Columbia, Altamont continue to top the chart
Harrisburg, South Central, Mounds Meridian move up the ladder

01/09/2023
BY JACK BULLOCK
CARBONDALE - There was a bit of a shake up in the ABV Rankings this week as the tradition of 'who's hot, who's not' continues in the listings here.

South Central moved into the 1A top ten on the strength of a 10-game winning streak, including a win over Cisne last Friday.

Mounds Meridian has played well so far and they play just enough of a non-conference schedule to counterbalance a not strong South Egyptian Conference set of contests.

The top gun (Roderic Gatewood, Jr.) has averaged 24.3 points a game this season, including a 54-point outburst at Hardin County last week.

A big mover this week is Harrisburg as the Bulldogs bested Murphysboro and Benton to get over .500.

Coach Andy Fehrenbacher in his first year running things has a club with the potential to stir things up late in the year.

The SIRR Ohio is a tough league to try to win games in.

Columbia and Breese Central are the top two and unless something happens out of the ordinary their February 7th matchup at Columbia will decide the top seed in the sub-sectional.

Last winter was a messed up seeding in that five of the top seven teams ended up in a brutal regional at Wesclin.

Hopefully that won't happen again this year as the host schools (Nashville, Sparta) close enough in proximity that there shouldn't be any geography excuse for placing the teams in the proper regionals.

The other side has some quality squads that hopefully won't end up all in the same regionals.

Benton and Harrisburg will host and there are currently eight teams in that sub-sectional over .500.

Teutopolis has on paper the best path to SIU Arena for the super-sectional.

They currently are the best club in that setup that will feed into the Newton Sectional and the only one of that group in the ABV 2A top ten rankings.

It should make for an interesting next two months.

BTW, if these rankings were based on just geography and not the Carbondale Super-Sectionals, Waterloo Gibault would be the ABV 1A #1.

The Hawks are the 'real deal' with a legit shot at a trip to Champaign going through the Jacksonville super.

Coach Dennis Rueter's club is 14-3 and has wins over six 2A teams and two 3A teams so far.

See ya at the gym.

Jack
1. ALTAMONT (13-3)
The Indians jumped into the second half of the season with three wins last week. They will host North Clay on Friday with the winner taking sole possession of first place in the NTC. The conference tournament looks to be 'must-see' with several contenders for the title.
2. CASEY-WESTFIELD (9-4)
The Warriors have a home game with one win Marshall on Friday. After that all remaining regular season games are against teams that are currently 76-24. The LIC tournament won't be a picnic either as they need to keep things going for a good spot in the postseason.
3. NORTH CLAY (11-4)
The Cardinals have won seven consecutive games and it won't get much easier with key NTC games upcoming plus the annual tournament to end January. Four of the next five contests are against teams who are 54-15.
4. CENTRALIA CHRIST OUR ROCK LUTHERAN (13-0)
The unbeaten Silver Stallions have faced the easiest schedule of the top ten (.436 winning percentage) record wise. However they have a couple of difficult conference games coming up (Gateway Metro, Midland Trail) to contend with, including a trip to Cisne on Monday.
5. EFFINGHAM ST. ANTHONY (11-7)
Another of the 1A teams that take on tough competition, the Bulldogs will be a factor in the NTC, league tournament and the state tournament. The final eight opponents, besides the league event, are an outstanding 97-31. St. A will be ready for the postseason.
6. NOKOMIS (16-4)
Following a 2-3 start to the season, the Redskins have been on a roll. They have three straight wins in January, including a victory over Springfield Calvary on Saturday. The first year in the MSM Conference has been good so far (5-0).
7. TUSCOLA (14-2)
The Warriors started the new year with a 21-point loss to Shelbyville. Their next four games are against 2A teams, three of which have winning marks. Another of the programs that will bump back up to 2A for the next two-year cycle.
8. SOUTH CENTRAL (13-4)
The Cougars also had a difficult beginning to the season but are currently riding a 10-game winning streak. Another of the strong teams from the National Trail Conference, SC has some battles coming up in the league.
9. WAYNE CITY (11-4)
The Indians have won four consecutive games in January but the water will get a bit deeper the rest of the way with league games and four tough 2A contests. The MTC tournament has the potential of having a strong final four.
10. MOUNDS MERIDIAN (11-5)
The Bobcats have quietly put together a fine season so far as one of the top scorers in the South (Roderic Gatewood, Jr.) has put up some incredible numbers. The schedule will get a lot more difficult. They could pick up the top-seed in their sub-sectional.
Knocking on the Door in Alphabetical Order.
Arcola (7-8), Cisne (12-4), Crab Orchard (14-2), Cumberland (8-9), Dieterich (9-7), Goreville (11-5), Marissa/Coulterville (10-5), New Athens (9-7), St. Elmo/Brownstown (10-5), Webber Township (8-6), Neoga (6-11), Okawville (4-12), Norris City-Omaha-Enfield (7-8), Pope County (11-5), Steeleville (8-8), Windsor/Stewardson-Strasburg (14-4).
1. COLUMBIA (15-2)
This club picked up wins over 3A Highland in OT and rival Freeburg. The Eagles have some big games coming up in the next week that will get them ready for the Okawville Tournament where they will likely face Highland again and state-ranked 1A Waterloo Gibault.
2. BREESE CENTRAL (16-2)
The Cougars also had a good week with victories over 3A Centralia, @ East Alton-Wood River and @ Alton Marquette. February 7 @ Columbia will have a lot at stake for the league and postseason seedings in an absolute battlefield of a sub-sectional.
3. MASSAC COUNTY (15-2)
The Patriots picked up a pair of important Ohio Division wins (Herrin, Benton) to move into a tie for first place. They host West Frankfort before they tackle a pretty strong field at their own Superman Classic with two teams on this list and a top program from Charleston (MO.).
4. VIENNA (12-2)
The Eagles blew out three BDCW teams last week (Sesser-Valier, Zeigler-Royalton, Goreville) but things will get a bit tougher at the Superman Classic in a week. Games against Joppa-Maple Grove and Anna-Jonesboro this week.
5. CARTERVILLE (10-4)
The Lions' took control of the SIRR Mississippi Division with a come-from-behind win over Pinckneyville last Friday. They added a win over Chester Saturday and they are the #4 seed at the Superman Classic.
6. TEUTOPOLIS (14-2)
The Wooden Shoes have a pair of recent wins against an independent schedule of tough games. Not playing in a mid-winter could be a blessing. Eight of the remaining teams on their slate already have double-digit win totals. The clear favorite in their sub-sectional.
7. BREESE MATER DEI (9-6)
The Knights have won three-straight games against another brutal schedule. They have only played two teams who currently have losing records. BMD will travel to Pinckneyville on Tuesday night in a game with sub-sectional seeding implications.
8. PINCKNEYVILLE (13-3)
The Panthers let an 11-point lead slip away with a loss at Carterville on Friday. Figuring a way to put away teams is a priority for the rest of the season. They will play Teutopolis at home in their annual Panther Showcase on January 28th.
9. FREEBURG (10-6)
The Midgets took a beating from the top-ranked Eagles last week but they have a ton to play for the rest of the season. Coming up are games against Triad, Red Bud and Roxana before heading to the Sparta Mid-Winter Classic.
10. HARRISBURG (8-7)
The Bulldogs leap frog into the rankings after wins over Benton, Murphysboro and Anna-Jonesboro. With a new head coach HB is moving forward. One of the losses was an overtime decision to 14-1 3A Herrin. They host the Tigers this week.
Knocking on the Door in Alphabetical Order.
Alton Marquette (9-8), Belleville Althoff (5-12), Benton (13-4), Carmi-White County (11-4), East Alton-Wood River (7-12), Flora (11-6), Greenville (10-7), Johnston City (10-6), Lawrenceville (16-2), Litchfield (12-5), Mount Carmel (10-6), Murphysboro (10-4), Nashville (8-10), Newton (12-5), Red Bud (12-5), Robinson (10-7), Sparta (12-3), and Wesclin (12-7).