Prep Football: Centralia stays perfect & No. 1
For all the talk about good football in southern Illinois this season, the same conversation can be about how bad some of it is as well.
Through three weeks of the season, most of which was played as a non-conference schedule, unless you're in the Black Diamond Conference, saw 15 teams come out with losing records.
In the BDC, five teams have a losing record. In the South Seven, three teams have a losing record and two of them are Marion and Mt. Vernon, who are both 0-3.
In the Ohio Division, three teams, Harrisburg, Massac County and Murphysboro all have losing records, while four teams on the Mississippi side have losing records and two of them are Carterville and Du Quoin.
Most teams will look to settle in and get things going now that the conference slate has started, but in two weeks, for some, their season will be over.
Centralia stands firm as the No. 1 ranked team after two straight weeks. The only real test for the Orphans appears to be a Week 5 showdown at home against Belleville Althoff.
A-J remains a quiet surprise this year at 3-0, while Fairfield, Carmi-White County and Johnston City are still unbeaten in BDC play. After Friday however, that number will dwindle to two as Carmi and Johnston City go toe-to-toe this week.
Michael Dann covers prep and college sports for the Harrisburg Daily Register and Eldorado Daily Journal. Follow him on Twitter: @spydieshooter.
SI SUPER 10 PREP POLL
<p>By The Daily Register/Daily Journal<br />The Top 10 teams in The Daily Register/Daily Journal Southern Illinois News Group prep football poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through September 16 . Total points based on 10 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 10th-place vote, and previous ranking:<br /> Record Pts Pv<br />1. Centralia (5) 3-0 50 1<br />2. Anna-Jonesboro 3-0 42 4<br />3. Herrin 2-1 41 2<br />4. Fairfield 3-0 23 7<br />5. Marion 0-3 22 3<br />tie Carmi-White Co. 3-0 22 NR<br />7. Murphysboro 1-2 21 NR<br />8. Johnston City 3-0 16 10<br />9. Eldorado 2-1 13 7<br />10. Harrisburg 1-2 8 6<br />Others receiving votes: Carterville (6), Du Quoin (5), Nashville (4), Carbondale (2).</p>