Here are previews and picks for all the Week 1 football games from around the Suburban Life area.

Kankakee hosts Nazareth for the first of two games with state champions to open the season while Bradley-Bourbonnais and Bishop McNamara also start their seasons at home. Check out previews on those games, as well as the rest of the Week 1 slate for the Daily Journal area.

The wait is over. The many, many questions that teams have for the 2025 season are about to begin getting answered. Steve Soucie takes a look at the games to watch in the first week of the IHSA football season.

The 2025 boys soccer season starts this week. Here are previews of teams from around the Suburban Life coverage area.

The 2025 girls volleyball season starts this week. Here are previews of teams from around the Suburban Life coverage area.

History tends to repeat itself in regards to the IHSA Football Playoffs, but the new enrollment numbers could lead to a bracket that looks a lot different in the next postseason chase. Here is Steve Soucie's 2025 IHSA football preseason playoff projection.

Team breakdowns, five players to watch, five can't miss games and Steve Soucie's predictions for the CCL/ESCC Green.

A three-time state champion and Division I prospect, Nazareth senior receiver Trenton Walker has been an integral player for the Roadrunners for the majority of his career. But Walker is adjusting to a new position as fall practice began on Monday – senior leader.

Here are Gary Duncan's photos as Nazareth held its first fall football practice on Monday, August 11, 2025.

The Illinois high school football season gets underway Monday, Aug. 11, with the start of preseason practices. Here are some of the top storylines to watch in the Suburban Life area this season.

With the IHSA releasing the state’s football schedules on Friday, here are the top games to watch in the Daily Journal area for the 2025 season.

Friday Night Drive’s Josh Welge and Joel Boenitz discuss what the IHSA football schedule will look like in the western suburbs for the 2025 season, games they are looking forward to, and more

Jaden Fauske, who helped lead Nazareth to back-to-back state championships in 2022 and 2023 and was a two-time Suburban Life Player of the Year, was drafted by the Chicago White with the 44th pick of Sunday’s first round of the Major League Baseball Draft.

Nazareth senior and LSU recruit Jaden Fauske, who capped his career with a stellar final season, batting a robust .475 with six home runs and 40 RBIs and 10 doubles, four triples and scored 38 runs, is the Suburban Life baseball Player of the Year.

Here is the 2025 Suburban Life All-Area baseball team.

Here is the 2025 Suburban Life All-Area girls soccer team.

Nazareth senior Jaden Fauske and junior Landon Thome, York senior Josh Fleming, Downers Grove North senior Brady Schallmoser and Glenbard East senior Josh Ziemer were among those named Class 4A All-State by the Illinois High School Baseball Coaches Association just announced.

History tends to repeat itself in regards to the IHSA Football Playoffs, but the new enrollment numbers could lead to a bracket that looks a lot different in the next postseason chase. Here is Steve Soucie's 2025 IHSA football preseason playoff projection.

Nazareth placed fourth at the Class 2A state tournament after falling to Springfield 4-0 in Saturday's third-place game. The Roadrunners will graduate only two starters from their 16-win squad, as they look to build on their first trip to state.

St. Ignatius scored the game winner with 13.2 seconds left in regulation to lift the Wolfpack to a thrilling 1-0 victory over Nazareth in the opening 2A state semifinal.

Nazareth Academy loses heartbreaker St. Ignatius College Prep in the IHSA Class 2A State Girls Soccer semifinal match on Friday, June 6, 2025, at North Central College in Naperville.

Four-year varsity senior Jaden Fauske, an LSU recruit and Illnois Gatorade Player of the Year, and his Nazareth baseball teammates had another tremendous 30-win season thanks to many new faces. It ended for the second straight year with a playoff loss to Mount Carmel.

The Nazareth girls soccer team beat Belvidere North in the Class 2A St. Francis Supersectional to send the Roadrunners to state for the first time.

Nazareth senior Chase Zidlicky was slated to be the staff ace this spring, but a rash of injuries has put additional stress on him to pitch deeper into games. Zidklicky, 7-0 with a 1.73 ERA, has been up to the task. That and notes on Riverside-Brookfield and more from Bob Narang.

Wheaton Warrenville South softball beat Wheaton North 1-0 in a wild ending, Sophia Rosner struck out 11 and homered for Benet softball, plus the rest of the baseball, softball soccer and volleyball results in Wednesday's Suburban Life roundup.

Timothy Christian's soccer team is on a roll going into this week, allowing just one goal during an eight-game winning streak. That, plus notes on Glenbard South, Downers Grove North and Nazareth from Chris Walker.

Both the CCL and GCAC announced Monday the high school conferences will be absorbing members of the ESCC beginning with the start of the 2026-27 school year.

Nazareth's Jaden Fauske took a different path to leading the Roadrunners to victory, using his speed to generate the decisive run in a 2-1 win over Joliet Catholic on Wednesday.

Nazareth Academy hosted Joliet Catholic in varsity baseball on Wednesday, April 30, 2025 in La Grange Park.

Former Nazareth standout CJ West was selected in the fourth round of the NFL Draft on Saturday by the San Francisco 49ers.

Nazareth senior Annabella Rychetsky, who struck out 16 in a win over Morton, struck out eight and went 4 for 4 with a homer in a win over Lyons and tossed a no-hitter with 13 strikeouts against Marian Catholic, is the Suburban Life Athlete of the Week in an online vote.

Sonia Ruchala lost most of her junior season with a freak injury – she broke her tibia and ankle in a home run celebration. Now the Willowbrook senior shortstop is back, as good as ever. That, plus notes on Nazareth and York in Joshua Welge's softball notebook.

Here are previews of boys track and field teams from around the Suburban Life coverage area.

The track and field season is heading outdoors and here are previews of girls teams from around the Suburban Life coverage area.

Hinsdale South senior Audrey Atkinson, who established the all-time school scoring record last season, is closing in on 100 career goals. That, plus notes on streaking Morton, Julia Benjamin's return to Glenbard West as a goalkeeper and more in Chris Walker's soccer notes.

Lemont, Class 3A runner-up last season, lost Ohio State recruit Jacob Parr to a high ankle sprain before the season, but the team has shaken off the early adversity and is enjoying a spring break trip to Florida. That, plus notes on Nazareth, Montini and Riverside-Brookfield.

The 2025 high school soccer season starts this week. Here are previews of teams from around the Suburban Life coverage area.

The 2025 high school softball season starts this week. Here are previews of teams from around the Suburban Life coverage area.

The 2025 high school baseball season starts this week. Here are previews of teams from around the Suburban Life coverage area.

Here is the 2024-2025 Suburban Life All-Area girls basketball team.

Nazareth alumnus and Indiana defensive tackle CJ West was ready to prove once again that he belonged when he took part in the NFL Combine in Indianapolis.

Nazareth's 'special' season that included a 23-game winning streak dating back to December nearly ended in the program's fourth straight sectional final, but Kenwood came back in the fourth quarter to beat the Roadrunners 72-71 in Tuesday's sectional semifinal.

Does the road to a state title go through La Grange? What about big-time sectional rematches? Can Glenbard South make a return to state? Here are five storylines to watch for Suburban Life area teams as the girls basketball postseason tips off next week.

Here is a list of CCL/ESCC football players who have committed to colleges at various levels and can sign their financial aid agreement or letters of intent starting on Wednesday.

Sophia Towne tallied 12 points, five assists, two steals and two rebounds to spark visiting Nazareth to a 55-49 victory that snapped Benet’s 22-game winning streak.

Benet hosted Nazareth in girls varsity basketball on Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025 in Lisle.

Nazareth Academy's Dance Team has once again qualified for state competition

The CCL/ESCC will lose plenty of talented players to graduation, but there's plenty of talent left to watch this fall. Here are 10 CCL/ESCC players to watch for the 2025 season.

Nazareth junior Stella Sakalas, who scored 17 points, including her 1,000th career point, in Nazareth’s win over York at the Coach Kipp Hoopsfest, is the Suburban Life Athlete of the Week in an online vote. Here is her Q&A with Joshua Welge.

Valparaiso recruit Allia von Schlegell hit six of seven 3-pointers and scored 24 points, and Nazareth shot 61% from the floor and from the 3-point line in blowing out Montini 67-33 at the Coach Kipp Hoopsfest at Benet.