Mid-summer high school football rankings

CINCINNATI - The 2012 TriStateFootball.com Division IV-VI preseason Team Rankings is a list of the usual suspects. There is playoff pedigree, but most of all there is a hunger to come up with an elusive regional title for the ranked squads. 



Alter and Clinton-Massie have gotten the best of these teams in recent years. Now the time has come for a new sheriff in town. The question is who is going to emerge with that badge, and moreover, can they hold on to it once it is in their possession. 



Division IV, Region 16 plays some of the best small-school football in the state, and this fall will be no different. Chaminade-Julienne looks to get back to the mountain top with hopes of winning the school’s second state championship a decade after claiming number one. League rival Fenwick and others will push the Eagles every step of the way. By the end of Week 3 and the beginning of conference play, there will be plenty of shake-ups to the rankings. 



Madeira will get every opportunity to skyrocket up the charts with CHCA and North College Hill in the first three weeks. The Mustangs truly control their own destiny. Fenwick beefed up its schedule to include bigger schools Mount Healthy and Wyoming.

The margin of error to stay on top is getting smaller and smaller. Here a look at our preseason rankings … 



1. Chaminade-Julienne (9-4) 
How They Finished: Lost to Clinton-Massie in the Division IV, Region 16 Regional final. 
Looking Ahead: All the Eagles need to do is settle on a quarterback that won’t turn the ball over and the rest of the key components are in place for another deep run. 



2. Bishop Fenwick (8-2) 
How They Finished: Weak non-conference left Falcons on outside looking in at postseason. 
Looking Ahead: Fenwick is going to pound the football, but the Ricky Davis-to-Leo Haenni connection gives them an element they haven’t seen under Fred Cranford. 



3. CHCA (8-4) 
 How They Finished: Lost in Round 2 of the playoffs to Clinton-Massie. 
 Looking Ahead: The CHCA program is so solid under Eric Taylor that we expect nothing less than the Eagles to show up in November. 



4. North College Hill (10-1) 
 How They Finished: Lost in Round 1 of the playoffs to Clinton-Massie. Looking Ahead: Replacing the beef up front is a concern for head coach Bruce Baarendse. If they don’t open up holes all that speed at the skills positions is going to be wasted. 



5. Madeira (10-1) How They Finished: Heartbreaking home loss to CHCA in Round 1 of the playoffs. Looking Ahead: Head coach Mike Shafer is downplaying his squad which means the Mustangs are going to be a menace along the way. 



6. Waynesville (11-1) 
 How They Finished: Lost in Round 2 of the playoffs to Chaminade-Julienne. Looking Ahead: Replacing a rock star quarterback won’t be easy but the Spartans returning players know what it take to win. 



7. Milton-Union (8-3) 
How They Finished: Lost to Waynesville in Round 1 of the playoffs. Looking Ahead: The Bulldogs are on course for their fifth playoff appearance since 2005 



8. Summit Country Day (7-4) 
 How They Finished: Lost to Pleasant in Round 1 of the Division V Region 20 playoffs. Looking Ahead: Silver Knights are seeking their third straight trip to Week 11 and first postseason victory. 



9. Badin (6-4) 
 How They Finished: Lack of quality wins left the Rams 14th in the finals Region 16 Harbin Ratings. 
 Looking Ahead: The Rams need to come up with at least one victory over either Alter, Chaminade-Julienne or Fenwick if they want to be included in the playoff talk. 



10. Batavia (2-8) 
How They Finished: Year one in head coach Don Sizer’s system had lots of growing pains. Looking Ahead: The Bulldogs’ bite is going to be much more than their bite in 2012 with tons of experience returning.