Michael O’Brien’s Super 25 high school football…

Michael O’Brien’s Super 25 high school football rankings for Week 9

Loyola’s William Carlson (14) and Finley Miller (42) celebrate Miller’s second touchdown against Benet. (Kirsten Stickney/For the Sun-Times)

It’s always tough to drop teams a few spots when they didn’t lose. But ranking Barrington and York below Prairie Ridge and Kankakee wasn’t sitting well.

So the Broncos and Dukes both jump up after big wins in Week 8. Kankakee and Prairie Ridge are both state title contenders, but their regular season schedules haven’t allowed for major wins.

It was a typical week overall with a handful of teams dropping out of the rankings. Palatine is out after the loss at Barrington. Lincoln-Way West falls after being upset by Homewood-Flossmoor. St. Laurence was a difficult decision. The Vikings lost 20-9 at St. Rita. That’s a tough game, but there were some teams that I felt deserved spots, so St. Laurence is out after one week in the rankings.

Downers Grove North, Wheaton North and Prospect all rejoin the Super 25. Those are three solid teams with standout wins that will be a threat in the state playoffs.

Super 25 rankings for Week 9
With record and last week’s ranking

1. Mount Carmel (8-0) 1
Saturday at No. 2 Loyola

2. Loyola (8-0) 2
Saturday vs. No. 1 Mount Carmel

3. Lincoln-Way East (8-0) 3
Friday at Bolingbrook

4. Batavia (7-1) 4
Friday vs. Glenbard North

5. Maine South (7-1) 5
Friday vs. Evanston

6. Hersey (8-0) 6
Friday vs. Elk Grove

7. Barrington (8-0) 9
Friday at Conant

8. York (7-1) 10
Friday vs. Proviso West

9. Prairie Ridge (8-0) 7
Friday at McHenry

10. Kankakee (8-0) 8
Friday vs. Crete-Monee

11. St. Charles North (6-2) 11
Friday vs. Geneva