Three weeks into the Indiana high school football season, the rankings are beginning to take shape.

But rankings only tell part of the story.

A record tells us how many games a team has won. A ranking tells us how the state views that team. Neither necessarily explains the circumstances behind those numbers.

For Cathedral, Plainfield, and East Central, there is more to the story than what appears next to their names.

Cathedral: More than a 1-2 record

Cathedral enters Week 4 at 1-2, yet the Irish remain No. 3 in the latest Indiana Football Coaches Association Class 5A poll.

The record alone doesn’t explain the way Cathedral has started the season.

The Irish opened with a 33-27 loss to Ben Davis, followed by a 33-19 loss to Loyola Academy. Cathedral then responded with a 30-21 victory over St. Xavier of Ohio on Sept. 4.

Senior Evan Johnson believes the schedule has played a major role in how the season has unfolded.

“I think people are missing out that we play the hardest schedule hands down in the state. And we are still competitive in every game. We don’t have an easy game in any week.”

The schedule’s difficulty is Johnson’s perspective. Still, the results show Cathedral has already faced three nationally prominent programs and finished its first three games with a win over St. Xavier.

Caden Nelson believes another part of Cathedral’s story is happening away from the scoreboard.

“Something that other teams don’t see is how hard our team works. Week in and week out, we are getting better and better.”

That improvement will face another test Friday, when Cathedral travels to undefeated Bishop Chatard.

For the Irish, the question isn’t whether 1-2 matters.

The question is whether 1-2 accurately reflects this team’s level.

The state’s coaches appear to believe there is more to Cathedral than the record suggests.

Plainfield: A team still proving what it can be

Plainfield enters Week 4 at 2-1 and No. 9 in the latest IFCA Class 5A poll, having won two straight after opening the season with a 31-7 loss to Franklin Central.

But there’s more to the Quakers’ start than the record.

Plainfield had to replace significant production from last year’s team. According to senior wide receiver Zander Nattam, the Quakers lost 10 starters, including all-time leading rusher Luke Starnes. Despite those losses, Plainfield has continued to find success on both sides of the ball.

“We are great in all phases of the game, even though we lost 10 starters,” Nattam said. “On offense, we lost our all-time leading rusher, Luke Starnes, and we are still great there too.”

Nattam believes the defense, in particular, deserves more recognition for helping keep the team in games.

“Our defense deserves more recognition because they really make some great stands and help our offense out a ton when we are struggling sometimes.”

Plainfield’s lone loss came against Franklin Central, but Nattam believes the final score doesn’t tell the entire story. He pointed to the game being tied 7-7 at halftime and Plainfield playing the second half without its quarterback.

The result still counts, but the circumstances provide additional context for a team trying to show it can compete with stronger competition.

“They may say that we don’t match up well against good teams, but they will realize that we do,” Nattam said.

With two wins since that opening loss, Plainfield has already started to provide some evidence behind that belief. The Quakers now have the opportunity to continue building on it as the season progresses.

East Central: One Loss Doesn’t Erase Everything Else

East Central offers a different example of why context matters.

The Trojans are 2-1 and No. 3 in the latest IFCA Class 4A poll.

Their lone loss was a 42-7 defeat at Cincinnati Elder on Sept. 4. Before that, East Central opened the season with a 21-0 victory over Lawrenceburg and then went to New Palestine and won 14-6.

The Elder loss was significant enough to move East Central from No. 1 to No. 3 in the USA TODAY Network Indiana Class 4A poll, with Bishop Chatard taking over the top spot.

But one loss hasn’t erased what East Central showed in its first two games.

Senior Troy Sebastian isn’t making excuses for the result.

“The loss was definitely a learning experience, but I think it just showed us that we aren’t the best yet and we need to keep working and improving as the season goes on.”

That response may say as much about East Central’s current mindset as the 42-7 score does.

Sebastian also believes the team’s ability to keep fighting, regardless of the circumstances, doesn’t get enough attention.

“One thing the team does that doesn’t get enough attention is that we just keep playing. No matter the circumstances, we always keep playing because it is a four-quarter game.”

East Central will get its chance to respond Friday against undefeated Franklin County.

The Bigger Picture

Cathedral, Plainfield and East Central aren’t facing the same circumstances.

That’s exactly what makes their situations interesting.

Cathedral is 1-2, but remains one of the state’s highest-ranked 5A teams after facing a difficult opening stretch.

Plainfield is 2-1 and has responded to its opening loss with two convincing wins while adjusting to significant changes from last year’s team.

East Central is 2-1 after beating New Palestine before suffering a lopsided loss to Cincinnati Elder — a result that changed its position in one statewide poll but didn’t remove it from the top three of the IFCA 4A rankings.

The rankings tell us where these teams stand.

The records tell us what has happened.

But the players provide a different perspective on why.

And with the season still unfolding, that’s the part of the story worth watching.