If you’ve been around high school football programs for long enough and haven’t heard some variation of the following phrase: “We just won’t know for sure until those lights get turned on Week 1,” you haven’t been listening hard enough.

Week 1 of the high school football season is when the answers to literally thousands of questions begin to get answered for programs all around the state.

Is the new quarterback ready for the role? Is the rebuilt secondary going to hold up over the course of the season? Do we have enough depth? Where might a team be better than they thought? Where are the big issues that need to be resolved?

Week 1 can’t make or break your season. But it shows you where the foundation of things are and how much repair it might need in order to get where teams hope to be.

Here’s a look at the top games of Week 1:

Marist (9-2 in 2024) at St. Rita (10-3), 7:30 p.m. Friday: If the CCL/ESCC schedule isn’t tough enough, these two long-time rivals weren’t slated to play in the league games. So in order to ensure the rivalry stays intact they agreed to this rigorous nonconference game, even further increasing the strength of schedule for both.

Lincoln-Way East (12-1) at Maine South (8-4), 7:30 p.m. Friday: A showdown of two top flight teams that both have elite quarterbacks as Lincoln-Way East’s Jonas Williams (USC) is largely considered one of the top senior quarterbacks in the nation, while Maine South’s junior signal caller Jameson Purcell (Indiana) is a spectacular playmaker as well.

Wilmington (12-1) at Morris (8-5), 7 p.m. Friday: Although these two powerhouses are separated by less than 20 miles, they haven’t locked horns before. Both of these schools reached the semifinals in their respective classes last season and have their eyes on setting the tone toward making another deep run. An added wrinkle...Wilmington coach Jeff Reents is a Morris grad.

Lyons (11-1) at Joliet Catholic (10-4), 7:30 p.m. Friday: Neither of these two teams had opponents lining up to play them in the nonconference season. That’s easy to understand as Lyons just set a program record for wins in a season with 11 while Joliet Catholic reached the Class 5A title game.

Prairie Ridge (8-3) at Cary-Grove (12-1), 7 p.m. Friday: So much for easing into the season. The two Fox Valley Conference strongholds will do battle right out of the gate and its outcome usually sets the tone for who everyone is trying to run down for the league title.

Other games of note: Wheaton St. Francis at Kenwood (Thu.); Bergen Catholic (New Jersey) at East St. Louis (Thu.); Sterling at Metamora; Mount Carmel vs. Cincinnati (Archbishop Moeller), (Ohio), (Sat.); Fenwick at DePaul Prep; Nazareth at Kankakee; Princeton at Sterling Newman Central Catholic; Chicago Christian at Seneca; Warren at Hersey; Stevenson at Prospect; Glenwood at Edwardsville; Wheaton Academy at Providence; Glenbard West at Batavia; St. Charles North at Minooka; Lumen Christi (Michigan) at Montini