Friday Night Drive’s Power Rankings: How did Week 1 shake up our Top 25?

Neuqua Valley's Mark Mennecke (13) carries the ball on a keeper against Oswego during a football game at Oswego High School on Friday, Aug 26, 2022.

Week 1 always answers a lot of questions.

The 2022 season was no different in that regard, but there was another fact we learned over this past weekend: There’s an awful lot of good teams.

The weekend’s events led to a shuffle at the top of the rankings. The previous No. 1, East St. Louis, did nothing in Week 1 to show it doesn’t deserve a position at or near the top spot even in a loss. That loss came at the hands of a highly-touted, nationally-ranked team, and the Fylers’ 20-13 loss is an indicator of how capable they are.

Another encounter with an out-of-state team is what led to our new No. 1 team, Loyola. The Ramblers rumbled right through a St. Xavier (Ohio) squad and showed how potentially scary they can be to anyone on their schedule.

The biggest problem that emerged from the rankings process is that there weren’t enough spots in the Top 10 to accommodate all the teams that deserved it. That problem cropped again near the bottom of the poll, where at least 8-10 teams could make a case for a spot in our Top 25.

There were four new teams debuting in the poll. Nazareth jumped up to No. 14 after winning a 2-0 defensive scuffle against Kankakee, which fell from ninth to No. 18.

Niles Notre Dame (No. 23), St. Patrick (No. 24) and Simeon (No. 25) are the other newcomers.

Here are the Friday Night Drive Power Rankings following Week 1: