SBLive Illinois Power 25 Week 8 High School Football Rankings: Glenbard West moves into Top 10

By Max Baker

Here is a look at the latest SBLive Illinois Power 25 high school football rankings.

• PREVIOUS RANKINGS: WEEK 1 | WEEK 2 | WEEK 3 | WEEK 4 | WEEK 5 | WEEK 6 | WEEK 7

SBLIVE ILLINOIS POWER 25 FOOTBALL RANKINGS:

October 20, 2022

1. East St. Louis (6-2)

Last week: 1

Next game: Oct. 21 at De Smet (Mo.)

Ranking rationale: East St. Louis beat Edwardsville 26-7 to win the Southwestern Conference championship outright last week. Edwardsville kept the game close, but East St. Louis pulled away late and again proved that there doesn’t seem to be an equal match from around the area. Robert Battle found Rico Bond for a 5-yard TD late in the fourth quarter to go ahead by 19.

2. Lincoln-Way East (8-0)

Last week: 2

Next game: Oct. 21 at Bradley-Bourbonnais

Ranking rationale: Running back James Kwiecinski ran for 287 yards and 4 touchdowns in Lincoln-Way East’s 37-10 win over Lockport. The margin between Lincoln-Way East and the rest of the unbeatens is slim.

3. Loyola Academy (8-0)

Last week: 3

Next game: Oct. 22 vs No. 4 Mount Carmel

Ranking rationale: Loyola didn’t get caught looking ahead to Mount Carmel with a 53-7 win over St. Patrick. Next week is definitely its biggest game of the year.

4. Mount Carmel (8-0)

Last week: 4

Next game: Oct. 22 at No. 3 Loyola Academy

Ranking rationale: The Caravan waltzed past St. Viator in dominating fashion 70-0. Junior running back Darion Dupree had four touchdowns in the win. Next up? A battle of two unbeatens.

5. Wheaton North (6-1)

Last week: 6

Next game: Oct. 21 vs. St. Charles East

Ranking rationale: Matt Kuczaj made two key plays in a 20-13 win over Geneva last week. The junior caught a 64-yard TD pass with 5:06 to go ahead by a touchdown. Later in the game, he had a pass breakup in the end zone to secure the win. A one-point loss to St. Charles North is the only thing keeping Wheaton North from an 8-0 record.

6. Lemont (8-0)

Last week: 7

Next game: Oct. 20 at Thornton Fractional South

Ranking rationale: Lemont remained unbeaten with a 42-8 win over Hillcrest.

7. Sacred Heart-Griffin (8-0)

Last week: 8

Next game: Oct. 21 at Springfield Southeast

Ranking rationale: Sacred Heart-Griffin clinched a share of the CS8 title with a 66-6 win over Lanphier. They took care of business against a team with just one win, but it was enough to move up one spot in the rankings.

8. Simeon (8-0)

Last week: 9

Next game: Oct. 22 vs. Lane Tech

Ranking rationale: Simeon defeated Morgan Park 42-22 in its toughest matchup of the season. Next up is a date with one-loss Lane Tech

9. York (8-0)

Last week: 10

Next game: Oct. 20 at Oak Park-River Forest

Ranking rationale: York led 28-0 at the half and finished with a 50-0 win over Willowbrook.

10. Glenbard West (7-1)

Last week: 11

Next game: Oct. 22 at Hinsdale Central

Ranking rationale: Glenbard West defeated Lyons 28-20 last week and still has just one loss on the year. A matchup with 4-4 Hinsdale Central is up next.

Vote now: Who should be SBLive's Illinois High School Athlete of the Week (Oct. 10-15)?

Photos: Jack Oberhofer's three TDs lead Glenbard West past Lyons

Photos: Andre Crews leads Simeon football past visiting Morgan Park

11. Hersey (8-0)

Last week: 12

Next game: Oct. 21 vs. Buffalo Grove

Ranking rationale: Hersey won a share of the Mid Suburban East title with a 42-0 win over Elk Grove. Senior Brett Kersemeier rushed for a career-high 178 yards and a touchdown.

12. Warren Township (7-1)

Last week: 13

Next game: Oct. 21 vs. Zion-Benton

Ranking rationale: Warren pitched a shutout in its 28-0 win over Lake Forest.

13. Prospect (7-1)

Last week: 14

Next game: Oct. 20 at Rolling Meadows

Ranking rationale: Prospect defeated Wheeling 44-12 to move to 7-1. The team’s only loss came in overtime to Hersey.

14. O’Fallon (7-1)

Last week: 15

Next game: Oct. 21 vs. Cahokia

Ranking rationale: O’Fallon defeated Alton 52-0 in another blowout win for a Top 25 team.

15. Prairie Ridge (7-1)

Last week: 16

Next game: Oct. 21 vs. Crystal Lake Central

Ranking rationale: Prairie Ridge quarterback Tyler Vasey threw for 301 yards and five touchdowns in the second half as Prairie Ridge edged past Crystal Lake South 48-41

16. Maine South (6-2)

Last week: 18

Next game: Oct. 21 vs. New Trier

Ranking rationale: Maine South defeated Evanston 28-7 for its fourth win in a row.

17. Edwardsville (6-2)

Last week: 17

Next game: Oct. 21 at Christian Brothers College (Mo.)

Ranking rationale: Edwardsville doesn’t drop this week despite the loss because of how close the Tigers kept the game against No. 1 East St. Louis. They played East St. Louis tougher than any team in Illinois this year. Joey DeMare cut the Flyers lead to 12-7 midway through the third quarter with a TD, but that was all the scoring in a 26-7 loss.

18. Chicago Marist (5-3)

Last week: 19

Next game: Oct. 21 at Brother Rice

Ranking rationale: Marist defeated Carmel 44-30 and slid up one spot in the rankings because of its strength of schedule.

19. St. Rita (6-2)

Last week: 20

Next game: Oct. 21 vs. Nile Notre Dame

Ranking rationale: St. Rita defeated Providence Catholic 26-16 for its fifth consecutive win. A big matchup against 6-2 Niles Notre Dame is on the horizon.

20. Crete-Monee (6-2)

Last week: 21

Next game: Oct. 21 vs. Kankakee

Ranking rationale: After dropping its first two games of the season, Crete-Monee has rattled off six straight wins including a 61-6 victory over Bloom last week.

21. St. Charles North (7-1)

Last week: 22

Next game: Oct. 21 at Batavia

Ranking rationale: St. Charles North’s defense kept the North Stars in the ballgame during a 14-7 win over Glenbard North. An Ethan Plumb 65-yard touchdown pass to Zachary Priami helped give St. Charles North the victory.

22. South Elgin (8-0)

Last week: 23

Next game: Oct. 21 at Streamwood

Ranking rationale: South Elgin remained unbeaten with a 53-7 win over Bartlett last week.

23. Neuqua Valley (6-2)

Last week: 5

Next game: Oct. 20 at Metea Valley

Ranking rationale: Neuqua Valley was stunned for its second loss of the season to DeKalb 14-0. The loss was the first in conference play for the Wildcats while DeKalb became playoff eligible for the first time since 2019. DeKalb made life difficult for ​​Ryan Mohler at quarterback. He finished 8 of 29 for 100 yards and two interceptions. Two early scores for DeKalb were the difference as neither team scored in the second half.

24. Lockport (5-3)

Last week: 23

Next game: Oct. 21 at Andrew

Ranking rationale: Lockport struggled offensively in its 37-10-point loss to Lincoln-Way East. After defeating Bolingbrook last week, it’s hard to get a good gauge on the ceiling for Lockport.

25. Bolingbrook (5-3)

Last week: 25

Next game: Oct. 21 vs. Stagg

Ranking rationale: Bolingbrook bounced back from a heartbreaking loss to Lockport with a comfortable win 44-7 over Lincoln-Way Central. They now have qualified for the playoffs as well.

For live updates and complete statewide results, bookmark our Illinois high school football scoreboard: STATEWIDE ILLINOIS FOOTBALL SCOREBOARD

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