Amboy stepped up after an early deficit, and Jose Lopez ran for three touchdowns and nearly 300 yards as the Clippers beat Polo 30-20 for the I8FA title. Amboy became the first three-time I8FA champion with the win.

Loyola's 6-foot-8 offensive tackle Tommy Fraumann, a Michigan legacy, has committed to play football for the Wolverines next year. Fraumann, whose Michigan roots run back multiple generations, helped the Ramblers win an IHSA 8A state title last season.

Mount Carmel looks in dominant form. Can any of the other three teams remaining in the field topple them? Steve Soucie breaks down the semifinal round of the 2025 IHSA Class 8A Playoffs.

If there’s anybody that knows the Lena-Winslow and Stockton football rivalry, it’s Jesse Snyder, formerly at Princeton. He played in it for Le-Win and has coached in it from both sides of the field, first as a head coach at Stockton and now as an assistant for Le-Win.

Brother Rice is the only top seed remaining in the Class 7A field. Will the Crusaders keep rolling or can one of the upstarts pull the upset? Steve Soucie breaks down the semifinal round of the 2025 IHSA Class 7A Playoffs.

Benet has hired former New England Patriots running back and three-time Super Bowl champion James White to be its next head football coach. White replaces Pat New, who's retiring after over a decade as head coach of the Redwings.

East St. Louis continues to power its way through the bracket. But three different CCL/ESCC teams hope to take them down. Steve Soucie breaks down the semifinal round of the 2025 IHSA Class 6A Playoffs.

The Class 5A bracket certainly has some unexpected teams still alive in the draw. Steve Soucie breaks down the semifinals of the 2025 IHSA Class 5A Playoffs.

Richmond-Burton linebacker/fullback Blake Livdahl plays bigger than his 5-foot-7 frame. A state finalist in wrestling last winter, he rushed for a season-high 122 yards and two TDs in the Rockets' 31-6 win over Monmouth-Roseville in a Class 3A state quarterfinal.

The Herald-News prep football preview for Week 13 of the 2025 season, featuring key showdowns across the greater Will and Grundy county area as the IHSA playoffs continue.

Richmond-Burton's football team will host Byron in a Class 3A state semifinal Saturday afternoon. Check out our game preview.

St. Rita took a high-scoring battle with Hersey, St. Laurence will meet East St. Louis in the 6A semifinals and St. Francis is semifinal-bound for the fourth straight year. IC Catholic Prep's season concluded with a 3A quarterfinal loss to unbeaten Byron.

Powerhouses remain prominent in Class 4A, with three of the four teams no stranger to deep playoff advancements. Steve Soucie breaks down the semifinal round of the 2025 IHSA Class 4A Playoffs.

Here is the preview and pick for Saturday's Class 8A semifinal matchup between Lockport and Oswego.

Here are previews and picks for semifinal games for teams in the Suburban Life coverage area.

A look at the football games around the Kane County Chronicle area heading into the IHSA state semifinals.

Amboy and Polo have been the two winningest teams in the I8FA over the last six years. Matching up in the state title game for the first time on Friday, one team will become the league's first three-time champion.

Rochelle football player Dylan Manning, who suffered a head injury on Oct. 3 and was hospitalized for over a month, has returned home. An All-Interstate 8 player with over 2,000 career rushing yards, Manning was recently named Rochelle's Hackett MVP Award winner.

Join hosts Steve Soucie and Josh Welge as they preview the semifinal round of the Illinois high school football playoffs

Two middle classification powers lock horns in one side of the bracket while two long time rivals battle on the other. Steve Soucie breaks down the semifinal round of the 2025 IHSA Class 3A Playoffs.

Wilmington continues to storm its way through the 2A field, can anyone slow down the Wildcats? Steve Soucie breaks down the semifinal round of the 2025 IHSA Class 2A playoffs.

Wilmington will host undefeated El Paso-Gridley on Saturday for a trip to the IHSA Class 2A state championship.

As expected the 1A title game is going to include one member of the NUIC and one member of the WIVC. But which ones will it be? Steve Soucie breaks down the semifinal round of the 2025 IHSA Class 1A playoffs.

How Tanner Glock is making an impact for St. Francis at multiple positions, junior center Michael Lombardo an unsung hero for Montini and Nazareth-Fenwick showdown set in Bob Narang's Suburban Life football notebook.

Andrew Shaw had a learning curve last year when he transferred to Oswego from Plainfield Central. But now the senior defensive tackle rarely leaves the field and does the dirty work at the line for the Class 8A semifinalists. "I cannot show weakness. Have to keep doing my job."

Join hosts Josh Welge and Joel Boenitz as they preview the Illinois high school football semifinals in the western suburbs

Here is the All-Fox Valley Conference football team for the 2025 season, as selected by coaches. 

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.

Mount Carmel dominated Lincoln-Way East, Nazareth rallied to stun Lake Zurich and Fenwick controlled Burlington Central to set up a 6A semifinal between the Roadrunners and Friars. Montini won its 22nd straight game and Providence knocked off top seed Washington.

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

Briggs Sellers, a physical education major from Mt. Morris, is a member of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater football team, which will compete in the NCAA Division III Championship for the 20th time in program history.

Amboy's Jose Lopez ran for 205 yards and three TDs to help send the Clippers past Milledgeville on Saturday. Polo's defense was dominant in a 38-0 win over South Fork in this week's Sauk Valley football notes.

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.

Miss out on any of the high school football action in northern Illinois? Listen to the audio versions of our stories from the quarterfinal round of the 2025 IHSA playoffs here

The Dwight football team had its season come to an end with a 44-0 loss at Stockton on Saturday night in the IHSA Class 1A playoff quarterfinals.

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.

St. Rita's high-octane offense was too much for Hersey in a Class 7A quarterfinal that saw nearly 100 combined points Saturday.

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

Jaylin Green and Jameson Davis each scored two touchdowns, Damari Thigpen returned a punt for a score and the Brother Rice defense recorded five sacks during a 42-18 win over St. Charles North in the Class 7A state quarterfinals on Saturday evening.

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

Here is the list of scores from quarterfinal-round games in the IHSA football playoffs.

Polo put together a 'tremendous' defensive performance in a 38-0 win at South Fork on Saturday. The Marcos advance to face Amboy in Friday's I8FA championship in Monmouth.

Mariano Velasco caught two touchdown passes and returned an interception for a score to help Oswego rally for a 24-21 win over Maine South in a Class 8A quarterfinal Saturday.

In a 28-6 win over IC Catholic Prep in the 3A semifinals, undefeated Byron did something teams all season failed to do – shut down the vaunted Knights passing attack.

Defensive back Andrew Culotta ran back a 67-yard pick-six and also recovered a muffed punt in the second half to help Batavia hold on for a 42-27 victory over Glenbard North to advance to its fourth straight Class 7A semifinal.