Two local schools land in MaxPreps preseason football Top 25

Devin Voss, The Reporter Times
·3 min read
Mooresville High School's Levi Dorn (14) keeps the ball from Decatur Central's Alberto Murillo (33) during the second half of the game Friday, Sept. 17, 2021, at Mooresville High School. The Decatur Central Hawks beat the Mooresville Pioneers 41-27.
Mooresville High School's Levi Dorn (14) keeps the ball from Decatur Central's Alberto Murillo (33) during the second half of the game Friday, Sept. 17, 2021, at Mooresville High School. The Decatur Central Hawks beat the Mooresville Pioneers 41-27.

As the high school football season inches closer to a start, excitement is starting to build and preseason polls add to the hype.

There are the typical questions — Who's got the best team? Who's the frontrunner for Mr. Football? Which dark horse has a shot at making a state championship run? Is there any chance a team can stop Center Grove?

As for the latter, it's tough to say, but fortunately MaxPreps has provided us with its preseason Top 25 rankings to generate some interest before the coaches and Associated Press release the official rankings. The Trojans surprisingly aren't listed in the No. 1 spot, despite posting a 28-0 record, accompanied by back-to-back state championships, the last two seasons.

It was Cathedral who landed in the top spot. While it's not necessarily shocking to see the Irish place first, it's a bit surprising given the Trojans' track record the last two seasons, and the fact they defeated Cathedral in a mud-packed game last season. Perhaps the returning talent, particularly with junior quarterback Danny O'Neil, compared to Center Grove, along with the bump to Class 6A Cathedral received gives them the starting nod.

Cathedral Kyle Coleman (45) brings down Decatur Central Javon Tracy (11) during Cathedral at Decatur Central IHSAA football Class 5A sectional final, Nov 5, 2021; Indianapolis, IN, USA;
Cathedral Kyle Coleman (45) brings down Decatur Central Javon Tracy (11) during Cathedral at Decatur Central IHSAA football Class 5A sectional final, Nov 5, 2021; Indianapolis, IN, USA;

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More:IHSAA football: Class 5A, 4A predictions for Martinsville, Mooresville, Decatur Central

But while it's fun to have some drama up top, there's two local schools, two rivals, who were honored to get recognition as top preseason teams. Mooresville and Decatur Central. Surprising? Perhaps not. The two schools have been among the most consistent the last few years. But what if I mentioned the Pioneers were pitted higher than their state Route 67 counterpart?

The Pioneers were ranked nearly 10 spots higher than the Hawks, coming in at No. 14 (No. 3 in Class 4A) to Decatur Central's No. 23 (No. 2 in Class 5A). For context, it's significant because historically that's hardly been the case. Last year's preseason rankings saw the Hawks at No. 18 and Pioneers at No. 22. The 2020 rankings featured Decatur Central at No. 16 but didn't list Mooresville at all.

Mooresville topping the Hawks in the rankings is sure to add some fuel to what's been a competitive rivalry decided by an average of 8.25 points in the last four contests. The Pioneers have only won one of those four, escaping with a narrow 20-14 win in 2020. Overall, the Hawks lead the series 34-12.

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More:Takeaways from Decatur Central football's first slice of action in four-way home scrimmage

It'll be Decatur Central playing host to the Pioneers in week five for this year's rendition of the rivalry. With both teams working on retooling their rosters, it has the potential to be much closer than 2021's matchup, which ended with a 41-27 Hawks win. Perhaps Mooresville's offensive weapons gives it an early advantage, but there's three weeks of football before anything can be determined.

As for the remaining local teams, Martinsville will enter the season as MaxPreps' 47th best team (No. 11 in Class 4A). Monrovia is slotted at No. 147 (No. 28 in Class 3A) and Indian Creek at No. 253 (No. 55 in Class 3A).

Contact reporter Devin Voss at dvoss@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @DevinVoss23.

This article originally appeared on The Reporter Times: Mooresville, Decatur Central land in MaxPreps preseason football Top 25