United Township's Bridgette Griffin tumbles to the floor as Moline's Amanda Smith (22) and Kylie Romeo (10) guard her during the second period on Thursday night, February 4, in East Moline. Moline won the game, exacting revenge for its lone loss this season, and continuing a 20-game winning streak and two-season domination atop of the QC Prep Basketball Power Poll.

By Steve Tappa, stappa@qconline.com
Moline Dispatch/Rock Island Argus prep basketball writer
Originally Posted Online: Feb. 07, 2010, 10:02 pm
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Another super week by our Top 10 girls’ teams meant there was little change again in that portion of the Quad Cities Prep Basketball Power Polls.

However, the local pollsters were left bowled over again on Super Sunday, looking for teams to fill out their ballots after another lackluster week in that part of the presentation by WQAD-TV 8, Mediacom Connections 22, WFXN-AM 1230 and The Dispatch and The Rock Island Argus newspapers.

The Top 10 girls’ teams were a combined 18-5, with three of those losses to each other, two by two points or overtime, and two more against state-ranked crews.

Meanwhile, last week’s Top 10 boys’ squads finished the week 12-5, and suffered enough backend setbacks to have a panel of local sportswriters and broadcasters turn in desperation to a team (Pleasant Valley) that lost to No. 3 Davenport Assumption by 23 points during the rating period.

The top teams in both polls remained the same, with the Moline girls’ continuing their two-season domination of the top spot, and the Rock Island boys’ marking a month now at No. 1.

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Rock Island's D.J. Anderson (middle) wrestles the ball away from United Township's Demetrius Singleton (left) and Nick Jansen (right) in action last Friday. A 43-40 win not only avenged Rocky's lone Western Big 6 Conference loss this season, but kept the Class 3A state-rated Rocks atop the boys' rankings for the Quad Cities Prep Basketball Power Poll.

By Steve Tappa, stappa@qconline.com
Moline Dispatch/Rock Island Argus prep basketball writer
Posted Online: Jan. 31, 2010, 11:51 pm
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As the calendar turns today to the final month of the regular season, change is aplenty in the Quad Cities Prep Basketball Power Polls.

With the conference races burning red hot now, and the start of postseasons looming, the local hoops scene became a dog-eat-dog world with eight head-to-head matchups between poll members, four showdowns each in boys’ and girls’ action.

That led to two new Top 10 entrants in the girls’ rankings, a total of three teams dropped from voting consideration altogether and 14 of the combined 20 Top 10 teams changing positions.

Indeed, last week’s top-ranked teams, the Moline girls and Rock Island boys, are about this week’s only constants in the presentation by WQAD-TV 8, Mediacom Connections 22, WFXN-AM 1230 and The Dispatch and The Rock Island Argus newspapers.

The Moline girls have been No. 1 dating back to the first ballot of the 2008-09 season. The Rocky boys have spent the last three weeks on top.

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Allyssa Decker drives to the hoop in action recently against rival Alleman. Decker and the 23-1 Moline Maroons continue to reign supreme in the girls' version of the Quad Cities Prep Basketball Power Poll. Illinois' third-rated Class 4A club has beaten 12 state-ranked foes this season, and are currently riding a 15-game winning streak. The two-time defending Western Big 6 Conference champs also lead the league again at 6-1 heading into action this week.

By Steve Tappa, stappa@qconline.com
Moline Dispatch/Rock Island Argus prep basketball writer
Originally Posted Online: Jan. 24, 2010, 8:58 pm
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An impressive week together by the teams in the Quad Cities Prep Basketball Power Polls left the local rankings relatively unchanged from last Monday.

The 15 boys’ and 17 girls’ teams that received voting consideration last week stayed the same heading into this final week of January.

And that status quo was due to both groups winning more than 75-percent of their cumulative games in the past seven days.

The locally ranked boys’ teams were a combined 26-8 last week, with six of those setbacks coming to state-ranked squads, and four falling to fellow members of the presentation by WQAD-TV 8, Mediacom Connections 22, WFXN-AM 1230 and The Dispatch and The Rock Island Argus newspapers.

The girls’ teams were 30-9 together, with five losses to state-rated foes, including three also in the local poll generated by balloting from a panel of local sportswriters and broadcasters.

This week’s sameness starts at the top, with the Rock Island boys and Moline girls retaining their No. 1 rankings in this season’s fifth ballot.

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Rock Island's D.J. Anderson shoots over Quincy's Alex Vonderhaar during the first quarter of Western Big 6 Conference boys' basketball action on Friday, Jan. 15. The Rocks won the contest, 49-44 at Rock Island High School, to move into sole possession of first place in the league.

By Steve Tappa, stappa@qconline.com
Moline Dispatch/Rock Island Argus prep basketball writer
Originally Posted Online: Jan. 17, 2010, 11:40 pm
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The last time the Rock Island boys were ranked No. 1 in the Quad-Cities Prep Basketball Power Polls, the Rocks promptly lost five of their next six games.

But such a collapse is unlikely this season, with Illinois’ 10th-ranked Class 3A club rolling both to the top of the local rankings and Western Big 6 Conference standings with five straight victories since Christmas.

Ranked second last week locally, the Rocks inherited the top boys’ spot when former No. 1 United Township was upset by now No. 6 Moline over the weekend.

The 21-1 Moline girls, fresh off beating the state-rated pair of Alleman and Cedar Rapids Washington, remained an unanimous No. 1 selection in the now-weekly presentation by WQAD-TV 8, Mediacom Connections 22, WFXN-AM 1230 and The Dispatch and The Rock Island Argus newspapers.

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Sherrard's Jake Friichtenicht (13) drives to the basket against Rockridge in boys' basketball action last week. Both the Sherrard boys' and girls' teams are ranked in their respective local Top 10s of the Quad Cities Prep Basketball Power Poll.

By Steve Tappa, stappa@qconline.com
Moline Dispatch/Rock Island Argus prep basketball writer
Posted Online: Jan. 10, 2010, 11:25 pm
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A whopping six schools can now boast having both its boys’ and girls’ basketball teams in their respective Top 10s for the Quad Cities Prep Basketball Power Polls.

The newest is also the smallest public school, with Sherrard and its 534 students today joining the ranks of the Molines and United Townships, and Bettendorfs and Pleasant Valleys.

Only Davenport’s private-school powerhouse, Assumption, can claim fewer students than the Tigers.

Sherrard’s girls’ squad made the mark this week, taking advantage of some losses on the back end of local poll to jump from a share of 14th into the final spot in the girls’ Top 10. The Tigers’ boys’ team retained its No. 10 ranking.

Indeed, there was little change in the local poll in the first full week of the new year.

The top eight girls’ teams, and six of the Top 11 ranked boys’ squads stayed the same in the presentation by WQAD-TV 8, Mediacom Connections 22, WFXN-AM 1230 and The Dispatch and The Rock Island Argus newspapers.

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United Township's Shaquille Lowery threads the Bettendorf defense put up by Nick Hughes (41) and Eric Lee (11) in the Genesis PSP Shootout on Dec. 19. UT defeated Bettendorf 55-51 in the old Iowa-Illinois Shootout at Augustana College's Carver P.E. Center.

By Steve Tappa, stappa@qconline.com
Moline Disoatch/Rock Island Argus basketball writer
Posted Online: Jan. 03, 2010, 11:49 pm
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The United Township boys’ basketball team suffered its first setback of the season last week, and earned an early trip home from the rugged Pontiac Holiday Tournament with an 0-2 showing.

Yet today offers a bit of sunshine for the Western Big 6 Conference co-leaders heading into the new year.

The current Panthers are the first team in UT history to ever earn the No. 1 ranking in the three seasons of the Quad-Cities Prep Basketball Power Polls.

Second in the season’s first local boys’ ballot a month ago, UT inherited the top spot from tumbling No. 1 Moline (8-5) with a perfect 8-0 showing before the Christmas tourneys, which Iowa squads are not allowed to participate in.

Included in that fast start? A 55-51 UT decision at the Genesis PSP Shootout over new No. 2 Bettendorf, the Mississippi Athletic Conference leader.

Moline, last season’s wire-to-wire consensus No. 1 in the girls poll, held on to that spot in unanimous fashion after beating state-rated teams to win a pair of holiday tourneys.

The two-time defending Big 6 champs received all 16 first-place votes in the presentation by WQAD-TV 8, Mediacom Connections 22, WFXN-AM 1230 and The Dispatch and The Rock Island Argus newspapers.

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Marquisha Harris and the Moline girls' basketball team are again rising above the competition, according to the local sportswriters and broadcasters voting in the QC Prep Basketball Power Poll. The two-time defending Western Big 6 Conference champs went wire-to-wire as the top-ranked local girls' team last season, and the Maroons start off this season as the unanimous No. 1 again.

By Steve Tappa, stappa@qconline.com
Moline Dispatch/Rock Island Argus prep basketball writer
Originally Posted Online: Dec. 06, 2009, 11:43 pm
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The first school to sweep the top spots in the Quad Cities Prep Basketball Power Poll is setting another trend today.

Moline is the initial institution to have both its boys and girls squads opening the season No. 1 now, too,

The Moline girls, last season’s wire-to-wire consensus No. 1, start this season back on top in unanimous fashion.

The two-time defending Western Big 6 Conference champs received all 15 first-place votes and 150 voting points in the presentation by WQAD-TV 8, Mediacom Connections 22, WFXN-AM 1230 and The Dispatch and The Rock Island Argus newspapers.

On the flip side, the Moline boys earned 12 of the 15 first-place nods and 147 voting points. Last season’s Big 6 boys’ champs spent just over a month atop last season’s poll of local sportswriters and broadcasters.

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Geneseo's Collin Akers eyes extra yardage while bursting through a hole in last Saturday's 26-7 win over Mount Vernon. After securing a Top 5 finish in the QC Prep Football Power Poll, Akers and the Leafs are looking for even more now, with the playoffs starting this weekend.

By Steve Tappa, stappa@qconline.com
Moline Dispatch/Rock Island Argus sportswriter
Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2009, 11:55 p.m.
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Final-week losses barely cost Sherrard and Mercer County in the final Quad Cities Prep Football Power Poll of the season.

Both playoff-bound teams remained in the 10th and final Top 10 of the season for the weekly presentation by WQAD-TV 8, Mediacom Connections 22, WFXN-AM 1230 and The Dispatch and The Rock Island Argus newspapers.

Sherrard was stopped 40-12 Saturday on the road by Chicagoland toughie Walther Lutheran. Mercer County fell to 2008 Illinois Class 1A state champ Stark County, 26-19 Friday to force a three-way tie atop the Northwest Division of the West Prairie Trail Conference.

Sherrard slipped from 5th to 6th because of the weekend setback. Mercer County tumbled from 6th to 10th, trailing both No. 8 Annawan-Wethersfield and No. 9 Alexis United by mere voting points, with a panel of local sportswriters and broadcasters perhaps forgetting the Eagles beat both teams this season.

Otherwise, little changed with Mississippi Athletic Conference champ Clinton (9-0) finishing the regular-season as the top-ranked team for the sixth straight week just ahead of No. 2 Rock Island (8-1).

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Rock Island's Chris Glover (26) runs up the sideline Friday, chased by Moline's Austin Odle during first quarter action at Browning Field. Glover scored three times, and won the Western Big 6 Conference scoring title in the process, as the Rocks completed back-to-back outright league championships for the first time since 2000-01.

By Steve Tappa, stappa@qconline.com
Moline Dispatch/Rock Island Argus sportswriter
Posted Online: Oct. 18, 2009, 11:29 p.m.
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First came a playoff-qualifying victory two weekends ago. Next followed a conference championship-clincher over the weekend.

Now, the Annawan-Wethersfield Titans are realizing another highlight today — earning their initial Top 10 ranking this season in the Quad Cities Prep Football Power Poll.

Not bad for a team that received votes in the preseason, but was dismissed until last week by local voters following a 33-0, second-week loss to current No. 6-Mercer County.

First-year coach Brandon Johnston’s 7-1 club climbed a notch, and into the No. 10 spot this week, despite a 13-1 weekend out of the team’s in last week’s presentation by WQAD-TV 8, Mediacom Connections 22, WFXN-AM 1230 and The Dispatch and The Rock Island Argus newspapers.

However, that lone loss was suffered by state-rated Alleman (5-3), which fell 29-14 at Quincy (7-1). Despite a third setback this season to a state-rated squad, the Pioneers tumbled out of the Top 10 and into the “others receiving votes” category.

Otherwise, little changed in the eyes of a panel of local sportswriters and broadcasters.

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Orion's Evan Viager (40) is swarmed by Sherrard's Derek Mizaur (44) and another Tiger tackler in action Friday. Orion's 36-14 loss to Sherrard, in a battle of unbeatens for the Olympic Conference title, was one of the decisions that shook up this week's QC Prep Football Power Poll.

By Steve Tappa, stappa@qconline.com
Moline Dispatch/Rock Island Argus sportswriter
Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2009, 9:47 p.m.
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The 15 teams receiving voting consideration in last week’s Quad Cities Prep Football Power Poll combined for a 7-8 record over the weekend.

What’s more, three of those losers — Orion, Alexis United and Bureau Valley — were head-to-head victims of a fellow Top 11 team.

Yet, with all five squads in last week’s “others receiving votes” category suffering setbacks during “Decision Week ‘09,” the Top 10 teams in this week’s local rankings are the same from a week ago.

Oh, to be sure, there was some movement in the weekly presentation by WQAD-TV 8, Mediacom Connections 22, WFXN-AM 1230 and The Dispatch and The Rock Island Argus newspapers.

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