1. LeRoy

➜ Record: 11-0

➜ Previous ranking: No. 1

➜ Tip-in: The News-Gazette gave the Panthers the torch at the start of the season, and they’ve carried it well through the first month, with a nine-point win against Warrenburg-Latham and a 10-point win against Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley being their two closest margins of victory.

2. Westville

➜ Record: 9-0

➜ Previous ranking: No. 2

➜ Tip-in: The Tigers won their Westville Winter Wonderland Shootout championship against Schlarman thanks to the MVP performance of Easton Barney and All-Tournament teammates Aiden White and Matthew Darling. Next up: the Kansas Holiday Tournament.

3. Unity

➜ Record: 6-1

➜ Previous ranking: No. 3

➜ Tip-in: Any rust the Rockets may have had from their run to the Class 3A state football championship game has long been knocked off. Coleton Langendorf has produced most consistently on the offensive end to this point heading into the Effingham-Teutopolis Christmas Classic.

4. Tuscola

➜ Record: 10-0

➜ Previous ranking: No. 6

➜ Tip-in: The Warriors enter this year’s Monticello Holiday Hoopla with a huge target on their backs after three-peating a year ago. Logan Kurtz has taken his game to another level, and Connor Musgrave, Caiden Russo and Kaedan Chenoweth have been solid complements.

5. St. Joseph-Ogden

➜ Record: 6-2

➜ Previous ranking: No. 4

➜ Tip-in: The biggest win of the week goes to the Spartans, who took down Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin 44-39 on Tuesday behind Parker Fitch‘s 21 points and Nolan Franzen‘s 12 points. Now, SJ-O gets ready for the State Farm Holiday Classic beginning Friday in Normal.

6. Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin

➜ Record: 6-2

➜ Previous ranking: No. 5

➜ It may have been a defensive battle in their 44-39 loss to St. Joseph-Ogden, but Keison Peoples almost carried the Blue Devils over the top. The senior star dropped a game-high 28 points for the Blue Devils before they begin play Friday in the Heritage/BHRA Holiday Tournament.

7. Centennial

➜ Record: 4-3

➜ Previous ranking: No. 7

➜ Tip-in: The Chargers haven’t played since their 73-57 road loss to Peoria on Dec. 12, and they won’t play again until Monday at the Effingham-Teutopolis Christmas Classic. Roderick Hutchison‘s team has had an up-and-down start to the season but has shown great promise.

8. Mahomet-Seymour

➜ Record: 5-2

➜ Previous ranking: No. 8

➜ Tip-in: A 62-48 home win against Effingham last Friday improved the Bulldogs’ Apollo Conference record to 3-0. It was a good night for M-S’s big three of Paxson O’Malley, Jackson Bohm and Malachi Nichols. Now, M-S turns its attention to the State Farm Holiday Classic on Friday.

9. Paxton-Buckley-Loda

➜ Record: 7-3

➜ Previous ranking: Not ranked

➜ Tip-in: The Panthers had a decent start to the season by finishing third at the Toyota of Danville Classic, but they’ve really picked it up recently. Tyler Cole has led the charge, and Carson Goss and Ethan Williams have been a solid post duo going into the Monticello Holiday Hoopla.

10. Monticello

➜ Record: 5-1

➜ Previous ranking: Not ranked

➜ Tip-in: It hasn’t been a large sample size, but what the Sages have shown through six games is impressive. After graduating a big senior class, there were question marks, but Matthias Rudolph has led Monticello to a quality start before its Holiday Hoopla tips off Friday.