Updated Illinois Power 25 Team Rankings

April 16, 2018
By Drew Locascio and Andy Sroka
Illinois Staff

This is the third installment of the Power 25 Rankings update and with plenty of action statewide, including four ranked teams representing Illinois at Midwest Select, there was plenty of shifting within this edition of the list. Three teams fell of the board, making way for three new teams to earn their season debuts on the Power 25.

Below is a look at last week's IHSA action:

UPDATED TOP 5

RANK	LAST WEEK	TEAM	CLASS	2018 RECORD
1	1	Neuqua Valley	4A	9-0
2	2	O'Fallon	4A	16-1-1
3	4	Lincoln-Way East	4A	12-1
4	6	St. Laurence	4A	13-1
5	8	Joliet Catholic	3A	8-3

CLIMBING

+ Lincoln-Way East - The Griffins (12-1) won three games last week and are on a 10-game win streak. They won their two games against Homewood-Flossmoor by a combined score of 21-3. Yet another strong week gets East into the top three.

+ St. Laurence - The Vikings had a great week, defeating two Power 25-ranked teams along the way, including heavyweights Mount Carmel. Despite their difficult schedule, St. Laurence is 13-1 this season. They beat the Caravan last week, 5-4, dismantled ranked Saint Viator, 17-7, and began their week with a blowout victory over De La Salle, 17-3. They broke into the top five for the first time this season.

+ Joliet Catholic - After a relatively slow start to the season, especially for a preseason No. 1, the Hilltoppers have caught some steam. They won both their games at Midwest Select last week, defeating perennial Indiana power Cathedral along the way. They’re now 8-3 on the year and are climbing back up the board.

+ New Trier - New Trier won all three of its games last week, including a 7-1 rout of ranked St. Rita. They’ve won seven in a row and are 8-1 this year as they continue to climb above their preseason ranking of No. 10.

+ Edwardsville - The Tigers lost two games last week but that doesn’t reflect just how well they’ve been playing in April. Their losses came to a talented Belleville East squad and the previously mentioned powerhouse Cathedral (IN). They remedied their record last week with four wins, including two in the Midwest Select. Their offense is firing right now and it’s got them shoving their way back up the charts.

+ Lockport - In a week where the Porters could only get in a couple of games against Bolingbrook, Lockport looked really good. They outscored the Raiders 17-1 combined in their two meetings. They're 10-1 this year and look capable of a serious run out of the Southwest Suburban.

+ St. Charles North - The North Stars snagged two wins over Geneva last week to take them to a 6-1 record on the season. They’ve been handily outscoring their opposition this spring, outside of a close one-run loss last month in Florida, and it’s reflected in their ranking.

+ Sandburg - The Eagles were very busy last week, playing in six games and winning five of them. They were featured at Midwest Select and downed all three of the high-level opponents they were pitted against. Their 12-5 trademark win over Kokomo (IN) has their season’s needle pointed north again -- not to mentioned two other wins over a solid Stagg squad. At 9-3 this year, they leap four spots.

+ Moline - Moline moves up a couple spots after thrashing United Township twice last week by the scores of 10-0 and 12-0. They’re 11-2 this season and are in the middle of a five-game win streak.

+ Libertyville - The Wildcats are undefeated in four April games and that includes their three huge wins over Waukegan last week. Libertyville swept Waukegan and outscored them 31-4. Their 9-3 record this spring helps them move up a few spots this week.

+ Oak Park-River Forest - The Huskies have only played six games this season but four of them were played last week and OPRF won all four, highlighted by 12-1 win over then-ranked Marist. The Huskies are undefeated, 6-0, and they’ll move up a few spots with their season finally off and running.

sinking

+ Mount Carmel - The Caravan bursted out to a hot start this season and represented Illinois well at NHSI but they haven’t been themselves since their return home. They lost twice last week, once to St. Laurence that was closely contested and another to Marian Catholic. They’re 10-4 this year and fall out of the top 10 after last week’s hiccups.

+ Glenwood - The Titans were off to one of the best starts in the state and were representing the 3A class very well until they hit a snag last week with two losses to Normal University. The Pioneers are now in the rankings and Glenwood just couldn’t get past them in two tight losses, their only losses in 2018. Still 11-2, Glenwood doesn’t leave the top 20, but those defeats hurt.

+ Lyons Township - Lyons went 1-2 last week with a tough 7-2 loss to Hinsdale Central and a two-game series split with York, another team fighting for a spot on the Power 25. The Lions have had some trouble getting their games in this season so losses like this are magnified. They’re 5-2 this spring and tumble a few spots because of it.

+ Mundelein - The Mustangs split their two-game series with Stevenson last week in their only action. They fall four spots after a 1-1 week carries them to an 8-3 record this year.

NEW TO THE TOP 25

+ No. 18 Normal U-High - The Pioneers of Normal U-High have only one loss on the year and that came to No. 2 O’Fallon by the score of 10-9. This past week the Pioneers faced conference foe Glenwood, who was ranked No. 10 at the time and swept the two-game series. U-High won the first game 9-7 and beat Glenwood ace, Jacob Maton, 1-0 in the second game.

+ No. 20 Huntley - The Red Raiders are new to the Power 25 this season but their ascent onto the board has been well-earned. Huntley’s 11-1 this year and went 3-0 last week to affirm their status as a ranked squad. They blew out Dundee-Crown and Crystal Lake Central by a combined score of 34-4 and won a 1-0 duel against Glenbard East. They make their season debut on this list at No. 20.

+ No. 25 Grayslake Central - Grayslake Central is one of the three teams in the Power 25 still undefeated and the only one with double digit amount of games under their belt. The offense has put up astounding numbers so far this spring, scoring double-digit runs in eight of their ten games. This past week they won all four of their games and outscored opponents 58-9.

DROPPED OUT

+ St. Viator - Two big losses to ranked squads St. Laurence and Brother Rice knock the Lions out of the Power 25 for the first time this season. The Crusaders downed Viator 12-0 while St. Laurence cruised to a 17-7 win. The Lions did manage a win over Prospect to help them to an 8-3 record this spring, not far off from being a ranked team once again.

+ Minooka - Minooka might be victims of other teams in the state riding hot streaks while they’ve cooled off. The Indians are 8-3 this season and didn’t do anything drastic to lose their grip on this list. They split their two-game series with Oswego last week and won a 9-6 game with Joliet Central.

+ Marist - The Redhawks’ tough schedule has prevented them from getting sustained success this spring. They were 2-2 last week with losses to Oak-Park River Forest and Providence Catholic but they managed to beat ranked Sandburg as well as Lincoln-Way West. Snapping off any sort of win streak or consistency gives them a good case to return to the Power 25 one of these weeks.