"It is a surprise," first-year Panthers coach B.J. Zeleznik said of his team being ranked No. 1. "There are a lot of quality programs around with guys coming back."

Among the other schools earning recognition, Normal Community is eighth and Bloomington 10th in Class 6A. Pontiac is ranked fifth in Class 5A, while Prairie Central comes in at No. 9 in Class 4A and Tremont is 10th in Class 2A.

"It just makes the bull's eye on you even bigger," said Zeleznik, whose team opens the season Friday at Bismarck-Henning. "It's nice for the program, but it means that teams are going to be out to get you. We'll have to get more focused. Our focus has been we needed to take it a game at a time."

Zeleznik is replacing Gary Tipsord, who led LeRoy to an 11-1 record last season. The high ranking is nothing new for LeRoy, which finished in the top 10 last year but wasn't ranked the preseason.

Normal Community opens the season at Danville while Bloomington will travel to Champaign Centennial. Victories for the two Intercity schools would set up a showdown of ranked teams in the Intercity tripleheader at Illinois State's Hancock Stadium in the second week of the season.

"Our focus is Danville right now. That is what is taking our attention," NCHS coach Hud Venerable said. "It's premature to get excited about rankings in August.

"It's a reflection on the good seasons we've had the last two years. It's way too early to tell anything right now."

No. 5 Pontiac, which took a 12-1 record into the Class 5A title game a year ago before losing to New Lenox Providence, opens the season at No. 7 in Class 6A Morris. Metamora, seventh in Class 5A, and Prairie Central are other ranked opponents on the Indians' schedule.

"It's a privilege to be ranked. It's more related to the tradition the program has built up," Pontiac assistant coach Dave Young said. "The only thing that we can take care of is playing the game on the field and improving everyday in practice."

Young said that playing another ranked team to start the season "shows you quickly what you are lacking and where your strengths are."

Prairie Central kicks off the season at home against St. Joseph-Ogden, while Tremont begins the year by hosting Flanagan.

New Lenox Providence has won consecutive state championships, hasn't lost in 28 games and returns 10 starters to a team that won the Class 5A title game.

Chicago Mount Carmel is the defending Class 6A champion, its 10th overall to tie an Illinois High School record.

Both should be among the top teams in the state.

Neither enters the season ranked No. 1.

That goes to Mundelein Carmel, the top-ranked team in Class 6A.

All three teams are grouped in 6A this year, making it the deepest and toughest field in the state.

Providence is second, and Chicago Mount Carmel is No. 3.

"When you look at teams like Mount Carmel and Providence, they have all been there," said Mundelein Carmel coach Andy Bitto, whose Corsairs have yet to win a state championship in nine trips to the playoffs. "Our goal is to win a state championship."

Other top-ranked teams include Lockport in 8A, Prospect in 7A, Rochelle in 5A, Addison Driscoll in 4A, Wilmington in 3A and Carthage in 2A.

The 6A playoffs should be interesting if all three schools stay in the same class. The Illinois High School Association doesn't determine its final classes until the end of the season.

Last year, Chicago Mount Carmel knocked off top-ranked Mundelein Carmel in the state quarterfinals on its way to a fourth state title in five years. The Caravan could start up to 12 juniors this season, and only four starters -- all on defense -- return.

"Our team feels like we still have something to prove," center Luke Thana said. "We're looking to write our own page in Mount Carmel history.

"It's definitely not old hat. It never gets old hat. We're hungry, and we're not going to get complacent because we won in the past. It's always the new seniors' responsibility to live up to tradition."

The IHSA has once again changed the format of the playoffs in hopes of landing some more competitive matchups in the state title games. Only two championship games were close last year, and two others were so lopsided that officials let the clock run continuously so the score wouldn't get any further out of hand.

Last year, the IHSA placed schools in quadrants of eight teams based on geography -- often pitting two of the state's top teams against each other in the playoffs. The quadrant system is still in use, but this year teams that make the semifinals will be randomly paired against each other.