Highland now fourth in 5A state football poll. Columbia, East St. Louis also ranked
Fresh off a third straight lopsided win, the Highland Bulldogs moved up in the Associated Press Class 5A IHSA state football poll for the second straight week.
Led by three touchdown passes and 272 yards in the air from senior quarterback Jack Etter along with a 114-yard rushing effort from senior Brady Feldmann, the Bulldogs routed Marion 49-14 and moved from fifth to a tie with Hillcrest for fourth in the Class 5A poll. One of only three local teams to be ranked in the top 10, Highland (3-0) and Hillcrest (3-0) each collected 53 points in a voting conducted by a panel of sportswriters from throughout the state.
Undefeated Washington (3-0) was the unanimous choice as the top-ranked Class 5A team for the third consecutive week.
Two other local teams, East St. Louis and Columbia, also remain in the top in their respective classes.
East St. Louis is now third in Class 7A after winning its Southwestern Conference showdown with Class 8A power Edwardsville. Thanks to a 34-21 win, the Flyers (2-1) collected two first place votes and 67 points to edge Chicago Brother Rice for the third spot. Batavia (3-0) collected five first place votes and 86 points to earn the top spot in Class 7A
Columbia (3-0) dropped a spot in Class 4A despite defeating Salem 35-6 in a Cahokia Conference game. The Eagles, tied for fifth a week ago, are now sixth with 56 points.. Defending state champion Rochester is the top ranked team in Class 4A.
Edwardsville (1-2), ranked fifth in Class 8A a week ago, dropped out of the top 10 following its home loss to East St. Louis, but was one of several local teams to earn votes in their respective classes.
Also earning votes were Belleville West (3-0) in Class 7A, Mater Dei (3-0) and Cahokia (2-1) in Class 4A, Nashville (3-0) and Red Bud (2-1) in Class 2A and Madison (3-0) and Dupo (2-1) in Class 1A..
Here are the latest rankings of Illinois high school football teams in each class, according to an Associated Press panel of sportswriters:
Class 8A
| No. | Team | W-L | Pts | Prv |
| 1. | Lincoln-Way East (8) | 3-0 | 80 | 1 |
| 2. | Homewood-Flossmoor | 3-0 | 66 | 4 |
| 3. | Maine South | 2-1 | 51 | 3 |
| 4. | Loyola | 2-1 | 43 | 2 |
| 5. | Barrington | 3-0 | 42 | NR |
| 6. | Bollingbrook | 3-0 | 40 | 6 |
| 7. | Oswego | 3-0 | 31 | 8 |
| 8. | Marist | 2-1 | 29 | 7 |
| 9. | Glenbard West | 2-1 | 13 | 10 |
| 10. | Hinsdale Central | 2-1 | 12 | 9 |
Others receiving votes: Edwardsville 11, Huntley 9, Stevenson 9, St. Charles East 3, Oswego East 1.
Class 7A
| No. | Team | W-L | Pts | Prv |
| 1. | Batavia (5) | 3-0 | 86 | 1 |
| 2. | Nazareth (2) | 3-0 | 80 | 3 |
| 3. | East St. Louis (2) | 2-1 | 67 | 4 |
| 4. | Brother Rice | 3-0 | 59 | 5 |
| 5. | Chicago Mt. Carmel | 2-1 | 51 | 2 |
| 6. | Normal Community | 3-0 | 45 | 10 |
| 7. | Simeon | 3-0 | 33 | 7 |
| 8. | Lake Zurich | 2-1 | 24 | 8 |
| 9. | Benet | 3-0 | 23 | 9 |
| 10. | Hononegah | 3-0 | 15 | NR |
Others receiving votes: Belleville West 6, Lincoln Way West 4, Lincoln-Way Central 1, Moline 1.
Class 6A
| No. | Team | W-L | Pts | Prv |
| 1. | Cary Grove (5) | 3-0 | 91 | 3 |
| 2. | Oak Lawn Richards (3) | 3-0 | 89 | 4 |
| 3. | Prairie Ridge (1) | 2-1 | 69 | 1 |
| 4. | Willowbrook | 3-0 | 67 | 5 |
| 5. | Phillips (1) | 1-2 | 61 | 2 |
| 6. | DeKalb | 3-0 | 52 | 6 |
| 7. | Providence | 3-0 | 36 | 8 |
| 8. | Chatham Glenwood | 3-0 | 31 | 9 |
| 9. | Sacred Heart-Griffin (Springfield) | 2-1 | 30 | 7 |
| 10. | Normal West | 2-1 | 17 | 10 |
Others receiving votes: Bloomington 7.
Class 5A
| No. | Team | W-L | Pts | Prv |
| 1. | Washington (8) | 3-0 | 80 | 1 |
| 2. | Dunlap | 3-0 | 62 | 2 |
| 3. | Montini | 3-0 | 61 | 3 |
| 4. | Highland | 3-0 | 53 | 5 |
| 5. | (tie) Hillcrest | 3-0 | 53 | 4 |
| 6. | Sterling | 3-0 | 50 | 6 |
| 7. | Antioch | 3-0 | 30 | 9 |
| 8. | Joliet Catholic | 2-1 | 18 | NR |
| 9. | Peoria Central | 2-1 | 11 | 7 |
| 10. | Decatur MacArthur | 3-0 | 6 | NR |
Others receiving votes: Woodstock Marian 5, Sycamore 5, Kaneland 4, Carbondale 2.
Class 4A
| No. | Team | W-L | Pts | Prv |
| 1. | Rochester (8) | 3-0 | 115 | 1 |
| 2. | IC Catholic (4) | 3-0 | 112 | 2 |
| 3. | Rockford Boylan | 3-0 | 92 | 3 |
| 4. | Morris | 2-1 | 77 | T5 |
| 5. | Taylorville | 3-0 | 76 | 4 |
| 6. | Columbia | 3-0 | 56 | T5 |
| 7. | Richmond-Burton | 3-0 | 43 | 8 |
| 8. | Coal City | 2-1 | 38 | 9 |
| 9. | Geneseo | 2-1 | 12 | NR |
| T-10. | Herrin | 2-1 | 12 | 7 |
Others receiving votes: De La Salle 6, Breese Mater Dei 5, Johnsburg 4, Cahokia 3, Pontiac 3, Wheaton Academy 2, Raby 2, Samdwich 2.
Class 3A
| No. | Team | W-L | Pts | Prv |
| 1. | Byron (9) | 3-0 | 134 | 1 |
| 2. | Williamsville (4) | 3-0 | 121 | 2 |
| 3. | Farmington | 3-0 | 101 | 3 |
| 4. | Carlinville (1) | 3-0 | 92 | 4 |
| 5. | Monticello | 3-0 | 69 | 6 |
| 6. | Bishop McNamara | 3-0 | 68 | 7 |
| 7. | Vandalia | 3-0 | 60 | 5 |
| 8. | Rock Island Alleman | 2-1 | 37 | 10 |
| 9. | Beardstown | 3-0 | 32 | 8 |
| 10. | North Boone | 2-1 | 26 | NR |
Others receiving votes: DuQuoin 17, Elmwood-Brimfield 9, Pleasant Plains 8, Lisle 4, St. Joseph-Ogden 3.
Class 2A
| No. | Team | W-L | Pts | Prv |
| 1. | Maroa-Forsyth (10) | 3-0 | 125 | 1 |
| 2. | (tie) Orion (3) | 3-0 | 125 | T3 |
| 3. | Rockridge | 3-0 | 98 | 5 |
| 4. | Sterling Newman (1) | 2-1 | 96 | 2 |
| 5. | Decatur St. Teresa | 3-0 | 91 | T3 |
| 6. | Illini West (Carthage) | 3-0 | 72 | 6 |
| 7. | Pana | 3-0 | 61 | 7 |
| 8. | Mercer County | 2-1 | 36 | 9 |
| 9. | Eastland-Pearl City | 3-0 | 28 | T10 |
| 10. | Chicago (Hope) Academy | 2-1 | 15 | NR |
Others receiving votes: Bismarck-Henning 5, Nashville 5, Downs Tri-Valley 3, Auburn 3, Red Bud 2, Hamilton West Hancock 2, Marshall 2, El Paso-Gridley 1.
Class 1A
| No. | Team | W-L | Pts | Prv |
| 1. | Lena-Winslow (11) | 3-0 | 145 | 1 |
| 2. | Tuscola (1) | 3-0 | 127 | 2 |
| 3. | Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley (3) | 3-0 | 123 | 3 |
| 4. | Camp Point Central | 3-0 | 98 | 4 |
| 5. | Ottawa Marquette | 3-0 | 83 | 5 |
| 6. | Princeville | 3-0 | 66 | 6 |
| 7. | Aurora Christian | 3-0 | 62 | 7 |
| 8. | Forreston | 2-1 | 42 | 9 |
| 9. | Argenta-Oreana | 3-0 | 35 | 8 |
| 10. | Concord (Triopia) | 3-0 | 27 | NR |
Others receiving votes: Dakota 5, Fisher 4, Madison 3, Milledgeville 1, Athens 1, Dupo 1, Red Hill 1, Annawan/Wethersfield 1.