Beginning this football season, River Radio is hosting a Coaches’ Poll in the Southern Illinois high school football scene. Coaches from the Southern Illinois region in the Black Diamond, SIRR Ohio & Mississippi, and South Seven are being asked to rank their top ten teams and submit them every week to create the Coaches Poll.
In the preseason poll, the Marion Wildcats were selected as the top team in Southern Illinois by area coaches. The Wildcats finished 8-2 in the 2019 season, falling in the first round of the IHSA playoffs. They are expected to be dominant across the 6-week shortened season. Marion opens the year at #2 Carbondale Friday night.
Here is a look at the full rankings:
Rank School (First Place Votes) Points
- Marion (4) 75
- Carbondale (3) 65
- Du Quoin 52
- Nashville 49
- Benton 38
- Fairfield (1) 36
- Murphysboro 32
- Chester 14
- Carterville 13
- Anna-Jonesboro 11
Also receiving votes: Cahokia 7, Centralia 7, Herrin 7, Mt. Carmel 5, Sesser-Valier 5, West Frankfort 3, Christopher-Zeigler-Royalton 2, Eldorado 2, Harrsiburg 1, Carmi 1
Southern Illinois Coaches interested in participating in the Coaches Poll can email picks to mattv@riverradio.net every week by 10am each Wednesday of the season.