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.

Can Nazareth and Montini do it again, up a class?

Nazareth and Montini were part of a dominant weekend by non-boundary schools last November at the state football championships. Parochial schools won seven of the eight state championships in Normal. Montini won the Class 3A title for its first championship since 2015. Nazareth beat Joliet Catholic for the second straight season in the Class 5A final for its third consecutive championship.

Can they do it again?

It’s possible, but both will have to do it while moving up a class. Due to the IHSA’s multiplier rule, Montini will be in the Class 4A bracket and Nazareth in Class 6A should they reach the playoffs. That would seem to lead to a much more difficult road, 4A potentially including strong programs like Morris and Rochester and 6A perhaps as loaded as ever with the likes of Batavia, East St. Louis and the aforementioned Joliet Catholic according to Steve Soucie’s preseason projections.

Stay tuned. Montini and Nazareth, should they navigate the treacherous CCL/ESCC schedule to playoff qualification, will be factors.

Can playoff mainstays bounce back?

The playoff field looked mighty different last season without the presence of Glenbard West and IC Catholic Prep.

Glenbard West, two-time state champion and once runner-up under head coach Chad Hetlet, could not overcome an 0-4 start to the season and missed the playoffs at 4-5 for the first time since 2006 – the year before Hetlet arrived at the school.

IC Catholic, which has won four state championships since 2016, also finished 4-5 – missing the playoffs for the first time since 2014, current coach Bill Krefft’s third season at the school.

Can they bounce back?

Glenbard West, like last season, must overcome a challenging schedule to make it happen. The Hilltoppers play at Batavia and host Joliet Catholic, the respective state runners-up in Class 7A and Class 5A, the first two weeks of the season before embarking on West Suburban Silver play.

IC Catholic is in a similar predicament. Six of the Knights’ eight games against in-state opponents (they host St. Mary’s Southside Catholic from St. Louis in Week 1) made the playoffs last season. Five of those 2024 postseason teams hail from the CCL/ESCC.

Can new West Suburban Silver powers keep it going?

Glenbard West, for much of the last two decades, has been the king of the hill in the West Suburban Silver. Hinsdale Central, earlier this decade, had a run at the top.

New powers, though, have emerged.

York won the league in 2022, matched Glenbard West for the best record in 2023 and has reached the Class 8A semifinals in each of the last three seasons – making the 8A championship game for the first time last year. Lyons last year won the Silver title with its first 9-0 regular season since 1943, and reached the quarterfinals for the second time in three years. Downers Grove North was Class 7A runner-up in 2023, a quarterfinalist last year.

Can they keep it going?

It sure looks that way. Downers Grove North has three Big Ten recruits on its roster in Minnesota-bound quarterback Owen Lansu, Illinois recruit Will Vala at tight end and Purdue commit Aiden Solecki on the line. York has 11 returning starters led by 1,000-yard rusher Henry Duda and Princeton commit Hunter Stepanich at tight end, and a junior class that didn’t lose a game as freshmen and sophomores. Lyons returns nine starters led by two-way standout Patrick Cheney.

One thing is for certain – it will be a dogfight for Silver supremacy.

Early matchups with sizzle

Football fans will not need to wait long to whet their appetite with spicy matchups.

It starts the Thursday night of Week 1, as St. Francis travels to Gately Stadium in Chicago to play Public League power Kenwood. On the first football Friday, Lyons plays at defending Class 5A runner-up Joliet Catholic in an intriguing new matchup between powers of the West Suburban Silver and CCL/ESCC.

Montini, meanwhile, will be hosting 14-time Michigan state champion Lumen Christi. Wheaton North hosts Simeon and Glenbard West is at Batavia in a matchup of traditional west suburban powerhouse programs. Nazareth hosts Kankakee in a continuation of a great Week 1 series.

Not satisfied?

Well, on Saturday of Week 1 Downers Grove North heads to Chicago to take on Morgan Park.

Who are the players to watch?

As usual, there is no shortage of star power in the Suburban Life area.

Lansu, entering his third season as Downers Grove North’s starting quarterback, is one of the top signal-callers in the state. The same can be said for Montini junior quarterback Izzy Abrams, who has loaded up on Division I offers since leading the Broncos to the 3A title as a sophomore.

St. Francis senior Zach Washington, a Michigan State recruit, and Nazareth senior Trenton Walker, a Division I prospect, are two of the state’s top receivers.

Up front, Iowa recruit Gene Riordan of Hinsdale Central, Solecki of Downers Grove North and Luke Injaychock of Nazareth are all future Division I linemen.