The Illinois high school football season gets underway Monday with the start of preseason practices. Here are some of the top storylines to watch in Kendall County this season.

What does Oswego look like?

Oswego added another chapter to the program’s proud history last year, going 9-0 in the regular season for the first time since 2018, winning the Southwest Prairie West league title and reaching the second round of the playoffs.

Pedigree suggests the Panthers will continue to hum along this fall, but it will be a different look. Oswego coach Brian Cooney can count on one hand his number of returning starters, a group led by all-conference receiver Teddy Manikas. Oswego graduated an outstanding linebacking corps, its starting quarterback and its entire line on both sides. Help would seem to be on the way, as Oswego won the SPC West at both the sophomore and freshman levels last year.

The Panthers will get a good read early on what they have. Oswego travels to 2024 Class 8A semifinalist Naperville Central and hosts defending Class 6A runner-up Geneva the season’s first two weeks in new, challenging nonconference contests.

A (not so) new look in Sandwich

Sandwich is the one Kendall County-area program with a new head coach on the sidelines this fall.

He’s hardly an unfamiliar face.

Jason VanPelt, hired in March to replace Kris Cassie, has been an assistant at his alma mater Sandwich for almost 20 years. Also Sandwich’s head baseball coach, he was most recently the varsity team’s offensive coordinator and associate head coach. VanPelt’s ties to Sandwich run deep, as he was a three-sport athlete at the high school.

That continuity is a good thing, and VanPelt also seems to be assuming the reins in Sandwich at an opportune time. The Indians are coming off back-to-back playoff appearances, and reached the Class 4A quarterfinals in 2023. Sandwich’s junior class won the Kishwaukee River Conference as sophomores last year.

The schedule is a bear right off the bat, games with 2024 playoff teams Manteno and Wilmington the first two weeks followed by the rivalry game with Plano in the KRC opener.

Can Yorkville, Oswego East and Plano return to the playoffs?

Oswego East, Plano and Yorkville each have proud traditions of being frequent playoff qualifiers.

But all were on the outside looking in last fall.

Yorkville had its string of five consecutive playoff appearances snapped with a 4-5 finish. Oswego East had made seven consecutive playoff appearances but has missed the postseason the last two years, going 4-5 last year. The drive to five wins is a chore in the SPC West, and both were tripped up last year in nonconference games. Plano went 2-7 last year after reaching the playoffs in 2023.

Can each make a return this year?

They’d each be well-served to stack early nonconference wins, but it won’t be easy. Yorkville hosts St. Patrick out of the CCL/ESCC Purple in Week 1, Oswego East travels to playoff mainstay Willowbrook Week 2 and Plano hosts a bigger school, Ottawa, in Week 1, then travels to 2024 playoff team Manteno.

What do races look like in the SPC West and KRC?

The depth of the Southwest Prairie West can be measured in a couple ways.

The league has had different conference champions in each of the last three years – Oswego, Yorkville and Plainfield North. On the other hand, that week-in, week-out grind makes playoff qualification quite a feat. Last season, only Oswego and Minooka made the postseason.

Minooka, along with Oswego East, has the most varsity experience back this fall in the SPC West. Yorkville had a strong sophomore team last season, and Plainfield North always seems to have a good amount of talent, especially on the defensive side.

That said, the road to an SPC West title would still seem to go through Oswego.

The Kishwaukee River Conference, meanwhile, is coming off an outstanding season as a league. Five of the league’s eight teams made the playoffs.

What about 2025?

Woodstock North has a ton of starters back from the best season in program history, led by 1,000-yard rusher David Randecker. Johnsburg has an outstanding quarterback in Carter Block. Sandwich has two-time 1,000-yard rusher Nick Michalek returning, and won the sophomore title last year.

But it’s hard to bet against defending KRC champion Richmond-Burton, which has won a league title in all but one season since 2018.

Who are the players to watch?

The Kendall County area graduated a good amount of talent, namely 2024 Record Newspapers Player of the Year Carson Cooney of Oswego, who is now at Iowa.

The cupboard is not bare, though.

The wide receiver position, in particular, seems strong. Manikas at Oswego, Lincoln Ijams of Oswego East and Colton Spychalski of Yorkville are all third-year varsity players poised for big seasons.

Michalek, as previously mentioned, is a two-time 1,000-yard rusher for Sandwich, and Jeffrey Ashley will be a two-way standout for the Indians. Same goes for Kolten Schimandle of Plano.