Belleville West, East St. Louis ranked among top 10 in 7A with showdown looming
With their Southwestern Conference showdown looming ahead this weekend, the East St. Louis Flyers and Belleville West Maroons remain ranked in the Associated Press Class 7A Illinois state football poll released on Wednesday.
The Class 7A state champions just two years ago, East St. Louis (4-1) received four first place votes, the most of any Class 7A school, but remain fourth in the poll for the second straight week. Undefeated Batavia is ranked first with 90 points, followed by Nazareth Academy (88 points) and Chicago Borother Rice (78).
The Flyers, who defeated Collinsville 74-13 on Saturday to run their winning streak to four, have 75 points this week.
Belleville West (5-0), which will play at East St. Louis on Saturday in a game which could decide the SWC title, is ranked eighth for the second straight week. The Maroons defeated former league foe Granite City 52-7 last week.
Four other metro east area teams also are ranked in their respective classes.
Undefeated Highland (5-0), ranked third in Class 5a a week ago, dropped to fourth despite beating Mississippi Valley Conference rival Triad (44-14) last week.
The Class 4A poll has a strong local flavor with three teams ranked in the top 10. Columbia (5-0), which blasted Carlyle 47-0 last week remains fourth, while Mater Dei, ranked 10th a week ago, moved up four spots and is currently tied with Coal City for sixth with 46 points. The Knights (5-0) retained possession of the Milk Bowl with a 33-7 win over Central.
The Cahokia Comanches (4-1) make their first appearance in the Class 4A poll this week. Coach John Clay’s team is ranked 10th after beating previously undefeated Carbondale 28-7 last week.
Other local teams receiving votes but not ranked in the top of their respective classes are 4-1 Mascoutah (Class 5A), 4-1 Nashville (2A) and Madison (1A), which remains undefeated.
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) | 5-0 | 87 | 1 |
| 2. | Homewood-Flossmoor | 5-0 | 81 | 2 |
| 3. | Maine South (1) | 4-1 | 68 | 3 |
| 4. | Oswego | 5-0 | 60 | 4 |
| 5. | Marist | 4-1 | 56 | 5 |
| 6. | Glenbard West | 4-1 | 49 | 7 |
| 7. | Evanston | 4-1 | 20 | 6 |
| 8. | Bolingbrook | 4-1 | 19 | 10 |
| 9. | Hinsdale Central | 4-1 | 18 | NR |
| 10. | Waubonsie Valley | 5-0 | 10 | NR |
Others receiving votes: Loyola 7, Oswego East 6, Stevenson 6, Naperville Central 4, St. Charles East 2, Barrington 1, Neuqua Valley 1
Class 7A
| No. | Team | W-L | Pts | Prv |
| 1. | Batavia (2) | 5-0 | 90 | 1 |
| 2. | Nazareth (3) | 5-0 | 88 | 2 |
| 3. | Brother Rice (1) | 5-0 | 78 | 3 |
| 4. | East St. Louis (4) | 4-1 | 75 | 4 |
| 5. | Mt. Carmel | 4-1 | 61 | 5 |
| 6. | Simeon | 5-0 | 50 | 6 |
| 7. | Hononegah | 5-0 | 35 | 7 |
| 8. | Belleville West | 5-0 | 27 | 8 |
| 9. | Normal Community | 4-1 | 25 | 9 |
| 10. | Lincoln-Way West | 3-2 | 6 | 10 |
Others receiving votes: Lake Zurich 5, St. Charles North 4, Moline 3, Hersey 1, Hoffman Estates 1, Wheaton Warrenville South 1
Class 6A
| No. | Team | W-L | Pts | Prv |
| 1. | Cary Grove (6) | 5-0 | 104 | 1 |
| 2. | Oak Lawn Richards (4) | 5-0 | 102 | 2 |
| 3. | Willowbrook | 5-0 | 76 | 4 |
| 4. | Prairie Ridge | 4-1 | 73 | 3 |
| 5. | Phillips | 3-2 | 55 | 6 |
| 6. | Chatham Glenwood | 5-0 | 52 | 8 |
| 7. | Sacred Heart-Griffin (Springfield) | 4-1 | 44 | 9 |
| 8. | Providence | 4-1 | 30 | 7 |
| 9. | Niles Notre Dame | 4-1 | 23 | NR |
| 10. (tie) | Normal West & DeKalb | 4-1/4-1 | 23/23 | 10/5 |
Others receiving votes: None
Class 5A
| No. | Team | W-L | Pts | Prv |
| 1. | Washington (10) | 5-0 | 109 | 1 |
| 2. | Montini (1) | 5-0 | 97 | 2 |
| 3. | Sterling | 5-0 | 79 | T-4 |
| 4. (tie) | Highland | 5-0 | 77 | 3 |
| 4. (tie) | Hillcrest | 5-0 | 75 | T-4 |
| 6. | Antioch | 5-0 | 53 | 7 |
| 7. | Metamora | 5-0 | 27 | NR |
| 8. | Decatur MacArthur | 4-1 | 23 | NR |
| 9. (tie) | Joliet Catholic | 3-2 | 14 | 8 |
| 9. (tie) | Kaneland | 4-1 | 14 | NR |
Others receiving votes: Sycamore 10, Dunlap 10, Peoria Central 8, Mascoutah 4, Carbondale 2, St. Francis 1, Payton 1, Marian Central Catholic 1
Class 4A
| No. | Team | W-L | Pts | Prv |
| 1. | IC Catholic (10 | 5-0 | 138 | 2 |
| 2. | Rochester (2) | 4-1 | 104 | 1 |
| 3. | Taylorville | 5-0 | 102 | 3 |
| 4. | Columbia | 5-0 | 96 | 4 |
| 5. | Rockford Boylan | 4-1 | 86 | 5 |
| 6. (tie) | Coal City | 4-1 | 46 | 7 |
| 6. (tie) | Breese Mater Dei | 5-0 | 46 | 10 |
| 8. | Morris | 3-2 | 32 | 8 |
| 9. | Richmond-Burton | 4-1 | 28 | 6 |
| 10. | Cahokia | 4-1 | 27 | NR |
Others receiving votes: Pontiac 24, Herrin 19, Johnsburg 10, Rochelle 7, Raby 4, Fairbury Prairie Central 1
Class 3A
| No. | Team | W-L | Pts | Prv |
| 1. | Byron (13) | 5-0 | 130 | 1 |
| 2. | Carlinville | 5-0 | 96 | 3 |
| 3. | Monticello | 5-0 | 89 | 4 |
| 4. | Farmington | 5-0 | 88 | 2 |
| 5. | Bishop McNamara | 4-1 | 82 | 5 |
| 6. | Williamsville | 4-1 | 71 | 6 |
| 7. | Beardstown | 5-0 | 49 | 8 |
| 8. | Vandalia | 5-0 | 44 | 7 |
| 9. | DuQuoin | 5-0 | 33 | 10 |
| 10. | Elmwood-Brimfield | 5-0 | 15 | NR |
Others receiving votes: Lisle 7, North Boone 2, Hall 2, Paris, Pleasant Plains 2, Rock Island Alleman 2, Fairfield 1
Class 2A
| No. | Team | W-L | Pts | Prv |
| 1. | Maroa-Forsyth (10) | 5-0 | 127 | 1 |
| 2. | Orion (3) | 5-0 | 117 | 2 |
| 3. | Sterling Newman | 4-1 | 99 | 3 |
| 4. | Decatur St. Teresa | 5-0 | 93 | 4 |
| 5. | Eastland-Pearl City | 5-0 | 73 | 6 |
| 6. | Illini West (Carthage) | 5-0 | 71 | 5 |
| 7. | Chicago Hope Academy | 4-1 | 48 | 7 |
| 8. | Bismarck-Henning | 5-0 | 31 | 9 |
| 9. | Pana | 3-2 | 21 | NR |
| 10. | Mercer County | 3-2 | 9 | NR |
Others receiving votes: Nashville 7, Rockridge 4, Eldorado 3, Marshall 3
Class 1A
| No. | Team | W-L | Pts | Prv |
| 1. | Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley (12) | 5-0 | 127 | 2 |
| 2. | Lena-Winslow (1) | 4-1 | 107 | 1 |
| 3. | Ottawa Marquette | 5-0 | 95 | 4 |
| 4. | Tuscola | 4-1 | 83 | 5 |
| 5. | Princeville | 5-0 | 75 | 6 |
| 6. | Camp Point Central | 4-1 | 65 | 3 |
| 7. | Argenta-Oreana | 5-0 | 48 | 8 |
| 8. | Aurora Christian | 4-1 | 32 | 7 |
| 9. | Milledgeville | 5-0 | 27 | 10 |
| 10. | Concord (Triopia) | 4-1 | 20 | NR |
Others receiving votes: Madison 12, Sesser-Valier 7, Athens 6, Sidell (Jamaica)-Salt Fork 4, Carrollton 3, Fisher 2, Forreston 2