By Sean Duncan
Executive Director

The playoffs always yield surprising results, and last week top-ranked teams got knocked off left and right. Nevertheless, with the final week of the high school season here, some familiar names still reside at the top of the updated Power 25 Team Rankings.

St. Rita, which held the No. 1 spot for two straight months to open the season, is back at the top. The Mustangs captured the brutally tough Reavis Sectional championship by knocking off defending 4A champ Mount Carmel.

Lemont and Sacred Heart-Griffin, the two clear favorites to win the Class 3A championship, move up a few spots up to No. 2 and 3.

Meanwhile, No. 4 Mundelein continues to impress, as the 36-2 Mustangs knocked off No. 13 Glenbrook South and No. 12 Libertyville last week to win a sectional title and advance to Monday’s supersectional. No. 5 Edwardsville advances out of the tough Metro East area, and will square off against a hot Providence club at the University of Illinois in the supersectional.

Speaking of No. 6 Providence, the Celtics are hitting their stride at the right time. They entered the season as a preseason top 10 team, but struggled throughout the regular season, finishing fifth in the rugged Chicago Catholic Blue. In the playoffs, though, the Celtics have defeated one ranked opponent after another, including an emphatic victory over then-No. 1 Lincoln-Way North in the sectional final.

No. 10 Downers Grove South jumps into the top 10 as well. The Mustangs flirted in the top 25 for a few weeks, but their lack of quality wins prevented them from moving up. Downers South, which has had a history of early playoff exits, upended Plainfield North in the sectional final and advances to play No. 1 St. Rita in the supersectional.

You can track all the playoff results and see who has beaten whom in the Tourney Machine’s IHSA Playoff Brackets here.

CLICK HERE to view Top 25 Team Rankings