Nine CCL/ESCC schools, including defending champions Mount Carmel, Nazareth and Montini will be competing in the IHSA state football semifinals this weekend. Below are all of the semifinal matchups featuring CCL/ESCC teams.

A trio of power teams continue to roll through the playoffs while the upstarts still continue to emerge shaking up the Friday Night Drive Power Rankings. Check out the new rankings here.

Join hosts Matt Rodewald and Steve Soucie as they break down the quarterfinal round of the Illinois high school football playoffs and look ahead to the semifinals

The quarterfinal round was an absolute breeze for some teams while others experienced significantly more stress in keeping their postseason runs alive. Steve Soucie takes a look at what we learned in Week 12.

Wilmington ran to a 49-7 victory over Tri-Valley in the Class 2A quarterfinal playoff on Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025.

Fremd erased a 14-0 deficit and survived a wild finish to beat Bolingbrook 34-33 in a Class 8A quarterfinal matchup Saturday, sending the Vikings to the state semifinals for the first time in school history.

Lockport absolutely overwhelmed Barrington, recording a stunning shutout 35-0 and advancing into the Class 8A semifinals.

Mount Carmel has an immense amount of talent on its roster but is still looking to put it all together. It wasn't perfect on Saturday either, but got pretty close in a 48-7 dominance of Lincoln-Way East in the Class 8A quarterfinals.

Here are the semifinal round pairings for the 2025 IHSA playoffs.

Wilmington had five touchdown drives of two plays or less as the Wildcats controlled Tri-Valley in Saturday's IHSA Class 2A quarterfinal, sending Wilmington to its third straight state semifinal.

Bolingbrook and Fremd competed in an 8A varsity football playoff game at Bolingbrook on Saturday, Nov. 15.

Caeden Curran ran 39 times for 226 yards and two touchdowns, and teammate Owen Olson returned a fumble for a touchdown as Morris topped Geneseo 28-26 in the Class 4A quarterfinals

Minnesota recruit Owen Lansu threw touchdowns to Max Troha and Oliver Thulin and ran for a third score in a near flawless first half, and Downers Grove North went on to a 28-10 win over visiting Lincoln-Way West in a Class 7A quarterfinal game.

Montini started slow but finished strong in its Class 4A quarterfinal with Coal City, topping the Coalers 35-0 to advance to face Morris next weekend.

Providence football thumped Washington 39-6 to advance to face the winner of Saturday’s Oak Forest-Peoria High quarterfinal for a chance to play in the IHSA 5A state championship game at Hancock Stadium on the campus of the University of Illinois.

Providence and Washington competed in a 5A varsity football playoff game at Providence on Saturday, Nov. 15.

The Lincoln-Way West and Downers Grove North football teams met Saturday in a state quarterfinal game.

The Lincoln-Way East and Mount Carmel football teams met Saturday in a quarterfinal matchup.

A lot of people's anticipated Class 8A state title is actually a quarterfinal matchup while numerous upstarts are also staking their claim to a deep playoff runs. Steve Soucie breaks down the quarterfinal round of the 2025 IHSA Class 8A Playoffs.

7A was expected to be one of the most wide open draws out of all eight classifications and with five double digit seeds still left it is playing out that way. Steve Soucie breaks down the quarterfinal round of the 2025 IHSA Class 7A Playoffs.

The Herald-News prep football preview for Week 12 of the 2025 season, featuring key showdowns across the greater Will and Grundy county area as the IHSA playoffs continue.

Class 5A was probably the most wide open field to try to analyze in the state playoffs, and with the ousting of one of the favorites, Prairie Ridge, that wide open feel remains. Steve Soucie breaks down the second round of the 2025 IHSA Class 5A Playoffs.

There are some programs in the 4A draw that we aren't used to seeing there and many of them are shaping the quarterfinal round of the 4A playoffs. Steve Soucie breaks down the quarterfinal round of the 2025 IHSA Class 4A Playoffs.

Join hosts Steve Soucie and Josh Welge, along with Mason Schweizer as they preview the quarterfinals in the Illinois high school football playoffs

A playoff field that started with seven undefeated teams is down to just three. But the group is still chock full of teams that can make a serious run to the title. Steve Soucie breaks down the quarterfinal round of the 2025 IHSA Class 2A playoffs.

CCL/ESCC football players from Mount Carmel, Marist, Nazareth, Fenwick, Joliet Catholic, Providence, St. Francis, Marian Catholic, Montini and IC Catholic Prep were named to the 2025 IHSFCA All-State team. Quentin Burrell, Jake Cestone and Israel Abrams were among the winners.

Congratulations to these 22 Illinois high school football players who were voted onto Friday Night Drive's Team of the Week for Round 2 of the 2025 high school football playoffs

A Roxana High School proposal that would expand the playoffs and provide a regional schedule model has released regional mockups for Class 7A and Class 8A. See the proposed regions here.

A number of ranked teams bowed out in the second round of the playoffs shaking up the Friday Night Drive Power Rankings considerably. Check out the new rankings here.

Mount Carmel and Lincoln-Way East are set to square off in the Class 8A state quarterfinals. Defending champions Nazareth and Montini are still in the hunt after two rounds. Here are all of the quarterfinal matchups featuring CCL/ESCC programs.

Join hosts Matt Rodewald and Steve Soucie as they break down the second round of the Illinois high school football playoffs

Here are the quarterfinal round pairings for the 2025 IHSA playoffs.

High seeds had a rough go of it in Round 2 of the playoffs, while the CCL/ESCC flexed its muscles in numerous classifications. Steve Soucie takes a look at what we learned in Week 11.

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 Round 2 of the playoffs!

Matt Kies flew in and batted down a 2-point conversion pass in the final seconds as the Lockport Porters held on for a 21-20 victory over Homewood-Flossmoor in a classic Class 8A second-round matchup on a rainy Saturday night at Lockport.

With the rain, wind and cold in Gurnee on Saturday night, nobody was going to do much through the air. So maybe it’s accurate to say Bolingbrook beat Warren at its own game, advancing in the playoffs with a 20-14 victory. TJ Lewis and Tyson Ward each ran for second-half TDs.

Dwight scored three touchdowns on offense, two on defense and one on special teams in a 43-14 win over Clifton Central in the IHSA Class 1A second round on Saturday, advancing to quarterfinals for the second season in a row.

Despite a few dazzling plays from Cedric Terrell III to pull the Kays to within a field goal, Providence did enough down the stretch to earn a road win at Kankakee in the second round of the IHSA Class 5A playoffs Saturday.

Dwight defeated Clifton Central 43-14 in the IHSA Class 1A second round playoffs on Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025.

Providence Catholic defeated Kankakee 35-25 in the IHSA Class 5A second round playoffs on Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025.

Caeden Curran ran for 181 yards and three touchdowns in the second half as Morris came away with a 64-50 win over Metamora in the second round of the Class 4A playoffs

Lockport and Homewood-Floossmoor faced-off in a 8A varsity football playoff game at Lockport Township High School's East Campus on Saturday, Nov. 8.

Morris and Metamora competed in a 4A varsity football playoff game at Morris on Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025.

Lincoln-Way Central held three one-touchdown leads on host St. Rita, but the Mustangs proved tougher in the final quarter and pulled out a 31-28 victory on Saul Ruiz’s 23-yard field goal as time expired in a Class 7A second-round

Lincoln-Way West and Kenwood competed in a 7A varsity football playoff at Lincoln-Way West on Saturday, Nov. 8.

After Dixon erased a 14-point deficit to take the lead, Coal City answered with three long pass plays to pull out a 49-42 victory in the teams' Class 4A second-round playoff game Friday night at A.C. Bowers Field.

Jonas Williams threw for four touchdowns and 189 yards as Lincoln-Way East advanced to the Class 8A quarterfinals with a 55-13 road victory over Palatine on Friday night.

Providence senior and Lafayette recruit Bryce Tencza has spearheaded the charge for a Celtic rushing attack that has the team rolling into the second round of the IHSA playoffs. A 3rd degree black belt in taekwondo, Tencza was named a CCL/ESCC Orange Lineman of the Year.

The three-time defending Class 8A State Champions from Loyola were eliminated in Round 1. Who will bring home the big hardware in their place? Steve Soucie breaks down the second round of the 2025 IHSA Class 8A Playoffs.

Most of the high seeds advanced in the opening round which creates a number of very intriguing second round matchups. Steve Soucie breaks down the second round of the 2025 IHSA Class 7A Playoffs.