8A Pre-Season Top Ten Rankings

This off-season has been like no other and has seen so many ups and downs. The COVID-19 pandemic has driven prospects to transfer out of state and even chose between playing their senior season or enrolling early at their respective university. Truthfully, it’s been extremely hard to track who has decided to head to college a semester ahead of schedule or suit up for their high school program for one last season. We’re going to give it a whirl, though, and try to give you the most accurate Pre-season ranking possible. With being said, here is our Pre-Season Top Ten for Class 8A. <hr /> 1. Lincoln-Way East The Griffins seem to reload every off-season, and this one looks no different. Their roster features a talented core of Division I commits in; OL [player_tooltip player_id="20289" first="Ryan" last="Stewart"]: San Jose State, DB Matt Kardas: Bowling Green, RB [player_tooltip player_id="20238" first="Jamal" last="Johnson"]: Bowling Green & WR [player_tooltip player_id="20264" first="Mason" last="Pierre-Antoine"]: NIU. The Griffins also have two very intriguing newcomers who will make their varsity debut in Junior wide receiver Jack Tremblay and Sophomore linebacker Jake Scianna. A major cog in their 2021 Championship run will be their new Senior quarterback Brett Galletti. Galletti transferred in this off-season from Ottawa and could be the key to the Griffins repeating in Class 8A. I’m also very interested to see [player_tooltip player_id="20238" first="Jamal" last="Johnson"] take over the role as the #1 playmaker in East’s offense after the departure of A.J. Henning to Michigan. [caption id="attachment_57493" align="alignnone" width="423"]<img class=" wp-image-57493" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2020/10/Jack-Tremblay-300x292.jpg" alt="" width="423" height="412" /> WR Jack Tremblay[/caption]   2. Marist The Redhawks are back with a loaded 2021 roster coming into this winter. They look to avenge last season’s 24-7 semi-final loss to Lincoln-Way East and have the talent to do so. They’ll be led by a very strong group of seniors in OL [player_tooltip player_id="20195" first="Pat" last="Coogan"]: Notre Dame, DB [player_tooltip player_id="20339" first="Jovan" last="Marsh"]: Wyoming, DL [player_tooltip player_id="20311" first="Deandre" last="Archer"]: Grand Valley State, LB [player_tooltip player_id="20348" first="Santonien" last="Flowers"] & DL [player_tooltip player_id="20316" first="Triston" last="Schultz"]. Not to mention Illinois’ #1 offensive lineman in the 2022 class in [player_tooltip player_id="20898" first="Deuce" last="McGuire"] and Illinois’ #1 overall player in the 2023 class in [player_tooltip player_id="20836" first="Carnell" last="Tate"]. One underclassman to watch this winter is sophomore Ryan Simms, who has dominated the camp circuit this off-season and has shown a great mixture of size and speed for a wide receiver. I’ve got a feeling Marist is going to score a lot of points this season and should give opposing defenses some serious problems. [caption id="attachment_31607" align="alignnone" width="304"]<img class="wp-image-31607 " src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2020/07/IL-Jovan-Marsh-e1597934102563-258x300.jpg" alt="" width="304" height="353" /> DB [player_tooltip player_id="20339" first="Jovan" last="Marsh"][/caption]  3. Brother Rice Another Catholic League squad with some serious star power coming back. The Crusaders will be led by senior Toledo commit and last year’s Catholic League Offensive Player of the Year [player_tooltip player_id="20234" first="Willie" last="Shaw"]. That’s not it; however, Georgetown linebacker commit [player_tooltip player_id="20328" first="Myles" last="Jones"] will be the focal point on defense, and he’ll be joined by LB: Mick Badke and defensive end Ryan Whelan as name’s to watch this winter. Junior tight end [player_tooltip player_id="20891" first="Henry" last="Boyer"] just transferred in from Walter Payton Prep and could blossom into a serious Division I talent. Senior sleeper wide receiver [player_tooltip player_id="20262" first="Dwayne" last="Moorehead"] will be the go-to target for junior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="65705" first="Jack" last="Lausch"]. Lausch is one name to keep an eye on, as he started as a sophomore last season at defensive back and was thrust into the quarterback job due to injury late last season. He’s got a ton of athletic ability and can make you pay with his pure straight-line speed. Lausch’s play at QB will be critical; if he continues to grow as a passer and shows he can make deep throws downfield, you’re looking at a serious state title contender. [caption id="attachment_32431" align="alignnone" width="385"]<img class=" wp-image-32431" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2020/07/shawf-e1594737856707-300x293.jpg" alt="" width="385" height="376" /> RB [player_tooltip player_id="20234" first="Willie" last="Shaw"][/caption]  4. Loyola Head Coach John Holecek has one of the most consistent programs in all of Illinois. This team, in my eyes, could be one of his best. On offense, they’ll be led by Illinois offensive line commit [player_tooltip player_id="20288" first="Josh" last="Kreutz"], Ball state running back commit [player_tooltip player_id="20363" first="Vaughn" last="Pemberton"], athlete [player_tooltip player_id="20364" first="Perrion" last="McClinton"], quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="65091" first="JT" last="Thomas"], and rising junior tight end [player_tooltip player_id="20888" first="James" last="Kyle"], who has already garnered multiple Power-Five offers. Harvard defensive line commit [player_tooltip player_id="20307" first="Brandon" last="Svets"], Eastern Illinois outside side linebacker commit [player_tooltip player_id="20305" first="Liam" last="Conaghan"], defensive end [player_tooltip player_id="65471" first="Logan" last="Lindeman"] and defensive back [player_tooltip player_id="65544" first="Marty" last="Auer"] return to lead what should be one of the state’s top defenses. If the Ramblers can get through a brutal Catholic League schedule with little to no damage and gain good playoff positioning, they’re in great shape to make a serious State Championship push. Side note here, it looks like they already have their quarterback of the future in sophomore Jake Stearney who excelled on the lower levels as a freshman. This kid has a ton of upside and I think could see some varsity action this fall. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="370"]<img src="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EPVAB69WoAEVzZM?format=jpg&name=large" alt="Image" width="370" height="494" /> RB [player_tooltip player_id="20363" first="Vaughn" last="Pemberton"][/caption]  5. Bolingbrook I originally had the Brook a bit higher on this list, but after researching their team and seeing the tole that COVID-19 took on their squad, I moved them down one spot. Senior safety [player_tooltip player_id="20198" first="Justin" last="Walters"] decided to opt-out and enroll early at Notre Dame this spring, which is a crucial loss for the Raiders. Senior defensive lineman Ison Robinson also left and decided to play his final season this fall at Snider High School in Fort Wayne, Indiana. However, these losses will not fully define this program. They still have multiple Division I prospects roaming their sidelines. Senior linebacker and Michigan commit [player_tooltip player_id="20204" first="Tyler" last="McLaurin"] will be back and lead the defense; he’ll be joined by Cincinnati defensive back commit [player_tooltip player_id="20336" first="Malik" last="Rainey"]. Batavia transfer [player_tooltip player_id="65081" first="Vincenzo" last="Meschi"] will be the man behind center on offense and has had himself a heck of an off-season. They’ll also feature an up and coming star in 2024 wide receiver I’marion Stewart, who has already picked up a scholarship offer from Arizona State before ever playing a varsity down! Head coach John Ivlow won’t make any excuses and will have this program ready to fire on all cylinders. There’s still more than enough talent on this team to contend for an 8A title. [caption id="attachment_57670" align="alignnone" width="319"]<img class="wp-image-57670" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2020/10/Vincenzo-Meschi-265x300.jpg" alt="" width="319" height="361" /> QB [player_tooltip player_id="65081" first="Vincenzo" last="Meschi"][/caption]  The Next Five 6. Homewood Flossmoor 7. Glenbard West 8. Warren 9. Edwardsville 10. Maine South