The Associated Press released their IHSA Football Preseason polls on Wednesday. Some area schools received votes but only three made the top 10 in their respective class.
In 1A, Sesser-Valier is an unofficial #23.
In 2A, Nashville and Johnston City are tied for #9. Chester is an unofficial #20.
In 4A, Breese Central starts the year ranked #7. Benton is unofficially #12, Murphysboro an unofficial #16, Carterville sits unofficially at #17, and Centralia is an unofficial #18.
All eight preseason class polls are below.
*The number in parentheses represents how many number-one overall votes a team received.
Preseason 1A AP Poll
| Rank | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lena-Winslow (9) | 90 |
| 2 | Camp Point Central | 72 |
| 3 | Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley | 51 |
| 4 | Newman Central Catholic | 49 |
| 5 | Dwight | 33 |
| 6 | Carrolton | 26 |
| 7 | LeRoy | 24 |
| 8 | Momence | 22 |
| 9 | Casey-Westfield | 20 |
| T10 | Galena | 19 |
| T10 | Stockton | 19 |
Receiving votes: 12, Brown County 12. 13, Clifton Central 11. 14, Greenfield-Northwestern 8. 15, Calhoun 7. 16, Tuscola 7. 17, Ottawa Marquette 6. 18, Athens 5. 19, Winchester-West Central 5. 20, Salt Fork 4. 21, Stark County 2. 22, Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond 1. 23, Sesser-Valier 1. 24, Annwan-Wethersfield 1.
Preseason 2A AP Poll
| Rank | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maroa-Forsyth (7) | 88 |
| 2 | Tri-Valley (2) | 73 |
| 3 | Bismarck-Henning-Rossville-Alvin | 47 |
| T4 | Farmington | 45 |
| T4 | Rockridge | 45 |
| 6 | Westville | 41 |
| 7 | Seneca | 32 |
| 8 | Pana | 28 |
| T9 | Nashville | 24 |
| T9 | Johnston City | 24 |
Receiving votes: 11, Peotone 11. 12, Eastland-Pearl City 8. 13, Aurora Christian 8. 14, Jacksonville Routt 7. 15, Paxton-Buckley-Loda 6. 16, Phillips 3. 17, Shelbyville 2. 18, Elmwood-Brimfield 1. 19, Aledo Mercer County 1. 20, Chester 1.
Preseason 3A AP Poll
| Rank | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Byron (5) | 94 |
| 2 | Wilmington (2) | 79 |
| 3 | IC Catholic (2) | 58 |
| 4 | Althoff Catholic (1) | 56 |
| 5 | Tolono Unity | 54 |
| 6 | Princeton | 51 |
| 7 | St. Joseph-Ogden | 45 |
| 8 | Williamsville | 28 |
| 9 | Richmond-Burton | 21 |
| 10 | Monticello | 17 |
Receiving votes: 11, Bloomington Central Catholic 16. 12, Durand-Pecatonica 9. 13, Chicago Christian 8. 14, Bishop McNamara 7. 15, Eureka 3. 16, Greenville 2. 17, Johnsburg 1. 18, Monmouth-Roseville 1.
Preseason 4A AP Poll
| Rank | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Montini (8) | 88 |
| 2 | Rochester | 70 |
| 3 | Mount Zion | 60 |
| 4 | Coal City | 53 |
| 5 | Morris (1) | 45 |
| 6 | Sacred Heart-Griffin | 40 |
| 7 | Breese Central | 26 |
| T8 | Dixon | 21 |
| T8 | Metamora | 21 |
| 10 | Highland | 13 |
Receiving votes: 1, Quincy Notre Dame 11. 12, Benton 10. 13, Cahokia 8. 14, Rochelle 7. 15, Rockford Boylan 6. 16, Murphysboro 4. 17, Carterville 4. 18, Centralia 4. 19, Waterloo 2. 20, Geneseo 1. 21, Macomb 1.
Preseason 5A AP Poll
| Rank | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cary-Grove (7) | 70 |
| 2 | Wheaton St. Francis | 58 |
| 3 | Prairie Ridge | 52 |
| 4 | Kankakee | 39 |
| 5 | Sycamore | 35 |
| T6 | Peoria | 28 |
| T6 | Morgan Park | 28 |
| 8 | Providence Catholic | 19 |
| 9 | Mahomet-Seymour | 17 |
| 10 | Lemont | 11 |
Receiving votes: 11, Wheaton Academy 7. 12, Lake Forest 6. 13, Kaneland 4. 14, Sterling 4. 15, Belvidere North 3. 16, Normal U-High 2. 17, Triad 2.
Preseason 6A AP Poll
| Rank | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | East St. Louis (8) | 80 |
| 2 | Nazareth Academy | 68 |
| 3 | St. Rita | 62 |
| 4 | Fenwick | 46 |
| 5 | Richards | 42 |
| 6 | Geneva | 37 |
| 7 | Joliet Catholic | 28 |
| 8 | Glenwood | 23 |
| 9 | Quincy | 16 |
| 10 | Burlington Central | 15 |
Receiving votes: 11, Crete-Monee 10. 12, Antioch 3. 13, Lake Zurich 3. 14, Libertyville 3. 15, Normal West 2. 16, Washington 2.
Preseason 7A AP Poll
| Rank | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|
| T1 | Batavia (5) | 92 |
| T1 | Downers Grove North (4) | 92 |
| 3 | Brother Rice (1) | 82 |
| 4 | St. Charles North | 65 |
| 5 | Hersey | 47 |
| 6 | Normal Community | 43 |
| 7 | Lincoln-Way West | 39 |
| 8 | Bradley-Bourbonnais | 25 |
| 9 | Edwardsville | 21 |
| T10 | Prospect | 15 |
| T10 | Lincoln-Way Central | 15 |
Receiving votes: 12, DePaul Prep 4. 13, St. Laurence 3. 14, Benet Academy 3. 15, Wheaton Warrenville South 2. 16, Willowbrook 1. 17, Moline 1.
Preseason 8A AP Poll
| Rank | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mount Carmel (9) | 99 |
| 2 | Lincoln-Way East | 86 |
| 3 | Loyola (1) | 79 |
| 4 | Maine South | 59 |
| 5 | York | 56 |
| 6 | Marist | 46 |
| 7 | Warren | 40 |
| 8 | Fremd | 38 |
| 9 | Lyons | 18 |
| 10 | Palatine | 16 |
Receiving votes: 11, Naperville North 5. 12, Glenbard West 4. 13, Naperville Central 2. 14, Aurora West 1. 15, Barrington 1.
