Michael O’Brien’s Super 25 high school football rankings for April 18, 2021

St. Francis and Antioch finally get the nod as we head into the final week of the season.

SHARE Michael O’Brien’s Super 25 high school football rankings for April 18, 2021
Brother Rice’s Willie Shaw (26) runs the ball against Loyola.

Brother Rice’s Willie Shaw (26) runs the ball against Loyola.

Kirsten Stickney/For the Sun-Times

New additions to the Super 25:

Antioch: There were two really easy calls this week on which teams to add to the rankings. I’ve had my eye on both the Sequoits and St. Francis since the preseason and they could have joined at any point over the last month.

St. Francis: The opening week win against IC Catholic opened everyone’s eyes and the Spartans haven’t let up.

Crete-Monee: The Warriors have been absolutely crushing opponents this season.

Dropping out:

Nazareth (2-2): The Roadrunners fall out after getting shut out 10-0 by Notre Dame. The amount of talent the team lost over the last few months is well documented and coach Tim Racki has been playing a ton of guys in every game, which is definitely the right call during this season. That’s more important than a ranking.

Phillips (3-1): I’ve kept a Public League team or two in the bottom of the rankings most of the season, choosing to give the powerhouses from the city the benefit of the doubt. There are several highly-ranked suburban teams that haven’t been challenged at all either. The Wildcats lost at Loyola this week and Simeon struggled to beat a talented young Kenwood team that Morgan Park shut out a few weeks ago. After seeing all the CPS powers, other than the Mustangs, my honest opinion is that Public League just isn’t Super 25 quality at this point.

Simeon (3-0): See above. It should be noted that the future is very bright for the top-level Public League teams. There are promising young players getting some important experience this spring.

Week 6’s Super 25

With record and last week’s ranking

1. Loyola (5-0) 1
Friday at No. 5 Marist

2. Lincoln-Way East (5-0) 2
Friday at Lincoln-Way West

3. St. Rita (4-1) 3
Friday at Notre Dame

4. Mount Carmel (4-1) 4
Friday at No. 11 Brother Rice

5. Marist (4-1) 5
Friday vs. No. 1 Loyola

6. Naperville Central (5-0) 6
TBD

7. Warren (5-0) 7
Friday vs. Libertyville

8. Maine South (5-0) 8
TBD

9. Hinsdale Central (5-0) 9
Friday at Lyons

10. Joliet Catholic (5-0) 10
Saturday vs. Marmion

11. Brother Rice (3-2) 12
Friday vs No. 4 Mount Carmel

12. Huntley (5-0) 14
TBD

13. Barrington (5-0) 15
Friday vs. No. 14 Prospect

14. Prospect (5-0) 16
Friday at No. 13 Barrington

15. Wheaton Warrenville South (4-1) 17
Friday vs. St. Charles North at NIU

16. Batavia (4-1) 18
Friday vs. No. 19 Wheaton North at NIU

17. Cary-Grove (3-0) 19
TBD

18. Neuqua Valley (3-0) 20
TBD

19. Wheaton North (4-1) 21
Friday vs. No. 16 Batavia at NIU

20. Hillcrest (4-1) 22
Saturday vs. Richards

21. Lake Forest (5-0) 24
Friday vs. Waukegan

22. Antioch (5-0) NR
Friday at Lakes

23. St. Francis (5-0) NR
Friday vs. McNamara

24. Glenbard West (2-1) 11
Saturday vs. Oak Park

25. Crete-Monee (4-0) NR
Friday vs. Kankakee

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