Enrollment changes lead to the 4A draw looking a bit different than it has in the past few years. Steve Soucie breaks down the opening round of the 2025 IHSA Class 4A Playoffs.

Seven of the state's remaining 26 undefeated teams reside in the Class 2A field and along with some other daunting teams the draw looks as deep as any classification. Steve Soucie breaks down the opening round of the 2025 IHSA Class 2A playoffs.

Congratulations to these 22 Illinois high school football players who were voted onto Friday Night Drive's Team of the Week for Week 9 of the 2025 high school football season

Montini made history with a win over St. Laurence, Joliet Catholic stunned Providence to make the playoffs and St. Patrick defeated St. Viator in a matchup of former NFL players turned head coaches. Marian Catholic, Brother Rice and Carmel each added wins in Week 9.

Join hosts Matt Rodewald and Steve Soucie as they review Week 9 in IHSA football and look ahead to Round 1 of the playoffs.

There are over a dozen CCL/ESCC teams participating in the IHSA football playoffs this season. Among the playoff qualifiers are defending state champions Mount Carmel, Loyola, Nazareth and Montini. Here are all of the first-round matchups for CCL/ESCC teams.

The race to filling the field of 256 teams took some surprising twists and turns. Steve Soucie takes a look at what we learned in Week 9.

Take a look at first-round IHSA football playoff information for all Herald-News teams here.

Each week, we’ll have 22 players – 11 on offense, 11 on defense – to make the Friday Night Drive Team of the Week. Vote for your favorite players for Week 9!

Here are the first round pairings for the IHSA playoffs.

Check here for live updates and changes to Steve Soucie's IHSA football playoff projection for all eight classes.

Wilmington earned a 44-21 home win over Coal City to claim its third straight Illinois Central Eight Conference title on Friday, Oct. 24, 2025.

Crete-Monee held off a late Kankakee rally to earn a 27-14 win on Friday, Oct. 24, 2025.

TJ Lewis rushed for 173 of his 203 yards in the second half, Tyson Ward also rushed for over 100 yards and had the go-head touchdown with just over a minute left as Bolingbrook beat Yorkville 26-21 to win the Southwest Prairie West championship.

Wilmington claimed its third straight Illinois Central Eight Conference title with a 44-21 home win over Coal City, rushing for 509 yards and sending the Coalers a second-place finish for the third straight year.

Minooka turned away Oswego East on its last-ditch effort to get into field goal range, hanging on to steal a 15-14 victory on the road, and securing a playoff spot in the process.

Joliet Catholic football held on for a wild, 30-27 win over playoff-bound Providence – a win that kept JCA in the playoff conversation pending results across the rest of the state.

Joliet Catholic hosted Providence for a varsity football game at Busy Bank Field at Joliet Memorial Stadium on Friday, Oct. 24.

Morris was its own worst enemy Friday night, turning the ball over eight times in a 38-26 loss to Byron Center, Michigan

Joliet West and Joliet Central faced off on a Friday night for the first time since the early 90s. The result was a dominant Joliet West win as both teams closed out their respective seasons

Final scores in Illinois high school football for Week 9 of the 2025 season. This will be updated as more scores come in

Joliet West hosted Joliet Central for a varsity football game on Friday, Oct. 24.

Playoff spots and divisional championships are on the line as all 24 of the CCL/ESCC football teams prepare to take the field this evening. Here are all of tonight's CCL/ESCC Week 9 matchups.

Lincoln-Way East hosted Sandburg for a varsity football game on Thursday, Oct. 23.

155 teams are already assured of hearing their names called on IHSA pairings night. Steve Soucie walks through how the other 101 teams will secure their places on the bracket board.

Join hosts Steve Soucie and Josh Welge as they preview Week 9 in Illinois high school football and look ahead to the games that will matter the most for playoff pairings

A Roxana High School proposal that would expand the playoffs and provide a regional schedule model has released regional mockups for smaller schools programs (Class 1A and 2A). See the proposed regions here.

The Herald-News prep football preview for Week 9 of the 2024 season, featuring key showdowns across the greater Joliet area.

Some bubble teams took the opportunity to seize their own fate with surprise wins in Week 8 and altered the field in multiple ways. Steve Soucie's latest playoff projection can be found here.

Montini is 8-0 and eyeing historic achievements, while Joliet Catholic finds itself in unfamiliar territory with an Orange Division title game against Providence looming. Niles Notre Dame defeated Leo and snapped a five-game losing streak, setting up a pivotal clash with Marist.

Congratulations to these 22 Illinois high school football players who were voted onto Friday Night Drive's Team of the Week for Week 8 of the 2025 high school football season

With just one week left in the regular season, here's where Herald-News area teams stand in their quest to make the IHSA postseason.

Nine CCL/ESCC football teams including Mount Carmel, Montini, Nazareth and Brother Rice have won six or more games and secured automatic bids to the IHSA playoffs. Several teams including St. Rita, Loyola and St. Patrick are still in the mix with a week left.

Two top five teams stumbled in Week 8 leading to a significant scramble of the Friday Night Drive Power Rankings. Check out the shuffled rankings here:

Join hosts Matt Rodewald and Steve Soucie as they review what they saw in Week 8 of Illinois high school football and go over the two latest IHSA playoff proposals

Armani Ford has shined for Plainfield South. That and more in this week's Football Notebook.

After a few relative stable weeks, chaos hit in a big way to premier programs around the state. Steve Soucie takes a look at what we learned in Week 8.

Each week, we’ll have 22 players – 11 on offense, 11 on defense – to make the Friday Night Drive Team of the Week. Vote for your favorite players for Week 8!

Week 8 scores and more from across the Will and Grundy county area.

After Connor Harrod's late go-ahead touchdown to Jake Stevens, Nick Honkisz sacked Peotone quarterback Alex Chenoweth at the buzzer to give Manteno a thrilling win in the Rumble on Route 50.

Brendan Mecher threw two touchdowns and ran for another. Fellow senior Adam Kozak scored twice and Lockport won its fourth straight with a 34-21 victory over Metea Valley in a Southwest Valley Blue game on Friday evening at Lockport.

Tyson Ward carried the ball 15 times for 186 yards and four touchdowns as Bolingbrook defeated Minooka 39-20 to move to 6-2 on the fall.

Jack Beetham completed his first seven pass attempts and closed out Yorkville's 21-13 win over visiting Plainfield North with his third rushing touchdown of the night from a yard out.

Bradley-Bourbonnais allowed a touchdown in the opening minute on Friday before buckling down over the next 47 minutes, eventually earning a 35-13 road win over previously unbeaten Lincoln-Way West.

Seneca ran off the final 7:02 of game clock Friday to salt away a 39-36 win over St. Joe-Ogden and remain undefeated on the season

The Morris football team used defense to set up the offense in a 50-10 Interstate 8 Conference win over visiting Sycamore on Friday. The win kept Morris unbeaten and cliched the league title.

Manteno claimed a 25-20 victory over Peotone in a riveting Rumble on Route 50 rivalry game on Friday, Oct. 17, 2025.

Plainfield South was dominant on both sides of the ball throughout the night in a 49-0 win against Joliet Central

Final scores in Illinois high school football for Week 8 of the 2025 season. This will be updated as more scores come in

The Joliet Central football team took on Southwest Prairie Conference foe Plainfield South Friday night.