High school football: Michael O’Brien’s Super 25 rankings for Week 8

Morgan Park joins ahead of Saturday’s big showdown vs. Simeon.

By Michael O’Brien

Simeon’s Cameron Ashley (80) congratulates Andre Crews (4) after his touchdown against Kenwood.

There were some difficult decisions to make this week, despite the rankings remaining very stable overall.

Bolingbrook went from No. 10 to out of the rankings entirely for losing to a good Lockport team. That’s harsh. But the Raiders best win at this point is Week 1 against Minooka. It’s a bit late in the season to keep ranking a team based on close losses to excellent teams (unless you are Marist, who I keep giving the benefit of the doubt).

Homewood-Flossmoor lost its second consecutive game and drops out as well. Those losses are to Bolingbrook and Lincoln-Way East, so no shame in that. But the Vikings fall into the same category as the Raiders. There isn’t a high-quality win yet.

The third team that falls out this week is Joliet Catholic. I’ve been a little worried all season that the Hilltoppers were getting too much respect based on how terrific they were last season. The resume so far is ok. They close wins against IC Catholic and at Providence. The home loss in overtime to Brother Rice this past week knocks them off for now.

Don’t make any mistake though, Joliet Catholic is still a monster force in Class 4A.

Three teams leaving made some room for new blood. This is finally the week that Morgan Park cracks the Super 25. The Mustangs have a huge showdown vs. No. 5 Simeon on Saturday, so we will find out everything we need to know soon.

Morgan Park is unbeaten and has wins against Richards, Phillips, Kenwood and Rich.

Naperville Central returns to the rankings after picking up consecutive wins against good teams (Naperville North, DeKalb). The Redhawks’ early loss at Plainfield North is looking quite a bit better now as well.

The final team to join the rankings this week is St. Francis. The Spartans are unbeaten and haven’t had a challenge since winning 17-6 at Lake Forest in Week 1.

Is it a stretch to put a small school ahead of Bolingbrook, Homewood-Flossmoor and a few Fox Valley schools? Probably. But the St. Francis has been knocking on the door for a while and it has the chance to prove itself the final two weeks of the season against Riverside-Brookfield (5-2) and IC Catholic (6-1).

Week 8’s Super 25
With record and last week’s ranking

1. Mount Carmel (7-0) 1
Friday vs. St. Viator

2. Loyola (7-0) 2
Saturday vs. St. Patrick

3. Lincoln-Way East (7-0) 3
Friday vs. Lockport

4. York (7-0) 4
Friday vs. Willowbrook

5. Simeon (7-0) 5
Saturday vs. No. 24 Morgan Park at Gately

6. Glenbard West (6-1) 6
Saturday vs. Lyons

7. Hersey (7-0) 7
Friday at Elk Grove

8. Lemont (7-0) 8
Friday at Hillcrest

9. Prospect (6-1) 9
Friday at Wheeling

10. Marist (4-3) 11
Friday vs. Carmel

11. St. Rita (5-2) 12
Friday at Providence