Ballin4God Week 2 High School Basketball Rankings

Russ Conwell
Dec 1, 2025
3 min read

Updated: Dec 2, 2025

Gage Peterson in the championship game of the Christopher Turkey Tournament.

Opening Thoughts: With Week One of high school boys basketball being wrapped up, we will release our second poll of the season. The top three teams remain the same, but many teams still haven't played their first game yet so expect to see some big changes still to come.

As for this week of high school basketball, with the winter storm coming through, many cancelations and postponements are being enforced tonight, Monday, December 1st.

Now let's get into the rankings.

Centralia Orphans

No surprise at the top is the Centralia Orphans after eight first place votes. They were supposed to play Monday night, but the Orphans will now play for the Roxana Hoopsgiving Championship on Wednesday, December 3rd vs University City out of Missouri.

Mt. Vernon Rams

Behind the Orphans is the Mt. Vernon Rams sitting at 2-0 and received two first place votes.

Mt. Vernon will have a big weekend ahead as they will open up South Seven play at home Friday, December 5th against the Carbondale Terriers, and they returned all but one starter. Then on Saturday they will host the Alton Redbirds. Alton plays in the Southwestern Conference, and they are also a 4A squad. Some big tests for the Rams.

Pinckneyville Panthers

The Pinckneyville Panthers start their season 2-0 beating Chester in their home opener, and Flora at the Kaskaskian Classic in Carlyle. The Panthers won't be back in action until later this week at the Kaskaskian Classic due to inclement weather.

Woodlawn Cardinals

The Woodlawn Cardinals move up one spot in the rankings after winning their home opener vs Metro-East Lutheran 66-46. The Cardinals are in the same situation as the Panthers at the Kaskaskian Classic so they will not be back in action until later this week. The Panthers and Cardinals have a potential chance of facing off at Carlyle in the championship series of the tournament.

Waltonville Spartans

Waltonville gets an absolutely huge boost after winning the Christopher Turkey Tournament for the third consecutive year after beating Webber 54-47. Gage Peterson won MVP of the turkey tournament after averaging 16 points per game and 19 points in the championship game. Peterson won back to back MVP's at the tournament. Waltonville picks things back up this Friday, December 5th vs the Fairfield Mules at home.

Waltonville vs Webber links

Short Recap: https://www.riverradiosportscentral.com/2025/12/01/waltonville-holds-off-webber-for-third-straight-christopher-turkey-tournament-title/

Full Highlights: https://youtu.be/KDDLczbSmaM

Nashville Hornets

The Nashville Hornets fall two spots after opening the week 2-1 at the Wesclin Tip-Off Classic. They lost to the host Wesclin 68-62, but beat Columbia (58-56) and Mater Dei (67-59). The Hornets were led by senior Maddox Ritzel. Ritzel averaged 23.6 points per game at Wesclin this past week. Nashville will play their home opener vs Vienna Eagles this Friday, December 5th.

Marion Wildcats

The Wildcats drop two spots after not even playing a game yet. They were supposed to kick off their season at the Crimson Classic in Jacksonville, Illinois, but that was cancelled. Marion will begin their season at home vs conference foe Cahokia on Friday, December 5th. Then they will host the Marion Shootout, and you can find the full schedule here.

Massac County Patriots

Massac County moves into the rankings after making a clean sweep of the Vienna Classic. They beat the Meridian Bobcats 67-62, Eldorado 77-59, and the de facto championship against the Vienna Eagles, winning 64–60. The Patriots were led by junior Jude Harmon who won the MVP of the Vienna Classic and averaged 23 points per game, another junior Dee Carruthers was also on all-tournament team for the Patriots and averaged more than 20 points per game.

Goreville Blackcats

Despite starting their season 1-0, the Blackcats drop down two spots in the rankings after winning 71-57 vs the Gallatin County Hawks. They kick off the Goreville Invitational vs the Anna-Jonesboro Wildcats Monday, December 1st.

Murphysboro Red Devils

The Red Devils have yet to play a game, but move into the top 10. Murphysboro was supposed to begin their season at the DuQuoin Tip-Off but it has been postponed due to inclement weather.

Full rankings below, along with links to highlights from this past week:

Ballin4God Rankings: