pawnee: Ya, so no one really wants to own this final spot. PORTA fell at home on Tuesday to Pleasant Plains and finished third at the Winchester Tournament despite a No. 1 seeding. Auburn hasn’t lost a Sangamo game yet, but they lost by 25 to Pawnee in the consolation championship at County Tournament. Pawnee was in that final because they lost to Plains in the opener. We’ll give it a week to see if anyone grabs control.

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