MacArthur showed why it deserves its state ranking. It used a strong defensive attack to go with a nice ground game of its own. MacArthur has a good chance at building up a head of steam before it gets to the meat of its Big 12 schedule.

Eisenhower gave itself something to work on with it’s halftime lead over Centennial. With Normal West coming to town, the Panthers could keep building on that.

The teams have been waiting for this matchup. But what are we going to get? Both defenses looked good in the first week.

Is Monticello for real? We’ll get a much better indication this week. A 35-0 lead against Meridian does show you something.

Does Meridian have as far to go as its loss to Monticello might indicate? If Shelbyville doesn’t cut down on turnovers, the Hawks could have a chance to get better before its game with St. Teresa.

Central A&M got better as the game went along and showed it could have some weapons this year if the line comes together. Clinton had some moments against No. 1 Maroa — but not near enough.

Neither team showed a whole lot in Week 1. Which will get something going this week?

Some of those questions marks seem to have been answered as Mount Zion held Lincoln in check. And they did a good job of pounding the ball on the ground.

Clint Mueller and Derek Hodges were a dynamic duo for Argenta in its win over Sullivan. Can they continue it against a defense that bottled up Central A&M for much of last week’s game?

No surprise. Nathan Lawler and Nick Farison led a Cerro Gordo offense that piled up 39 points. This will be a good opportunity for the Broncos to get back for last year’s 10-7 loss to Farmington.

Arthur has a good chance to get on track before next week’s game with Arcola.

As expected, Casey just brings in a new bunch to control opponents. After a rough first half, the Warriors rolled.

Sangamon Valley opens with a win and now moves into its new conference with a game with PORTA.

Taylorville gets a good chance of getting off to a 2-0 start as Lanphier fell 40-9 in Week 1. The Tornadoes used a nice balanced attack to top Charleston.

Effingham was one of the top surprises of the first week with its dominating showing against Breese Mater Dei. Salem was involved in a high-scoring affair, losing to Centralia, 42-35.

Apollo Conference play starts with both teams coming off tough losses. Olney lost by two while Charleston fell in OT after taking a quick 14-0 lead.

Alton Marquette opened with an eye-opening win over Carlinville, one of the teams picked at the top of the South Central Conference. But Pana was also sharp in its opener.

It doesn’t get any easier for Arcola. Orion came out of the game firing as it knocked off Rock Falls, 46-0. The Riders got a nice opening performance from back Harley Lindstrom.

There are a lot of high expectations for a MacArthur team loaded with athletes and speed. Can they pull in the same direction and how much did they learn from last year’s nice playoff run?

St. Teresa has just three starters back on offense and two on defense. The time to get the Bulldogs may be now before the young talent establishes itself.

The Maroa offense will again go through QB Justin Barnes, who accounted for 2,670 yards last year. Clinton lost a lot of big guys and may take a while to get the experience needed to keep up.

Centennial was hardly world beaters last year and Eisenhower returns a few experienced players and a bunch of younger players who have won at the lower levels. The last time the Panthers won a season opener was in 2004 when it took Centennial 14-7.

Monticello has some athletes and now has a more diverse offense to utilize them. Meridian will come into the season as it did a year ago — with people not sure just how good the Hawks can be but sure that they should not be taken as a sure win.

This game was certainly entertaining last year. And it could be again with Mount Zion full of question marks.

David Elder takes over at South Piatt and walks right into what may be the favorite to win the Little Okaw.