With the release of the 2023 statewide football schedule, here are the top games to watch in the Record Newspapers coverage area.

Week 1

Manteno at Sandwich, 6:30 p.m. August 24

This game marks the return of varsity football at Sandwich. The program canceled its 2022 varsity season because of a lack of players after going 0-9 in 2021. However, the Indians enjoyed success last fall at the lower levels, so optimism is there for a successful return. Manteno, 2-7 last season, could provide a nice opponent to start things off.

Week 2

New Trier at Yorkville, 7 p.m. Sept. 1

Yorkville unveils new synthetic turf at Campbell Field for its 2023 home opener – also the Foxes’ first home game since their memorable four-overtime win over Moline in last year’s second round of the postseason. Yorkville is coming off a 10-2 season and a run to the quarterfinals. New Trier is a new opponent on the Foxes’ schedule. The Trevians went 5-4 last season, but play in the tough Central Suburban South league, come from a school double the size of Yorkville and are a regular in the playoffs. So it figures to be a challenging nonconference matchup for the Foxes.

Week 3

Plano at Sandwich, 7 p.m. Sept. 8

The long-awaited 111th edition of the War on Route 34. These two rivals have not played since 2019 because of COVID-19 cancellations and Sandwich not playing varsity football in 2022. Sandwich leads the all-time series 55-51 with four ties and won the 2019 meeting 36-7. Plano is coming off a disappointing 3-6 season after making the playoffs in 2021.

Week 4

Oswego East at Plainfield South, 7 p.m. Sept. 15

It’s been a dogfight for the Wolves, 5-5 last season, and others in the SPC West to get to five wins in recent years and make the playoffs, so banking as many nondivisional wins the first four weeks is imperative. The SPC West has been much stronger than the SPC East since the league went to two divisions, but Plainfield South, coming off a 6-4 season, has been the best of the bunch in the East. Oswego East last played Plainfield South in 2019, a 28-0 Wolves’ win.

Week 5

Oswego at Plainfield North, 7 p.m. Sept. 22

Oswego is coming off an unusually down season by its standards, 3-6 and missing the playoffs for the first time since 2010. Plainfield North, on the other hand, went 9-0 in the regular season last year and won the SPC West. That said, the games between these SPC West rivals typically have been very good and down to the wire. Oswego’s divisional opener could provide an indication of whether the Panthers will again be a contending team for a conference title.

Week 6

Plano at Johnsburg, 7 p.m. Sept. 29

The Reapers are looking to return to the playoffs after a tough 3-6 2022 season. Johnsburg, on the other hand, is coming off a 6-5 season. If Plano is to make a run to the postseason, this could be a bellwether game. It’s one the Reapers will need, as it is preceded by matchups with La Salle-Peru and Richmond-Burton and tough finishing games against Rochelle and Marengo. Plano beat Johnsburg 27-26 in 2021 en route to a 6-4 finish, but lost 40-20 last year, each team winning on each other’s home field.

Week 7

Yorkville at Oswego, 7 p.m. Oct. 6

The Foxes have won the past two meetings between these two neighboring towns in two completely different fashions, 48-26 in 2021 and 17-0 last season, one of five shutouts posted by that Foxes’ defense. It isn’t often that a program maintains a sustained upper hand on Oswego, but Yorkville certainly has proved itself to be a team to be reckoned with in its short history in the SPC West.

Week 8

Yorkville at Oswego East, 7 p.m. Oct. 13

With Plainfield North looming in Week 9, this is a tricky end-of-season slate for the Foxes, back-to-back road games at the Oswego schools. Yorkville beat Oswego East 28-14 last season in a game in which the Foxes’ defense was dominant, but these two programs have played some very close, competitive matchups in recent years.

Week 9

Oswego at Oswego East, 7 p.m. Oct. 20

Oswego East lost the first 15 crosstown matchups, but has won two of the last three – the 2022 affair quite memorable. In that game, Wolves quarterback Tre Jones ran for 255 yards and four long touchdowns to beat Oswego 35-21, knocking the rival Panthers out of playoff contention for the first time since 2010. That bitter feeling surely hasn’t been forgotten on the Oswego side of town. This being a Week-9 matchup, could the stakes be as high?