Preseason Football Rankings!!
- Russ Conwell
- Aug 17
- 3 min read
Updated: Sep 9
The season is finally here, and football is back! We’ve put together our preseason rankings, and this year we’ve introduced a few new teams into the mix — including Cahokia, Richland County, Waterloo, and more. Coverage plays a big role in these polls, so if we’re unable to consistently cover those schools this season, they’ll likely be removed from the football rankings next year.
Now, let’s get to what you clicked on this post for: the rankings. The Cahokia Comanches, who received four first-place votes, open the season at the top of our poll after finishing 9-3 last year and falling in the 4A quarterfinals to Normal University. Sitting at No. 2 are the Marion Wildcats, who received two first-place votes. Marion went 6-4 last season, losing to Highland 55-19 in the first round of the 5A playoffs, but they return All-South senior quarterback Callahan Roper along with three all-conference receivers. The Nashville Hornets check in at No. 3, also with two first-place votes. Nashville finished 10-2 last season, advancing to the 3A quarterfinals before falling to Tolono Unity. However, they’ll need to replace All-South quarterback Hayden Klingeman and Ballin4God Player of the Year Samuel Kollbaum, who both graduated.
That rounds out our top three, but plenty of other area athletes are back and ready to make noise this season, including Ethan McCommons and Riley Spencer (Benton), Jace Weaver (Johnston City), Casey Thomann (Richland County), Archie Goewey, Michael Brown, and Kenny Bratton (Centralia), Johnathan Brown and Jerimiah Jones (Du Quoin) — and many more.
Check out the full rankings below:
Cahokia 115 (4)
Marion 91 (2)
Nashville 87 (2)
Benton 86 (1)
Johnston City 79 (3)
Murphysboro 70 (1)
Richland County 54 (1)
Centralia 50
Carterville 45
DuQuoin 43
Others receiving votes: Waterloo 27, Mt. Vernon 12, Chester 11, West Frankfort 11, SVW 7, Mt. Carmel 4, Harrisburg 3, and Fairfield 1
On the coaching side, the biggest headline is the return of Mike Rude to his alma mater, the Christopher Bearcats. After making six coaching stops — Wyanet (1970-72), Anna-Jonesboro (1977-81), Marion (1982-91), Johnston City (1991-2006), Vienna (2009-13, 2016-18), and Sesser-Valier (2019-24) — and compiling a 260-189 career record, Rude now comes back home to Christopher. He’ll have a tall task ahead, as the Bearcats have just two wins in the past three seasons and have gone winless the last two years. It will be exciting to see what Rude can do with CZR — and you can hear more from him in Darren Kinnard’s interview on the River Radio Sports Central (RRSC) website, linked below.
Other coaching changes include:
Nathan Lieber taking over at Herrin in his first head coaching role (story linked below on RRSC).
Nick Wingo, a former assistant under Mike Rude at Sesser, stepping into the head coaching job for the Sesser-Valier/Waltonville Red Devils. Kinnard also grabbed an interview with him (link below).
At Carmi-White County, Clinton Wolff replaces longtime head coach Kurt Simon. Wolff is no stranger to CWC — he’s led the girls track team since 2016 and the girls basketball team since 2018, with both programs winning conference championships in 2024.
Make sure to stay updated all football season long by following Ballin4God on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube — and keep up with River Radio Sports Central on their website, Facebook, and Twitter.
Links to Coach Interviews on RRSC
Mike Rude (Christopher/Zeigler-Royalton/Elkville Bearcats)
Nathan Lieber (Herrin Tigers)
Nick Wingo (Sesser-Valier/Waltonville Red Devils)
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