Mount Carmel and Hersey deliver statement wins before the opening round of the Illinois High School Association’s expanded playoffs.
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Last week’s rankings in parentheses.
1. Lincoln-Way East 9-0 (1): Lincoln-Way East named its field after coach Rob Zvonar, who has been on the job since the school opened in 2001 and won three state titles.
NEXT: Earned opening-round bye. Will play Oak Park-River Forest or East Aurora in first round.
2. Mount Carmel 7-2 (4): Brady Cloherty threw for 420 yards, including a 99-yard touchdown pass to Marshaun Thornton, in the Caravan’s 38-21 win at No. 3 Loyola.
NEXT: Earned opening-round bye. Will play Neuqua Valley or Marist in first round.
3. Loyola 8-1 (2): Jordan McKinley caught two touchdown passes, but the Ramblers faded in the second half of the loss to No. 2 Mount Carmel.
NEXT: Earned opening-round bye. Will play Minooka or Evanston in the first round.
4. Brother Rice 7-2 (3): Army commit Jameson Davis and Aydan Yarbrough each scored a pair of touchdowns as the Crusaders had no trouble with Marist.
NEXT: Earned opening-round bye. Will play McHenry or St. Charles North in first round.
5. IC Catholic 8-1 (5): The only score in the Knights’ 6-0 win over Joliet Catholic was a 93-yard pass from Nate Lang to Jakobe Baldwin in the first quarter.
NEXT: Earned opening-round bye. Will play North Boone or Genoa-Kingston in first round.
6. Hersey 9-0 (6): The Huskies’ powerful offense hit a new gear against No. 15 Prospect as Kentucky recruit Jake Nawrot threw for 300 yards and Jackson Travis ran for 300 yards.
NEXT: Earned opening-round bye. Will play Palatine or Yorkville in first round.
7. Oswego 8-1 (8): A 63-yard run by quarterback Drew Kleinhans and 60-yard punt return by Kaleb Dolan sparked the Panthers’ win over Oswego East.
NEXT: Earned opening-round bye. Will play Warren or Naperville Central in first round.
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8. Geneva 8-1 (9): The Vikings clinched their first outright DuKane Conference title by rallying from a 21-0 deficit to beat St. Charles East.
NEXT: Earned opening-round bye. Will play Carmel or Bulls Prep in first round.
9. Huntley 9-0 (10): Micah Hood had a fumble recovery touchdown, and Easton Garifo and Ben Urbaszewski grabbed interceptions in the Red Raiders’ win over McHenry.
NEXT: Earned opening-round bye. Will play Oswego East or Curie in first round.
10. St. Ignatius 7-2 (13): The Wolfpack clinched the Catholic League Orange title and rolled up 434 rushing yards, led by Nino Capuano’s 183, in a win at No. 19 Providence.
NEXT: Earned opening-round bye. Will play Leyden or West Aurora in first round.
11. Downers Grove North 8-1 (14): The Trojans can make an argument for having the best defense in the Chicago area, giving up just 6.8 points per game with four shutouts.
NEXT: Earned opening-round bye. Will play West Chicago or Prosser in first round.
12. Batavia 7-2 (12): The city of Batavia declared last Friday to be Dennis Piron Day in honor of the retiring coach, and the Bulldogs edged Wheaton Warrenville South.
NEXT: Earned opening-round bye. Will play Rockford Jefferson or Lincoln-Way Central in first round.
13. Bolingbrook 8-1 (16): TJ Lewis broke loose for an 80-yard touchdown in the opening minute as the Raiders beat Minooka for their eighth straight victory.
NEXT: Earned opening-round bye. Will play Stevenson or Lockport in first round.
14. Maine South 8-1 (15): The Hawks trailed Glenbrook South in the fourth quarter but got a 15-yard touchdown pass from Indiana recruit Jameson Purcell to Devin Paxson to win.
NEXT: Earned opening-round bye. Will play Joliet West or O’Fallon in first round.
15. Prospect 8-1 (7): The Knights couldn’t slow down No. 6 Hersey’s offense in the battle of unbeatens, but EIU recruit Jackson Cacini threw four touchdown passes.
NEXT: Earned opening-round bye. Will play DePaul Prep or Hampshire in first round.
16. Montini 7-2 (17): Facing an 11-point deficit in the fourth quarter, the Broncos rallied against St. Francis and took the lead on a touchdown run by Luca Florio.
NEXT: Earned opening-round bye. Will play North Chicago or Geneseo in the first round.
17. Homewood-Flossmoor 7-2 (18): Layden Williams rushed for 116 yards and quarterback Karter Nicholson threw for two touchdowns in the Vikings’ win over Andrew.
NEXT: Earned opening-round bye. Will play Dundee-Crown or Conant in first round.
18. Morgan Park 8-1 (19): Quarterback Ronald Smith Jr. threw for three touchdowns to lead the Mustangs past Kenwood for the city championship.
NEXT: Earned opening-round bye. Will play Danville or Oak Forest in the first round.
19. Providence 6-3 (11): The Celtics are just 2-3 in their past five games after losing to No. 10 St. Ignatius. Quarterback Dominic Vita threw three touchdown passes.
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NEXT: Saturday vs. Mount Vernon.
20. St. Rita 6-3 (21): The Mustangs clinched the Catholic League Green title with a 2-yard pass from John Fennell to Vinny Stubitsch with 46 seconds left to beat Nazareth.
NEXT: Earned opening-round bye. Will play Andrew or Buffalo Grove in first round.
21. Fenwick 6-3 (20): Iowa recruit Jake Thies scored all four touchdowns in the Friars’ 28-7 victory over Carmel.
NEXT: Earned opening-round bye. Will play Streamwood or Highland Park in first round.
22. Sandburg 7-2 (22): Backup quarterback Max Fahey tossed two touchdown passes and Nasir Dixon added a 79-yard TD run in the Eagles’ win over Bradley-Bourbonnais.
NEXT: Earned opening-round bye. Will play Waubonsie Valley or Barrington in first round.
23. Morris 9-0 (23): The Warriors became the top-ranked team in the Class 4A state poll last week and then rolled past Cahokia 46-19.
NEXT: Earned opening-round bye. Will play Tinley Park or Woodstock North in first round.
24. York 6-3 (NR): The Dukes caught fire late, beating three of the top teams in the West Suburban Silver — Downers North, Glenbard West and Lyons — by a combined six points.
NEXT: Friday vs. Bloom.
25. New Trier 8-1 (25): Throy Nightingale Jr. ran for five touchdowns as the Trevians beat Evanston in the first high school game at the new Ryan Field.
NEXT: Earned opening-round bye. Will play Whitney Young or Glenbrook South in the first round.
Others to watch: Antioch, Jacobs, Wheaton Warrenville South, Libertyville, Kaneland, Plainfield South, Kankakee.