My final top ten

[USD24]

I feel that the top two are pretty set with MC and Rice. After that its kind of a crap shoot. Can use a lot of transitive property to make a case for a group of teams. Here's what I feel are the top ten after watching all the title games (4A-8A)
Top 10 (Chicagoland)
1. MC
2. Rice
3. Fenwick
4. Oswego
5. Montini
6. Rita
7. St Francis
8. LWE
9. Naz
10. Providence

Note-if ESL was included, I would probably have them after Oswego.

 

[Snetsrak61]

I feel that the top two are pretty set with MC and Rice. After that its kind of a crap shoot. Can use a lot of transitive property to make a case for a group of teams. Here's what I feel are the top ten after watching all the title games (4A-8A)
Top 10 (Chicagoland)
1. MC
2. Rice
3. Fenwick
4. Oswego
5. Montini
6. Rita
7. St Francis
8. LWE
9. Naz
10. Providence

Note-if ESL was included, I would probably have them after Oswego.

I guess playing on championship weekend rightfully gives some extra due, but Naz beat both Rita and Francis by multiple TDs during regular season (48-24 and 42-16). That and losing to your third ranked team on a OT game by one in the semis. Not sure they should drop all the way to below teams they beat handily.

Going off box scores I'm not sure Lockport and Fremd don't deserve top 10 consideration too.

 

[SiuCubFan8]

I guess playing on championship weekend rightfully gives some extra due, but Naz beat both Rita and Francis by multiple TDs during regular season (48-24 and 42-16). That and losing to your third ranked team on a OT game by one in the semis. Not sure they should drop all the way to below teams they beat handily.

Going off box scores I'm not sure Lockport and Fremd don't deserve top 10 consideration too.

That 5-10 +Fremd and Lockport is a big mash of really good teams.

 

[McCaravan]

I feel that the top two are pretty set with MC and Rice. After that its kind of a crap shoot. Can use a lot of transitive property to make a case for a group of teams. Here's what I feel are the top ten after watching all the title games (4A-8A)
Top 10 (Chicagoland)
1. MC
2. Rice
3. Fenwick
4. Oswego
5. Montini
6. Rita
7. St Francis
8. LWE
9. Naz
10. Providence

Note-if ESL was included, I would probably have them after Oswego.

Good list but Francis beat Rita and won State I'd put them above them.

 

[Cross Bones]

Tough...

MC earned #1

After that not sure... does Fenwick's win propel them over Rice? Does Montini beat Fremd or Maine South or Lockport? How much do we hold Rita's and Oswego's regular season against them? If we're only going by how teams looked in week 14 does Fenwick have an argument for #1? What do we do with LWE? That MC game was tough to watch, but do we think SF beats them, the same SF that struggled with PR and MP?

Kudos to those that try to answer those questions

 

[tuccs]

1. MC (Never a doubt undefeated best team in state since day 1)
2. Rice (Only loss was to the best team in state)
3. Fenwick (Beat the best public school in 6a with quality national losses)
4. Oswego (Gave MC their second closest scare and 8a Runner up)
5. Montini (ran the table beat 4a powerhouse Rochester)
6. Naz (lost in OT after not winning on a defensive penalty to the #3 team in state and only other loss to MC)
7. Franny (won 5a without JCA or Naz and lost the head to head as well as an additional loss)
8. ESL (best 6a public school and runner up with 4 quality losses.)
9. Rita (bounced back after a terrible start to be 7a Runner Up
10. Provi (mismanaged its way out of a 5a championship)

Honorable mention LWE (beat up on all other publics with their transfer USC commit)


If you want to keep it Chicagoland replace ESL with LWE they are interchangeable

 

[godfthr53]

Maybe a homer but I just can't have Rita and Francis above Naz when they clocked them both and a 1pt loss to Fenwick which very well could have been a win. I was debating giving Fenwick the Nod over Rice only because I think Head to Head Fenwick has the advantage.

1. MC
2. Rice
3. Fenwick
4. Oswego
5. Montini
6. Naz
7. LWE
8. St Francis
9. Rita
10. Providence

IF my sources are correct Naz plays 5 of these teams next year. Yikes.

 

[McCaravan]

MC
Rice
Montini
Fenwick
Oswego
St. Francis
LWE
Naz
Rita
Providence

LWE too high? Maybe. Do I think they would have beaten Naz, Rita or Providence? Yes. The MC game didn't define them, they had a bad game, and MC couldn't miss that day.

Next 5 would be Lockport, Fremd, DGN, Maine South, and Loyola.

These are Chicagoland, ESL and Byron were not included because of that.

 

[Snetsrak61]

For what it's worth, here's final Massey ratings top 25

Mt Carmel
Brother Rice
East St Louis
LWE
Montini
Fenwick
Nazareth
Loyola
St Rita
Maine South
Oswego
Glenbard West
Downers Grove North
Byron
St. Charles North
Fremd
Lockport
Batavia
St Francis
Barrington
LT
Providence
Carmel
Sandburg
LWC

So that's just the computer. Then you gotta do some vibe checks for sure.

Oswego has to be top 10. Not only did they make final, but relative to the rest of Mt. Carmel opponents they played well. They also have to leap the MS they best h2h. And I'd say have them leap LWE who they played closer than against Mt. Carmel

Fenwick can't be lower than the team they beat. I don't care if ESL would have won more often than not.

Vibe adjusted Massey ratings.

Mt Carmel
Brother Rice
Montini
Fenwick
Oswego
East St Louis
LWE
Nazareth
Lockport
Fremd

I'd say after ESL at 6 it starts to get a lot tougher, especially how to weight total resume against post season finish and which class they are in.

 

[RockSoop]

For what it's worth, here's final Massey ratings top 25

Mt Carmel
Brother Rice
East St Louis
LWE
Montini
Fenwick
Nazareth
Loyola
St Rita
Maine South
Oswego
Glenbard West
Downers Grove North
Byron
St. Charles North
Fremd
Lockport
Batavia
St Francis
Barrington
LT
Providence
Carmel
Sandburg
LWC

So that's just the computer. Then you gotta do some vibe checks for sure.

Oswego has to be top 10. Not only did they make final, but relative to the rest of Mt. Carmel opponents they played well. They also have to leap the MS they best h2h. And I'd say have them leap LWE who they played closer than against Mt. Carmel

Fenwick can't be lower than the team they beat. I don't care if ESL would have won more often than not.

Vibe adjusted Massey ratings.

Mt Carmel
Brother Rice
Montini
Fenwick
Oswego
East St Louis
LWE
Nazareth
Lockport
Fremd

I'd say after ESL at 6 it starts to get a lot tougher, especially how to weight total resume against post season finish and which class they are in.

Vibe adjusted? Yes Naz has had St. Rita’s number the last couple of years so that may color your assessment but St. Rita in the last 6 full years 5 semifinal appearances and taking the consensus #2 team into the 4th with all the mo and the only separation being a special teams safety and a dropped TD? St. Rita is a top ten program and with the year ended a definite top ten team.

I pause writing some of this because I do not want to take away from Brother Rice’s exceptional championship season and St. Rita’s WR Walter Jones’ exceptional career. St. Rita’s recent success is because of Walter Jones who will always be loved by the St. Rita family. But in the end the 2025 Mustangs are a top ten team. Great debate tho

 

[Kevin JCHS 1981]

For the final adjust Top 5 for 2025

1. Wilmington
2. (tie) Mt Carmel
2. (tie) Brother Rice
4. Montini
5. Byron

Notables: ESL, Fenwick, Nazareth, St. Francis, Oswego

Let the offseason chatter begin.

 

[Snetsrak61]

Vibe adjusted? Yes Naz has had St. Rita’s number the last couple of years so that may color your assessment but St. Rita in the last 6 full years 5 semifinal appearances and taking the consensus #2 team into the 4th with all the mo and the only separation being a special teams safety and a dropped TD? St. Rita is a top ten program and with the year ended a definite top ten team.

I pause writing some of this because I do not want to take away from Brother Rice’s exceptional championship season and St. Rita’s WR Walter Jones’ exceptional career. St. Rita’s recent success is because of Walter Jones who will always be loved by the St. Rita family. But in the end the 2025 Mustangs are a top ten team. Great debate tho

Well it's a single year rating, not multi year program rating. Hats off to St Rita on their run. It was impressive as all heck and the boys deserve credit. But it's really hard to go top 10 on the total resume on 4 losses imo.

 

[RockSoop]

Well it's a single year rating, not multi year program rating. Hats off to St Rita on their run. It was impressive as all heck and the boys deserve credit. But it's really hard to go top 10 on the total resume on 4 losses imo.

Fair enough.

 

[4Afan]

That’s a crock of **** right there. Makes zero sense, it’s how you FINISH the season. Oh you clocked subpar teams all year and then got boat raced in the playoffs, you deserve top10 lol get outta here.

hypothetical here, duke wins Saturday. Then finds a way to win a playoff game. At the end of the year, should Miami and Virginia be ranked higher than them because they had a better full season? Or if Indiana loses round 2 should they be a top 3 team end of year based off going 12-0?

it’s how you finish the year. You want to be ranked higher then win games and beat the team infront of you whether you’re 9-0 or 5-4

You lose your analogy with college football because if Duke wins Saturday the ACC won't have a playoff team. CFP takes the highest 5 ranked conference championship, doesn't have to be a power 5 conference.

 

[BoulderSoup]

You lose your analogy with college football because if Duke wins Saturday the ACC won't have a playoff team. CFP takes the highest 5 ranked conference championship, doesn't have to be a power 5 conference.

Thanks Herbstreit

 

[JCHillmen10]

You lose your analogy with college football because if Duke wins Saturday the ACC won't have a playoff team. CFP takes the highest 5 ranked conference championship, doesn't have to be a power 5 conference.

Yep, Duke winning is a nightmare scenario for the ACC. They then won't get a bid. The North Texas/Tulane winner and James Madison would be the fourth and fifth conference champion selected, leaving the ACC bidless.

 

[PowerI66]

How do we feel Oswego does if they were on the other side of the bracket?

 

[Snetsrak61]

How do we feel Oswego does if they were on the other side of the bracket?

Well they don't make the finals, but they played MC about as close as anyone in playoffs and they still had a overall solid slate of games and showing on the side of the bracket they did have. If them and Fremd had flipped we're probably having the opposite discussion.

 

[PowerI66]

Well they don't make the finals, but they played MC about as close as anyone in playoffs and they still had a overall solid slate of games and showing on the side of the bracket they did have. If them and Fremd had flipped we're probably having the opposite discussion.

I ask because I think we are giving a lot of credit to the Oswego defense when it seemed to me like the only reason it was that close was because MC wasn't completing passes that they completed the rest of the season. Still think Oswego played very well, but I think we have to use our eyes instead of just what the final score was.

 

[Wittymoniker1]

Vibe adjusted? Yes Naz has had St. Rita’s number the last couple of years so that may color your assessment but St. Rita in the last 6 full years 5 semifinal appearances and taking the consensus #2 team into the 4th with all the mo and the only separation being a special teams safety and a dropped TD? St. Rita is a top ten program and with the year ended a definite top ten team.

I pause writing some of this because I do not want to take away from Brother Rice’s exceptional championship season and St. Rita’s WR Walter Jones’ exceptional career. St. Rita’s recent success is because of Walter Jones who will always be loved by the St. Rita family. But in the end the 2025 Mustangs are a top ten team. Great debate tho

I agree with Rock. They deserve to be in the Top Ten. Rock pointed out some very plausible arguments.

They lost 4 games to State Champions. Their road in 7A wasn't easy. In R2, quarters and semifinals, some top people who know High School football had Rita losing those games. LWC was a very good team, Rita put 56 on Hersey and 54 on Batavia.

 

[Wittymoniker1]

I feel that the top two are pretty set with MC and Rice. After that its kind of a crap shoot. Can use a lot of transitive property to make a case for a group of teams. Here's what I feel are the top ten after watching all the title games (4A-8A)
Top 10 (Chicagoland)
1. MC
2. Rice
3. Fenwick
4. Oswego
5. Montini
6. Rita
7. St Francis
8. LWE
9. Naz
10. Providence

Note-if ESL was included, I would probably have them after Oswego.

I think this is legit. Being objective, as McCaravan pointed out, SF did beat Rita in Chicago and won a State Championship. Great list, though!

 

[Snetsrak61]

I agree with Rock. They deserve to be in the Top Ten. Rock pointed out some very plausible arguments.

They lost 4 games to State Champions. Their road in 7A wasn't easy. In R2, quarters and semifinals, some top people who know High School football had Rita losing those games. LWC was a very good team, Rita put 56 on Hersey and 54 on Batavia.

Quality losses can be factored, but gotta be careful not to factor it over quality wins either. 9-13 was really a big jumble to me, and you could probably flip a coin. Unfortunately we dont necessarily have tons of head to heads at that stage. 7th, 9th, 13th, 15th... All would be pretty meaningless compared to what Rita actually accomplished a 7A runner up trophy. So all congrats are due, but I don't see it personally when making my final cut.

 

[Still Missing34]

How do we feel Oswego does if they were on the other side of the bracket?

Probably lose to Mt. Carmel earlier.

 

[Tez711]

Looks like we should just do statewide..for us down south folk….

1- Mt.Carmel
2- BR
3- Montini
4- Fenwick
5- Oswego
6- ESL
7- Naz
8- LWE
9- St. Francis
10- Providence

SR and Byron are honorable mentioned

 

[godfthr53]

I think this is legit. Being objective, as McCaravan pointed out, SF did beat Rita in Chicago and won a State Championship. Great list, though!

I'll still think Naz has to be above Rita and Francis at 6. They clocked them both. Both had much easier Roads to week 14.
I also think I'd put Francis above Rita. Francis won on the field and has better overall wins.

 

[USD24]

MC
Rice
Montini
Fenwick
Oswego
St. Francis
LWE
Naz
Rita
Providence

LWE too high? Maybe. Do I think they would have beaten Naz, Rita or Providence? Yes. The MC game didn't define them, they had a bad game, and MC couldn't miss that day.

Next 5 would be Lockport, Fremd, DGN, Maine South, and Loyola.

These are Chicagoland, ESL and Byron were not included because of that

Looks like we should just do statewide..for us down south folk….

1- Mt.Carmel
2- BR
3- Montini
4- Fenwick
5- Oswego
6- ESL
7- Naz
8- LWE
9- St. Francis
10- Providence

SR and Byron are honorable mentioned

I would include Rochester as an HR as well. They hung pretty well with Montini

 

[Tez711]

I would include Rochester as an HR as well. They hung pretty well with Montini

Totally agree!

 

[Cross Bones]

Changed my mind lol

1. Lena-Winslow - no one was as dominant
2. Wilmington - 2nd most dominating
3. MC - stellar season
4. Fenwick - eye opening win over ESL
5. Rice - got the job done
6. Byron - machine like
7. Oswego - comeback kids
8. LWE - when healthy tough to beat unless against MC
9. ESL - still top shelf, if the game played in November maybe different result
10. Fremd - Aaron Rodgers

 

[Anon622286]

Wilmington was much more dominant than LW in my opinion. Lena lost by 24 in the regular season to a team in their same class. Wilmington lost to a team 2 classes bigger (that went to the semis). Wilmington was much more dominant in the playoffs than Lena too.

 

[Cross Bones]

Wilmington was much more dominant than LW in my opinion. Lena lost by 24 in the regular season to a team in their same class. Wilmington lost to a team 2 classes bigger (that went to the semis). Wilmington was much more dominant in the playoffs than Lena too.

I meant in the championship game.

 

[Alexander33]

All things considered:

1. Mt. Carmel (14-0) [Undefeated 8A champion that also plays in the best division from the best conference in the state.]
2. Brother Rice (13-1) [Didn't look great in the cold, but 7A champ's only loss was to #1 team.]
3. Montini (14-0) [Handled every playoff game by double digits and finished two places ahead of Fenwick in the White Division.]
4. Fenwick (11-3) [A well-earned 6A championship needs no further justification, but, they also lost to Mt. Carmel by only 7 points.]
5. Nazareth (11-2) [The CCL/ESCC Green Division champion was as close to beating Fenwick as a team can get, but came up just short.]
6. Loyola (4-5) [Yes, it was an up and down season, but they defeated St. Francis and gave Mt. Carmel its most difficult playoff game.]
7. Oswego (11-3) [The 8A runner-up had big wins over Bolingbrook, Maine South and Lockport. They also battled well against Mt. Carmel.]
8. East St. Louis (10-4) [Yes, they lost the championship game, but it was a genuine upset. Look at the yardage.]
9. Byron (14-0) [Who beat IC Catholic more handily this year? Not Nazareth, not St. Rita, and not St. Francis who lost by 7]
10. St. Francis (11-3) [They beat Providence for a second time to win the 5A championship, and also won at St. Rita.]

Regarding Lincoln-Way East, I am not putting a three-loss, 41-point playoff loser in my top ten. Nor am I putting any team they easily beat in my top ten (sorry Maine South).

With respect to St. Rita, they had a very difficult schedule and are certainly better than a typical five-loss team; but at some point you have to at least come close to winning one of those games. They lost by 21 points to Mt. Carmel, 18 points and 16 points to Brother Rice, 24 points to Nazareth, and their 7-point loss to St. Francis was a home game. In my humble opinion that does not describe a top-ten team.

 

[redhawks_2015]

I feel that the top two are pretty set with MC and Rice. After that its kind of a crap shoot. Can use a lot of transitive property to make a case for a group of teams. Here's what I feel are the top ten after watching all the title games (4A-8A)
Top 10 (Chicagoland)
1. MC
2. Rice
3. Fenwick
4. Oswego
5. Montini
6. Rita
7. St Francis
8. LWE
9. Naz
10. Providence

Note-if ESL was included, I would probably have them after Oswego.

I think Oswego is getting a lot of hype. Mount Carmel had a bad game in the cold weather, and Oswego played their best game of the year when they needed to… just came up short. They barely beat Lockport the week before, and I think LWE, ESL, Fremd, MS, DGN, GBW could take care of them. 9 times out of 10 I feel Mount Carmel beats them by 3 scores and this happened to be the one time they got played tough. MC beats any public by 2 scores at least besides MAYBE ESL if they play there best game. However, I have Mount Carmel by a touchdown if they play Mount Carmel football

 

[redhawks_2015]

Tough...

MC earned #1

After that not sure... does Fenwick's win propel them over Rice? Does Montini beat Fremd or Maine South or Lockport? How much do we hold Rita's and Oswego's regular season against them? If we're only going by how teams looked in week 14 does Fenwick have an argument for #1? What do we do with LWE? That MC game was tough to watch, but do we think SF beats them, the same SF that struggled with PR and MP?

Kudos to those that try to answer those questions

Football is all about matchups, if Nazareth had beat Fenwick then ESL would be champions. Fenwick was better against ESL’s weaknesses and it showed Tuesday. For example, I think Mount Carmel would beat Carmel Catholic by a few scores. The same team that beat Loyola by 3 scores. The same Loyola team that was a possession from ending MC’s 4 peat. That’s what’s crazy and also awesome about football

 

[Doctor_D]

Wilmington was much more dominant than LW in my opinion. Lena lost by 24 in the regular season to a team in their same class. Wilmington lost to a team 2 classes bigger (that went to the semis). Wilmington was much more dominant in the playoffs than Lena too.

Wilmington had perhaps the most dominant playoff run of all time. I don’t believe anyone else has ever had 5 playoff running clocks. 2008 IC, 2016 IC and 2024 Althoff were close but I don’t think any of them had all five.

 

[Still Missing34]

I think Oswego is getting a lot of hype. Mount Carmel had a bad game in the cold weather, and Oswego played their best game of the year when they needed to… just came up short. They barely beat Lockport the week before, and I think LWE, ESL, Fremd, MS, DGN, GBW could take care of them. 9 times out of 10 I feel Mount Carmel beats them by 3 scores and this happened to be the one time they got played tough. MC beats any public by 2 scores at least besides MAYBE ESL if they play there best game. However, I have Mount Carmel by a touchdown if they play Mount Carmel football

They are being hyped for a reason, they played their best football when it mattered most.

 

[4Afan]

Here's what MaxPreps has to say.

Illinois Football (2025) Rankings

MaxPreps rankings for Illinois football (2025). Every high school football team in the nation is ranked. Find out where your teams stands...

www.maxpreps.com

 

[CCHS-Fan]

‘For example, I think Mount Carmel would beat Carmel Catholic by a few scores. The same team that beat Loyola by 3 scores.’

CCHS beat LA by (4) scores (42-14).

Also beat Fenwick by (2) scores (38-24), and lost to Montini Catholic by 1 point (55-54).

Carry on…

 

[redhawks_2015]

‘For example, I think Mount Carmel would beat Carmel Catholic by a few scores. The same team that beat Loyola by 3 scores.’

CCHS beat LA by (4) scores (42-14).

Also beat Fenwick by (2) scores (38-24), and lost to Montini Catholic by 1 point (55-54).

Carry on…

4 scores* I was going off the top of my head, and yes the Fenwick score too. The montini game was a top 5 game of the year entertainment wise and could have gone either way. I can’t say with 100% accuracy what would happen if MC played Carmel, but it would be fun. My main point was Any solid CCL team can hang with and beat anyone any given Friday and people shouldn’t solely go off scores when doing there rankings

 

[Still Missing34]

4 scores* I was going off the top of my head, and yes the Fenwick score too. The montini game was a top 5 game of the year entertainment wise and could have gone either way. I can’t say with 100% accuracy what would happen if MC played Carmel, but it would be fun. My main point was Any solid CCL team can hang with and beat anyone any given Friday and people shouldn’t solely go off scores when doing there rankings

Naperville Central fan?

 

[CCHS-Fan]

Caravan > Corsairs and agree with your point 100% redhawks.

CCHS/Montini game - one of the best I’ve ever seen.