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Roxana IHSA proposal releases mock-ups for 5A-6A schools

Largest classifications to be released soon

Cary-Grove’s Ty Tenopir, left, eludes Sycamore’s Josiah Mitchell at the end zone on a Trojan touchdown in IHSA football Class 5A first-round playoff action at Al Bohrer Field on the campus of Cary-Grove High School in Cary on Saturday, November 1, 2025.

An IHSA proposal sponsored by Roxana High school that would expand the playoffs and provide a regional scheduling component has released mock-up regions for the two smallest classification groups.

Previously, the group released mock-ups of the potential field for Class 1A and 2A and have now added mock-ups for Class 3A and 4A. The Class 1A through 4A mock-ups can be found here.

If this proposal is ratified, this process will be decided by a committee of stakeholders and this mock-up is not meant to be official, but meant to provide an idea of how the philosophy might be applied in practice.

In most circumstances, the region groups are made up of six teams with teams playing five in-region games and then the schools would be responsible for scheduling non-region games.

Some regions are made up of seven teams. In that case, teams would have one non-region crossover game with a neighboring region to allow for no team to have a bye week in the region portion of the schedule.

Seven team regions would play non-region games in Weeks 1, 2 and 9.

In cases of extreme geographic issues a few regions will have eight teams, playing non-region games in Weeks 1 and 9.

Region placement is based on a flex band principle, where teams that fall on the smallest 25 members of a classification could be flexed down into the smaller classification and the largest 25 members of a classification could be flexed up into a higher classification.

A move of that nature would be made only if needed for geographic clarity and helping the overall balance of both classifications. No team could be moved up or down more than one classification group.

Class 7A and Class 8A mock-ups will be released at a later date.

Class 5A

Region 5-1Region 5-2Region 5-3
Crystal Lake SouthBelvidereElmwood Park
Grayslake NorthFreeportFenton
LakesKanelandGlenbard South
North ChicagoRockford BoylanMontini
Prairie RidgeSterlingWheaton Academy
St. ViatorSycamoreWheaton St. Francis
Woodstock
Woodstock North
Region 5-4Region 5-5Region 5-6
Evergreen ParkGalesburgDecatur Eisenhower
LemontLa Salle-PeruDecatur MacArthur
Marian CatholicMetamoraSacred Heart Griffin
MorrisMortonSpringfield
Providence CatholicNormal UniversitySpringfield Lanphier
Tinley ParkOttawaSpringfield Southeast
Region 5-7Region 5-8
Champaign CentennialCahokia
Champaign CentralCarbondale
DanvilleCentralia
Mahomet-SeymourHighland
RantoulMarion
UrbanaMascoutah
Mt. Vernon
Triad

Class 6A

Region 6-1Region 6-2Region 6-3
Belvidere NorthAntiochBuffalo Grove
Cary-GroveGrantDeerfield
Crystal Lake CentralGrayslake CentralElk Grove Village
Rockford AuburnLake ForestHighland Park
Rockford EastLibertyvilleRolling Meadows
Rockton HononegahWaucondaSt. Patrick
Vernon Hills
Wheeling
Region 6-4Region 6-5Region 6-6
Addison TrailHinsdale SouthArgo
Burlington CentralJoliet CatholicBlue Island Eisenhower
GenevaNazarethBremen
MarmionPlainfield EastFenwick
StreamwoodPlainfield CentralOak Forest
WillowbrookRomeovilleRiverside-Brookfield
Region 6-7Region 6-8Region 6-9
Crete-MoneeBloomingtonAlton
KankakeeDunlapBelleville West
T.F. NorthNormal WestChatham Glenwood
T.F. SouthPeoriaCollinsville
ThorntonPeoria RichwoodsGranite City
ThornwoodWashingtonPekin
Steve Soucie

Steve Soucie

Steve Soucie is the Managing Editor of Friday Night Drive for Shaw Media. Also previously for Shaw Media, Soucie was the Sports Editor at the Joliet Herald News. Prior to that, Soucie worked at the Kankakee Daily Journal and for Pro Football Weekly.