WACO, Texas - Off to a 7-1 start this season, the Elmhurst football team has earned its first-ever top-25 ranking in the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Division III Coaches' Poll.

Elmhurst is holding onto the 25th spot in the poll with 78 points. The Bluejays have received votes and appeared just outside the top-25 in multiple seasons, but this mark's the squad's first entry into the top-25 in school history.

Elmhurst trails Franklin (102), Cortland State (136), Concordia-Chicago (178), and Salisbury (216).

Wiedner (630), Wabash (582), Bethel (503), Coe (478), Baldwin-Wallace (407), Concordia-Moorhead (348), Heidelburg (312), Wittenberg (295), Waynesburg (275) and Wisconsin-Platteville (259) rank 11-20 in the poll.

Mount Union holds the top spot in the poll (1,049) followed by Mary Hardin-Baylor (1,006), St. Thomas (950), Linfield (925) and Wesley (863) in the top-five. Wisconsin-Oshkosh (827), Hobart (789), North Central (747), Johns Hopkins (690) and Cal. Lutheran (666) round out the top-10 in the poll.

Elmhurst has won four straight CCIW contests and ranks second in the league with a 4-1 conference record. The Bluejays travel to Carthage College this weekend before closing the regular season by hosting Illinois Wesleyan University.