December 03, 2022
Shaw Local
Illinois High School Football NewsPhoto GalleriesSubscribeAnalysisFeaturesPodcastPhoto Store
Analysis | Friday Night Drive

Friday Night Drive’s Week 13 Power Rankings: Season of stability continues

Multiple highly ranked teams have been that way all along

By Steve Soucie
Loyola's Corey Larsen (11) looks back on his way in for a touchdown during the IHSA Class 8A semifinal football game Saturday November 19, 2022 in Elmhurst.

Loyola's Corey Larsen looks back on his way in for a touchdown during a Class 8A semifinal Saturday against York in Elmhurst. (Brian Hill/bhill@dailyherald.com/Brian Hill/Daily Herald)

We’ve talked a lot this season about how there’s been a lot of stability in the Friday Night Drive Power Rankings.

It has been a constant theme, first in the regular season and then again in the postseason.

At the beginning of the season, the preseason nod for No. 1 team was a tough decision between three teams: Mount Carmel, East St. Louis and Loyola. All three are still playing for state championships this week. And since all three are in different classifications, they could ultimately end up landing in those top three spots at the end.

Two more teams resided in the preseason top 10, Lincoln-Way East and Batavia, which also made it into state championship games.

That doesn’t mean there aren’t a few teams that bucked the preseason odds. Most notably among them would have to be Providence. The Celtics didn’t make the playoffs last season but have reached the Class 4A state championship and now stand at No. 15 after beating three teams in the postseason that were regulars in the Top 25 during the season.

The lone new team in the power rankings this week is Peoria. The Lions piled up 76 points in its semifinal matchup with Morris and will now face Nazareth in the Class 5A title game.

Here are the Friday Night Drive Power Rankings following Week 13: