Here’s the Herald-News prep football preview for Week 9, featuring key showdowns across the greater Joliet area.

Southwest Valley Blue

Lockport (5-3, 4-2) at Neuqua Valley (3-5, 2-4)

When: 7 p.m. Friday

About the Porters: Lockport claimed its fourth consecutive victory with a win over Metea Valley, assuring its return to the postseason with its fifth victory. The Porters once again continued to get solid play from its defensive unit. QB Brendan Mecher has been a solid dual performer for the Porters offensive attack and has been particularly difficult to keep from making an impact in the running game. Lockport has clinched a playoff berth, but a win here would help cinch a seeding outside of the bottom ten teams in the Class 8A draw.

About the Wildcats: Neuqua Valley has taken back-to-back tough to stomach losses, losing to Naperville North in the final minutes in Week 7 before dropping a narrow decision to Sandburg in Week 8. In four of Neuqua Valley’s five losses the game has been decided by a touchdown or less. QB Drake Mennecke has been an effective signal caller for the Wildcats and with his team trying to close its season on a positive note Neuqua might try to sprinkle in a few more big plays.

Friday Night Drive Pick: Lockport

Sandburg (6-2, 4-2) vs. Lincoln-Way East (7-1, 5-1)

When: 7 p.m. Thursday

About the Eagles: After experiencing little to no problems through the first five weeks of the season, the second half of Sandburg’s season has gotten a little bit bumpier. They got back on the winning track with a narrow victory over Neuqua Valley, but that was a respite from back-to-back losses to Naperville North and Lockport the previous two weeks. Sandburg has a potent QB/WR combo in Jeffrey Bellik and Quinn Durkin and the Eagles will need the best version of them to make a serious run at the Griffins.

About the Griffins: Lincoln-Way East was stunned in Week 8 in a loss to Naperville North, its first regular season loss in four years. The Griffins were without standout players on both sides of the ball as QB Jonas Williams and DE Jacob Alexander were both sidelined in the contest. Williams’ injury was characterized as a foot/ankle problem and Griffins head coach Rob Zvonar indicated the Williams status was currently day-to-day with no indication if the Griffins would elect to continue resting Williams prior to the playoffs. A loss here would move Lincoln-Way East away from near the top of the Class 8A seed chart to the middle so there would be a significant consequence to finishing 7-2 rather than 8-1.

FND Pick: Lincoln-Way East

Southwest Valley crossover

Lincoln-Way West (7-1, 4-1) at Stagg (0-7, 0-5)

When: 7 p.m. Friday

About the Warriors: Lincoln-Way West will look to bounce back from its first loss of the season after Bradley-Bourbonnais’ offense did a number on what has been a pretty solid defensive unit all year long. The Warriors offensive attack was also fenced in rather substantially by the Boilermakers as Lincoln-Way West scored a touchdown on its first possession on a long TD run from QB Grant Tustin and failed to score another touchdown over the rest of the course of the game.

About the Chargers: Not much has gone right for Stagg all season. The winless Chargers were clipped by a point in Week 1 in a loss to Romeoville and have been in pretty significant spiral since. Stagg has been shut out five times this season and has scored just 12 points over its last seven games and has only given up less than 40 points to an opponent once this season.

FND Pick: Lincoln-Way West

Southwest Prairie West

Minooka (5-3, 2-2) at Oswego East (6-2, 2-2)

When: 7 p.m. Friday

About the Indians: Minooka had a four game winning streak snapped with a loss to Bolingbrook in Week 8. For the first time since a Week 1 loss to St. Charles North, the Indians had a series of defensive letdowns and allowed Bolingbrook to stack up rushing yards in bunches. That’s something that obviously needs to get corrected because Minooka’s surge over the second half of the season has largely been fueled by keeping opponents down on the scoreboard and grinding out enough points to claim victories.

About the Wolves: Oswego East‘s formula to victory is somewhat similar to Minooka’s. And like Minooka, defensive woes led to the Wolves falling in Week 8. It was just the second time this season that Oswego East had allowed 30-plus points in a game, both of which ended in losses. In other games, Oswego East’s defense has allowed single digit scoring to opponents in all but one of those contests. Defense sets the tone for the Wolves and it looks like both of these two teams have similar mindsets.

FND Pick: Oswego East

Yorkville (7-1, 3-1) at Bolingbrook (6-2, 3-1)

When: 7 p.m. Friday

About the Foxes: Yorkville might not be the flashiest team in the Southwest Prairie, but the Foxes have been the most consistent. The Foxes continue to be steady particularly on the defensive side of the ball and bounced back rather well from its lone loss of the season to Oswego East in Week 7. QB Jack Beetham is an experienced signal caller that seems to have the ability to help guide the Foxes to pretty much exactly what they need to have on offense and often not a whole lot more.

About the Raiders: Bolingbrook is clearly on a positive roll right now and has now pieced together five consecutive wins, each one by at least a two touchdown margin. The Raiders have found their way on offense behind a potent ground game and the Raiders Week 8 win over Minooka brought another factor into that equation as QB Tyson Ward ran for nearly 200 yards and scored four touchdowns and continues to provide an excellent offensive complement to RB TJ Lewis.

FND Pick: Yorkville

Oswego (6-2, 2-2) at Plainfield North (2-6, 0-4)

About the Panthers: Offensive productivity has been a bit of an up and down adventure for Oswego over the past few weeks. But fortunately for Oswego, the uptick came again in Week 8 in its matchup against crosstown rival Oswego East. Sophomore RB Ammar Banire has a huge game in the win and he will be leaned upon to keep Oswego’s offense humming into the next stage of the season. Defensively, the Panthers have been consistently strong. Even though Oswego surrendered 21 points in Week 8, it was the largest offensive output anyone has posted against the Panthers all season.

About the Tigers: Even though Plainfield North currently has a record of 2-6 they haven’t truly been out of any contests since Week 2. But despite that the Tigers haven’t seemed to be able to get themselves over the hump to win close games and its offense has been limited to two touchdowns or less in five of its eight contests this season. Sophomore RB Aaron Babino has been very productive since a varsity call-up which gives the Tigers a nice building block to look to for 2026.

FND Pick: Oswego

Southwest Prairie East

Joliet Central (1-7, 0-4) at Joliet West (3-5, 3-1)

When: 6 p.m. Friday

About the Steelmen: Joliet Central will be hoping to wrap up its season on a positive note, but recent trends certainly make that seem to be a difficult think to have happen for the Steelmen. Joliet Central hasn’t scored a point in its last three games and has only scored 16 points total since Week 2. Things aren’t any better on the defensive side of the ball as the Steelmen haven’t allowed less than 35 points in a game to an opponent since its lone win over Thornridge back in Week 1.

About the Tigers: Joliet West‘s path to the playoffs is a layered one. First, the Tigers have to earn victory to get them to a 4-1 conference record because Joliet West’s only path to the playoffs would be earning the automatic bid provided to a conference champion. But not only do they have to win, they have to scoreboard watch, because if Plainfield East also wins in Week 9, the Bengals hold a tiebreaker over the Tigers by virtue of Plainfield East’s 27-7 win back in Week 7. Plainfield East also holds the tiebreaker if the division ends in a three-way tie between Joliet West and Plainfield South.

FND Pick: Joliet West

Romeoville (4-4, 2-2) at Plainfield South (3-5, 3-1)

When: 7 p.m. Friday

About the Spartans: Unlike most of the teams in the Southwest Prairie East, Romeoville has a pretty easy to understand scenario involving its playoff status. If the Spartans win they will make the postseason for the first time since 2013. In order for that to happen though, the version of Romeoville that allowed the Spartans to start 3-0 needs to reappear rather than the version that has allowed them to get comfortably defeated in four of their last five games.

About the Cougars: Plainfield South, with five losses, also has a tricky path to the postseason. The only way the Cougars can get to the postseason would be with the automatic bid offered to the conference champion. But a win here won’t be good enough on its own to do that. Plainfield South holds the tiebreaker over Plainfield East by virtue of a head-to-head victory in a two-team scenario provided the Bengals also won. But if Joliet West also wins and makes it a three-way tie, the three-way tiebreaker goes to Plainfield East, who allowed less points in the two head-to-head games between the other two teams they are potentially tied with.

FND Pick: Plainfield South

Plainfield Central (2-6, 1-3) at Plainfield East (5-3, 3-1)

When: 7 p.m. Friday

About the Wildcats: Plainfield Central is trying to avoid a further backslide after slipping significantly after a Week 5 win over Joliet Central, its second of the season. While the Wildcats have made some progress after last year’s 0-9, they’d like to wrap up this campaign being a little bit more competitive than it has been it its last three where it has been outscored 147-14.

About the Bengals: Plainfield East is the only team in the SPC East that doesn’t have to win in Week 9 to earn a postseason bid. The Bengals already have the five wins that they need. However, Plainfield East’s schedule has produced one of the fewest playoff point totals in the state and if they only reach five wins, it will almost certainly mean the Bengals will draw a No. 1 or No. 2 seed in the Class 6A playoffs. A sixth win would prevent that and give Plainfield East the conference championship to go along with it.

FND Pick: Plainfield East

CCL/ESCC Orange

Providence (6-2, 2-0) at Joliet Catholic (3-5, 2-0)

When: 7:30 p.m. Friday

About the Hilltoppers: Joliet Catholic backed itself into a postseason corner with a loss to Mount Carmel in Week 7, its fifth loss of the season. The Hilltoppers breezed to a win over De La Salle in Week 8, but now faces a precarious situation where they will need to defeat Providence and then hope the rest of its schedule delivers as many playoff points as it can. The Hilltoppers could conceivably top out at 51 points although 50 seems more plausible. And 50 would likely put Joliet Catholic near or at the front of the line if the field needs 4-5 teams to reach 256 teams. However beating Providence seems to be the largest obstacle in this equation, especially since the Hilltoppers are 0-5 on the season against playoff bound teams.

About the Celtics: Few teams in the state are playing better than Providence right now. And its recent stretch of three consecutive wins including a victories over Loyola and Marist makes them a prominent threat in the Class 5A field to make a run for state title. But the Celtics would like nothing more than to cap the regular season with a win here and gain momentum as a victory here against Joliet Catholic would be only its second in the last eight meetings between the two programs.

FND Pick: Providence

South Suburban Blue

Lemont (5-3, 5-0) at Oak Forest (7-1, 4-1)

When: 7 p.m. Friday

About Lemont: Lemont had been rolling along through South Suburban Conference play, winning five straight games, but the crossover matchup with Richards in Week 8 loomed as a big measuring stick and the Bulldogs made sure it wouldn’t have a chance to run the winning streak to six. Richards built a huge lead and breezed to the win, but even so, another conference crown is well within reach for Lemont and need only collect a win in Week 9 to secure it. A victory also could help secure a significantly better seed in Lemont’s new playoff home: Class 5A.

About the Bengals: Like Lemont, Oak Forest seemed to be in a pretty good place heading into Week 8, having won its first seven games without a significant challenge. But an inspired Hillcrest team facing the end of its playoff berth chase dominated the Bengals from the outset and easily knocked them from their previously undefeated perch. Oak Forest can still claim a conference crown with a head-to-head victory though and that’s a goal worth reaching for.

FND Pick: Lemont

Nonconference

Lincoln-Way Central (7-1) at Rich Township (4-4)

When: 7 p.m. Friday

About the Knights: Lincoln-Way Central got another monster effort from RB Justin Cobbs and its comfortable win over Waubonsie Valley allowed the Knights to secure at least a piece of the Southwest Valley Red Conference title. The Knights are a resilient bunch that continue to be anchored by a defense that hasn’t allowed an opponent to score more than 21 points on them all season. A win here positions them as a likely top 10 seed in the Class 7A draw.

About the Raptors: Rich Township hasn’t beat a team with a winning record this season and hasn’t been particularly competitive in games they have played against that caliber of team. That fact doesn’t bode well for the Raptors, whose wins have come over four teams that have a combined 9-23 record this season.

FND Pick: Lincoln-Way Central

Byron Central (Michigan) (5-3) at Morris (8-0)

When: 6 p.m. Friday

About Morris: Morris completed its terrorizing of the Interstate Eight Conference, dropping 50 points on long time nemesis Sycamore in Week 8. Morris scored at least 37 points in every one of its five league games and only Kaneland was able to stay within three touchdowns amongst league opponents. If Morris can complete the regular season without a loss, its very strong nonconference schedule could be enough to secure the No. 1 seed in the Class 4A draw.

About the Bulldogs: Byron Center started the season rather slow, but is now in the midst of a four-game winning streak scoring at least 40 points in each of those victories. This doesn’t look like the same caliber team that toppled Morris up in Michigan by 20 last season, but it is hard to deny how well Byron Central seems to be playing right now.

FND Pick: Morris

Carlyle (0-8) vs. Seneca (8-0) at Maroa-Forsyth

When: 7 p.m. Friday

About the Indians: Carlyle looked early on that it might be a competitive squad losing a narrow decision to Nashville in Week 1. But virtually nothing has gone right since as the closest the Indians have come to recording a victory is a 5-point loss to a 1-7 Red Bud team back in Week 4. Seneca’s high-powered offense seems like a bad blend for a Carlyle defense that has given up at least 34 points per game in all but two of its contests.

About the Fighting Irish: Seneca had to fight harder for any win it has had this season against St. Joe Ogden and conversely put up its best statistical performance of the season as well piling up 520 total rushing yards. RB Cam Shriey had 274 of those yards as even though SJO seemed up to the task of trying to match points with Seneca, ultimately it found the same fate when the Fighting Irish put together a clock chewing, chain moving drive to bleed out the remaining clock. Seneca seems on course to finish with its record spotless but a high number of potential 2A north teams might not mean an extremely high seed will come with it.

FND Pick: Seneca

Oregon (5-3) at Dwight (5-3)

When: 7 p.m. Friday

About the Hawks: Oregon has not been able to develop much momentum this season since from Week 2 on it has alternated wins and losses. Like most of the other Big Northern Conference teams the Hawks fell in lopsided losses to Byron and Dixon and have had fairly competitive contests in most of its other games. Oregon’s defense has also been fairly consistently good, other than in the aforementioned Byron and Dixon contests.

About the Trojans: Dwight has lost to all three of its opponents with winning records this season and is still looking for something that would qualify as a signature win. But last week’s win over Warrensburg-Latham did assure something more important than a flag planting victory, it was Dwight’s fifth and almost certainly assures a playoff game for the Trojans, despite a middling number of playoff points.

FND Pick: Oregon

Illinois Central Eight

Peotone (3-5, 2-4) at Herscher (5-3, 4-2)

When: 7 p.m. Friday

About the Blue Devils: Peotone has dropped three straight games, two of them by less than a touchdown which puts the Blue Devils in the position it is now. The Blue Devils had a relatively young team entering the 2025 season and they never quite found their footing. Peotone’s two wins on the field (they also had a forfeit win) were against teams that currently have a 1-15 combined record and the Blue Devils weren’t quite able to raise the level of their play against the better teams on their schedule.

About the Tigers: Herscher’s first trip the postseason since 2018 is secure, but in order for the Tigers to avoid a relatively low seed in the Class 3A bracket a win here would be a big help toward that. Herscher had a three-game winning streak snapped rather rudely in a 56-7 to Coal City, but its hard to argue with the quality of Herscher’s losses (Bishop McNamara, Coal City and Wilmington) although Herscher would have liked to make each of those games a bit more competitive.

FND Pick: Herscher

Coal City (7-1, 5-0) at Wilmington (7-1, 5-0)

When: 7 p.m. Friday

About the Coalers: Since a week 2 loss to Richmond-Burton, Coal City seems like a team on a mission. Only Streator was able to score more than a touchdown during Coal City’s current six-game winning streak. The Coalers offense seems almost unstoppable right now having scoring 306 points during this streak as the almost scary balance between rushing and passing is leaving most opponents spinning in search of a solution. Coal City has gone just 2-12 with meetings with Wilmington in games dating back to 2013, but if any Coaler team has the roster to make a real run at the Wildcats this might be the one.

About the Wildcats: Wilmington continues to use an incredibly proficient running attack to take control of most games and wasted no time doing so in Week 8 in a runaway win over Reed-Custer. RB Ryan Kettman returned to the lineup and needed just eight carries to rack up 130 rushing yards and a trio of touchdowns as Wilmington gained over 15 yards a carry as a team. Wilmington’s rush defense also remains on point, holding Reed-Custer to just over one yard per rushing attempt.

FND Pick: Wilmington

Noble/Comer (5-2) at Reed-Custer (3-5)

When: Noon, Saturday

About the Catamounts: Noble/Comer plays in one of the four divisions of the the Chicago Public League that only allows its top two finishers to advance to the state playoffs. Despite having a playoff eligible record by win/loss record, Noble/Comer finished third in its CPL division and was given the option of not playing a CPL crossover game for non-playoff qualifiers in Week 9 and elected to take it. Comer started the season 5-0 but a 9-8 loss to Kennedy in Week 7 cost them a chance at a playoff slot.

About the Comets: This is an interesting gambit being undertaken by Reed-Custer. The Comets were eligible to take a forfeit win over Lisle in Week 9 which would have ended its season at 4-5. By risking that win by playing Noble-Comer, Reed-Custer would be adding six points (instead of the zero from the Lisle forfeiture) and will likely end up in the mid-40’s in playoff points which with some help might give them a chance to make the field of 256 teams if a substantial number of 4-5 teams are needed.

FND Pick: Reed-Custer