Brother Rice defeated...

...Mount Carmel, 31-14, dropping the Caravan from the Chicago papers' top ten and vaulting the Crusaders into the No. 4 spot at MaxPreps.

In two other key games, Naperville Central handed Batavia its first loss of the season, 34-14, placing the Red Hawks into the Sun-Times' and MaxPreps' top ten. And despite its 22-19 victory over previously undefeated Jacobs, Huntley (6-0) gets only scant respect from the Chicago papers while rising to No. 11 in MaxPreps. Are the Red Raiders a sleeper in 8A?

Finally, Stevenson, last year's 8A champ, saw its record fall to 3-3 after losing to Warren (5-2), 30-27, and Providence, last year's 7A winner, dropped to 2-4 after bowing to Loyola, 31-7. What a difference a year makes.

Oh, and one more thing: where the heck is Homewood-Flossmoor in MaxPreps? No. 14.

On to the rankings! (All teams undefeated unless otherwise noted.)

Chicago Tribune

1. Homewood-Flossmoor 
2. Loyola
3. Glenbard West 
4. Libertyville
5. Montini
6. Joliet Catholic
7. Phillips
8. Nazareth (5-1)  
9. Hinsdale Central (5-1)
10. Oak Park River Forest

Chicago Sun-Times  

1. Homewood-Flossmoor
2. Glenbard West
3. Loyola 
4. Libertyville 
5. Montini
6. Phillips 
7. Joliet Catholic
8. Hinsdale Central (5-1)
9. Naperville Central (5-1)
10. Nazareth (5-1)

MaxPreps

1. Loyola
2. Glenbard West
3. Joliet Catholic
4. Brother Rice (5-1) 
5. Libertyville
6. Sacred Heart-Griffin 
7. Rochester
8. Phillips
9. Montini
10. Naperville Central (5-1)

Where was I? In New Lenox, for that Loyola - Providence game. And in Evanston on Saturday for the Minnesota - Northwestern contest.

Providence didn't have its star running back, Richie Warfield, but it did have Brendan O'Hara, who did just about everything for the Celtics except play the bagpipes on the way into the stadium (above). 

Loyola, of course, brought its whole team (if not all its spectators) and dominated the game from start to finish. (In fairness, it's a long way to drive on a Friday night -- just ask my brother.) All I can say about the Ramblers is that if they have a weakness I haven't seen it yet.

The big Week Nine showdown with Mount Carmel was tarnished a little with the news that Brother Rice ended the Caravan's perfect season; the Ramblers already blanked the Crusaders, 28-0. So the question remains: Who stands in the way of a 14-0 year (and an 8A title) for Loyola? Homewood-Flossmoor? Glenbard West? Naperville Central? We'll see.

Where will I be this week? In Flossmoor, to see if Lincoln-Way East (No. 12 in the Trib, No. 20 in the Sun-Times and No. 25 in MaxPreps) can give the Vikings a game. It will be my first time watching H-F this year. Are they really the best team in the state?

On Saturday I'll be in South Bend to see Notre Dame host Navy.