CS8
1. Southeast – The five spot was the perfect launching pad yet again in our Power Rankings. Not saying we deserve a thank you from the Spartans, but we did kind of a call it. The Spartans handled Lanphier in impressive fashion on Friday to send the CS8 into a four way tie at the top. Southeast then went into Roy S. Anderson for the second time in eight days and came away victorious Wednesday night. Lawrence Thomas and his team have a chance to bring a regional championship home to the East Side with a win over Eisenhower.
2. Jacksonville – Back to the second slot, but by the skin of their teeth. The Crimsons looked a little rusty after their week off heading into regionals against Rochester, escaping on their home floor in double overtime. Jacksonville can still say they are Central State Eight champions, sharing with Southeast, Lanphier and Glenwood. It’s possible that the Crimsons were looking ahead to Lanphier and nearly slipped up against the Rockets, but now that they are there, a regional championship is within reach at the Bowl.
3. Lanphier – The Lions are lucky they only fall one spot after the stomping they took last week, losing to Glenwood at home and then to Southeast on the road. But if you didn’t hear…Xavier Bishop couldn’t miss at the Bowl on Tuesday. Even with their recent struggles, Lanphier won a share of the CS8 title and have a chance to exact some revenge on the Crimsons at the Bowl on Friday and bring a regional championship home to the North Side. Bishop said Tuesday “you’re going to have to kill me to send me home.” Get your popcorn ready for Friday’s showdown between Lanphier and Jacksonville.
4. Glenwood – We waited until Thursday for this week's Power Rankings to see how things shook out in the regional semifinals and that’s why the Titans fall to four. Glenwood had to play the host school in the 4A Alton regional and returned home with their hearts broken and their season ended. After beating Lanphier on their home floor, they dropped a tough one to Lincoln and to Alton and now have to get ready for baseball season.
5. Eisenhower – Beating their crosstown rivals twice in a week and having a shot at the 3A Lincoln regional championship Friday allows the Panthers to leap into the fifth spot this week. The five spot in our power rankings is quite the place to be for the past few weeks, so Southeast should be wary. Ike showed us they could play with everybody all year but just couldn’t close the deal. Recently the Panthers have flipped the script and have a shot at a sectional berth in Taylorville next week.
6. MacArthur – The Generals faltered down the stretch and it cost them against the CS8 team they share the Soy City with. Ike clipped Mac twice in the past week and ended MacArthur’s season. Bright side? The Brummetts will be back.
7. Lincoln – Many picked the Railsplitters to be a sleeper in their own regional after showing they could get it done at Chatham last Friday. Lincoln’s roller coaster season ended Wednesday at the hands of the Spartans, nothing to be ashamed of there.
8. Rochester – The Rockets threw everything they had at the Crimsons and nearly pulled off the biggest postseason upset we could imagine. A double overtime thriller ended with Rochester returning home empty handed against Jacksonville. That just means we’re one step closer to football season again for Rocket nation though.
9. Springfield – The Senators picked up a postseason win on Monday in the quarterfinals but then ran into the buzzsaw was the Xavier Bishop Show on Tuesday.
10. SHG – Baseball season is here and the turf is ready.
