Marli Smrz threw six touchdown passes and had an interception defensively, Elizabeth Pettinger caught two of those TDs and added a pick-six, and unbeaten Willowbrook romped past West Aurora 44-0 in the South Elgin Sectional final to return to the flag football state tournament.

Plainfield Central scored on the game's opening drive and never trailed in a 22-8 win over Yorkville in Monday's Danville Sectional semifinal

Kennedy Manning totaled 364 yards and two touchdowns on offense while adding an 85-yard interception return for a score as Cary-Grove's girls flag football season ended with a 38-18 loss to Harlem in the IHSA sectional semifinals at McHenry's McCracken Field.

Cary-Grove faces Harlem in a IHSA McHenry Sectional semifinal girls flag football game on Monday, Oct. 13, 2025, at McCracken Field in McHenry.

Sarahi Carlos threw for 220 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 111 yards, while West Aurora stopped a game-tying conversion with 11 seconds left to secure a 20-19 victory over Wheaton North for the Hoffman Estates Regional flag football title.

After four scoreless quarters, Yorkville outlasted Oswego in overtime of Thursday's IHSA Kankakee Regional title game, walking off with a 2-1 win for the program's first-ever regional championship.

Romeoville and Plainfield Central faced off on Thursday with a girls flag football regional championship on the line. The Wildcats got the win in their first year of existence.

Yorkville emerged victorious in a 2-1 overtime victory over Oswego in the IHSA Kankakee Regional championship game on Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025.

Former tackle-football player Kennedy Manning rushed for 188 yards, passed for 150 and combined for four touchdowns to rally Cary-Grove's flag football team to a 28-27 win over McHenry in the McHenry Regional championship game Wednesday night.

Antioch faces Huntley in the IHSA Crystal Lake Central Regional girls flag football championship game on Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025, at Crystal Lake Central High School in Crystal Lake.

Lyla Ginczycki threw a 45-yard touchdown pass to Evelyn Freundt, Charlotte Lubarski had three sacks and Aubrina Adamik recorded two interceptions as Huntley's girls flag football season ended with a 27-6 loss to Antioch in a IHSA regional championship.

Cary-Grove faces McHenry in the IHSA McHenry Regional girls flag football championship game on Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025, at McCracken Field in McHenry.

Oswego held on for a 13-7 victory over Joliet West in the IHSA Kankakee Regional on Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025.

Oswego's Jazmin Hurston intercepted a Joliet West pass with 27 seconds to go in Tuesday's IHSA Kankakee Regional semifinal game, sending the Panthers into Thursday's regional championship.

The Boilermakers saw their bid for a second straight state trip come to an end, Cissna Park girls volleyball and Manteno boys soccer stayed undefeated in conference play and more in Tuesday's Daily Journal roundup.

Plainfield Central and Romeoville both won flag football games as lower seeds Tuesday in the Romeoville Regional

Yorkville closed out Tuesday's IHSA Kankakee Regional semifinal game on a 20-0 run to beat the host Kays 26-13 and advance to Thursday's regional title game.

Yorkville secured a 26-13 victory over Kankakee in the IHSA Kankakee Regional on Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025.

Kankakee scored 20 unanswered points to close out Monday's 40-26 win over Plainfield South in the first round of the IHSA Kankakee Regional.

Kankakee secured a 40-26 win over Plainfield South in the first round of the IHSA Kankakee Regional on Monday, Oct. 6, 2025.

Beecher senior Wences Baumgartner scored a pair of goals to break the IHSA all-time scoring record, now at 178 career goals, and more in Thursday's Daily Journal roundup.

A look at the postseason paths ahead for Will County's girls flag football teams, including Joliet West, Joliet Central, the four Plainfields, Romeoville, Minooka and Bolingbrook.

Maya Zanzola threw four touchdown passes to lead Joliet West to a 46-0 win over Joliet Central in the final game of the regular season.

Success came in threes for St. Charles North, as they had three players score at least a trio of touchdowns while also collecting three interceptions to help them to a 53-6 victory over crosstown rival St. Charles East

Five different players scored as Romeoville's flag football team topped Plainfield East 33-6

St. Charles North girls volleyball won it's 14th consecutive DuKane Conference game with a straight sets win over Batavia, while the boys soccer team also stayed undefeated in conference play with a 3-0 win over the Bulldogs. That and more in Tuesday's roundup.

Jacobs volleyball rallied for an FVC win against Crystal Lake South, Johnny Geisser led Crystal Lake Central's boys golf team to a win over McHenry, Cary-Grove girls tennis topped Crystal Lake Central, and more in Thursday's Northwest Herald roundup.

In the second-ever All-City girls flag football game in the longstanding rivalry between Kankakee and Bradley-Bourbonnais, London Stroud sparked the host Kays offense while the defense held a high-octane Boilermaker offense at bay Wednesday.

Plainfield Central's first-year flag football team improved to 5-5 with a resounding 60-6 win over Minooka

After falling to Bradley-Bourbonnais in both the regular season and postseason last season, the Kankakee girls flag football team turned the tides with an All-City win over the Boilermakers at home Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025.

Aubrina Adamik intercepted three passes, including a pick-six to start the game, Evie Freundt caught two touchdown passes, and Huntley beat host Crystal Lake Central 20-0 in a Fox Valley Conference flag football game Tuesday night.

Huntley faces Crystal Lake Central in a Fox Valley Conference girls flag football game on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025. at Owen Metcalf Field on the campus of Crystal Lake Central High School.

Alexzandria Richardson kicked off the game with an 86-yard rushing touchdown, one of three scores she had on the night, and St. Charles North never looked back to take a 43-14 victory over Wheaton North.

The Bradley-Bourbonnais improved toi 9-1 win a pair of blowout wins at the Mahomet-Seymour Jamboree, Kankakee and Bishop McNamara's boys soccer teams take tournament losses and more in Saturday's Daily Journal roundup.

Prairie Ridge's Emaline Foster and Jacobs' Lennox Szymonik captured the Class 2A and 3A titles, respectively, at the First to the Finish Girls Cross Country Invite at Detweiller Park in Peoria. That and more in Saturday's Northwest Herald roundup.

Joliet Central had a chance to tie the game in the final two minutes, but the failed two-point conversion resulted in a 14-12 victory for Bloom instead.

Kankakee took another close loss in flag football, Reed-Custer tripled up Bishop McNamara in boys soccer and more in Wednesday's Daily Journal roundup.

Siah Purnell ran for more than 200 yards and three touchdowns to help lead Plainfield East's flag football team to a thrilling 25-20 win over Plainfield South

Elena Fetzer's defensive stop late in the fourth quarter helped Huntley's flag football team secure a 27-20 win over McHenry on Tuesday night in Fox Valley Conference action.

McHenry faces Huntley in a girls flag football game on Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025, at Huntley High School.

Kennedy Manning totaled over 350 yards and accounted for six touchdowns, including four through the air, as Cary-Grove's girls flag football team improved to 5-0 with a 49-12 win against Hampshire in Fox Valley Conference action Tuesday evening.

Ari Bigda threw a pair of touchdowns to Addie Schilb and ran for a third to lead St. Charles East over Wheaton-Warrenville South on Monday.

Crystal Lake Central faces Prairie Ridge girls flag football game on Thursday, Sept. 4, 2025, at Prairie Ridge High School in Crystal Lake.

St. Charles North junior Alexzandria Richardson, who had three carries for 88 yards and two touchdowns in the team's first-ever IHSA-sanctioned flag football victory over Jacobs, is the Kane County Chronicle Athlete of the Week.

Kankakee's girls flag football team beat Mahomet-Seymour 16-0 in their season opener, Coal City's boys soccer team improved to 6-0 and more in Wednesday's Daily Journal roundup.

Brooke Ekwinski connected with Kayla Kersting for a score in the back of the end zone, giving Yorkville a thrilling 27-26 overtime win over visiting Geneva in Tuesday flag football action.

Kankakee's boys soccer team fell in the semifinals of the Windy City Classic, Illinois Central Eight Conference play began in girls volleyball and boys soccer and more in Tuesday's Daily Journal roundup.

Gianna Coletti had 30 assists to lead Jacobs to its first volleyball win of the season in a three-set thriller, Crystal Lake Central boys soccer shut out DeKalb, and more in Tuesday's Northwest Herald roundup.

The 2025 girls flag football season starts this week. Here are previews of teams from around the Record Newspapers coverage area.

Kankakee boasted one of the most successful girls flag football teams during the sport's first IHSA season last fall. In 2025, they hope to at least repeat 2024's success.