Mid-Summer Preseason Power Rankings
1. Mater Dei
Coming off the 2A State Run in November, Mater Dei is looking like one of the preseason favorites for the SIAC and contender for 2A again. With QB Wunderlich, Stolz, Pierre and Martin returning, MD’s O should be having another formidable offense, although losing McDurmon hurts in the receiving game. Defensively they take a massive hit losing Martin, Ralph, Wolters and Boots, but returns key parts in Darr, C. Martin, Adler, Spencer in experience. Also never count against Goebels in Football, as the Wildcats are gunning for another deep run.
2. Memorial
Coming off from another deep run in the 4A SS and 1 half away from being in LOS again, the Tigers are definitely one of the favorites in the SIAC. With another big OL shaping up, receivers in Collins, Brackett, Pearce and more. QB Ellspermann will have plenty to choose from, but questions loom who will be the RB on the season. There are some questions on the Defense, due to it being hit hard from graduates, but Coach Johnson will shape it up. As Hurley and theTigers are hoping to see another deep run in November.
3. Jasper
The reigning 9-0 SIAC Champion will be gunning to repeat and contend in the SIAC again, as the Cats have proven they can stay in the race. While they did suffer an unfortunate loss in the first round of the sectional, the Cats will it use for motivation this season. Although losing Foley and Day will hurt on the O, Jasper will find their way. On the defensive end, Blair might be of the best DBs in the conference, unfortunately, Jasper does not provide accessible stats to the public, so my knowledge is limited in returning production. Just a gut feeling that they will place in the Top 3
4. Reitz
An unexpected ranking, Reitz is barely 4th in my power rankings, especially coming off last season. However, with the QB situation in Ben Davies solved and weapons in Burnett, Vera, Beal, Thomas and Summers, Reitz O will improve, but with new faces on the OL, Reitz might see a rocky start in the beginning. All eyes look at the Defense due to the Panthers returning nearly all of their starters from last season, there will be a lot of pressure on the defense for improvement. Can Coach Brunson finally get his first winning season in the SIAC?
5. Castle
An very, very expected ranking for the Knights in Paradise as Castle was looking like a preseason favorite. While their ranking can change, they currently sit at 5. With confirmation of QB Tilly retiring from football to focus on his Baseball career, an QB competition is underway in Paradise between Gordon and Harper. Who ever is under center this fall will have Guerizini, Harris, Bishop, and Aigner to throw too. Castle’s Defense is going to be one of the best in the SIAC, if they can get their offense set up, watch out for the Knights.
6. North
The Huskies are so, so close in achieving an overall winning season, while I do think they are underrated and can pull off an upset or 2. They do lose key important parts in QB Brawdy, RB Hankins, WR Gelhausen and some on the OL. However, with a great RB and WR Mitchell returning with a nice OL, North’s offense shouldn’t be that bad at all. Defensively, they were young with not a whole lot of seniors, but loses MLB Happe. Going to be a tough 4 weeks for the Huskies, which will say a lot.
7. Bosse
With 1 play away from an sectional championship appearance, Mullen and Co got their heads high for Bulldog football. With RB Jaiden Thomas coming back and WR Amari Hope returning will be a nice combo for the Dawgs. But losing a lot on the defensive end too. While it may be a while to see Bosse seeing continued success, for some reason I can see them getting to 3-4 wins potentially.
8. Central
Seems like the Bears are in a little dark age after continued success. But with a rumor going around saying that QB Herdes might not be done does shed some light for the Bears. However, their problems are far from over as it seems like another difficult season will be coming for the Bears. Coach Z has his hands full, but he is about to challenge.
9. Vincennes Lincoln
With an surprising run in the Sectional Final, which came down to the last Quarter, VL surprised people with their Sectional run. However, there is uncertainty whether or not SIAC is great fit for VL judging by reports in February. The future doesn’t look too good for the Alices, but maybe they can grab another win before the postseason.
10. Harrison
Nothing much to say about Harrison other than that Brooks Thomas might be the best TE in the SIAC at a whopping 6’6 240. Going to be a long year for the Warriors as many, many questions are high. Losing your best defensive player does hurt a lot.
