The rankings are in...

Brother Rice (6-0) is ranked No. 3 in all three polls.

...from Week Six and the Tribune and Sun-Times both dropped Glenbard West after the Hilltoppers lost, 31-30, in overtime to Hinsdale Central. The Trib elevated Oak Park and River Forest into its top ten while the Times promoted Palatine. MaxPreps, as usual, is a jumble but the bottom line is they replaced St. Charles East with Cary-Grove.

There are a number of interesting matchups for this week including:

Barrington (6-0) at Hoffman Estates (5-1);
Stevenson (5-1) at Lake Zurich (5-1);
Lemont (6-0) vs. Thornton Fractional South (5-1);
Homewood-Flossmoor (6-0) vs. Thornridge (5-1); and
Oak Park and River Forest (6-0) at Glenbard West (4-2).

(I always thought the Huskies would be the team to end the Hitters' long conference winning streak. Can OPRF now hand Glenbard West its third defeat in a row?)

But my Game of the Week has to be Hinsdale Central (6-0) at Lyons (6-0) for the conference lead. Both squads defeated Glenbard West in the last two weeks. Which one will be the top dog in the West Suburban Silver?

Before I get to the rankings, I noticed they're top-heavy with 8A teams; more so, I think, than in the past. Ten schools -- Loyola, Homewood-Flossmoor, Brother Rice, Lincoln-Way East, Neuqua Valley, Palatine, Barrington, Lyons, Oak Park and River Forest and Marist -- will compete in the 8A bracket. That's going to be a heck of a tournament, isn't it?

On to the rankings (all teams undefeated unless otherwise noted):

Tribune:

1. Loyola
2. Homewood-Flossmoor
3. Brother Rice
4. Lincoln-Way East (5-1) 
5. Neuqua Valley
6. Palatine
7. Barrington
8. Prairie Ridge
9. Lyons
10. Oak Park and River Forest

Sun-Times:

1. Loyola
2. Homewood-Flossmoor
3. Brother Rice
4. Neuqua Valley
5. Lyons
6. Oak Park and River Forest
7. Lincoln-Way East (5-1)
8. Marist (5-1)
9. Barrington
10. Palatine

MaxPreps:

1. Loyola
2. East St. Louis
3. Brother Rice
4. Neuqua Valley
5. Prairie Ridge
6. Barrington
7. Homewood-Flossmoor
8. Palatine
9. IC Catholic
10. Cary-Grove (5-1)