Friday Night Drive is highlighting some of the top returning players at each position for the 2026 IHSA football season. Here are 10 of the top returning linebackers to watch as the season approaches.

Oswego football coach Brian Cooney, who helped lead the Panthers to the Class 8A state championship game this past fall, has been selected to coach in the prestigious Navy All-American Bowl on Jan. 10 in San Antonio.

A day after the IHSA announced that a proposal had passed to expand the football playoffs by 128 teams, Kendall County-area coaches reacted to the news. "More kids get a chance to play high school football one extra week.”

Here is the 2025 Record Newspapers All-Area football team.

Oswego senior defensive back/receiver Mariano Velasco, who caught nine touchdown passes and also had six interceptions, four returned for touchdowns, in helping lead the Panthers to the Class 8A state championship, is the Record Newspapers Player of the Year.

Join hosts Matt Rodewald and Steve Soucie as they recap the Illinois high school football state championship games for Class 8A-5A

Oswego junior linebacker Cam Loghmani walked into the postgame interview room carrying the Class 8A runner-up trophy, and briefly put it in the center of a table. He could indeed hold it high. The Panthers, in defeat, put a fitting capper on a memorable run to the Class 8A final.

There was almost no flashiness in the final game of the IHSA football season as Mount Carmel and Oswego found themselves embroiled in a defensive struggle with the Caravan claiming their 17th state title with a 20-3 win.

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The Oswego football team played Mount Carmel Saturday to decide the IHSA Class 8A state championship in Huskie Stadium at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb.