The declaration most expected would be coming came on Thursday as East St. Louis officially declared that they would be playing up to Class 6A. By its natural enrollment, East St. Louis would have been classified in Class 5A.

Both Richards and St. Rita announced their intent to join Batavia among schools that are electing to "play up" from 6A to 7A for a two-year period of postseason play.

Here are team-by-team breakdowns, five players to watch, five can't miss games plus Steve Soucie's predictions for the Upstate Eight Conference.

Glenbard South's Henry Riley has length and burst "that you can't teach" and last season it finally clicked for him blocking-wise to become a complete tight end. Now he's part of a talented tight end combo with Elijah Donahue while Ari Ioannou leads the Raiders' defense.

Despite missing a handful of key pieces, notably sophomore quarterback Phillip Turner, Kankakee still had plenty of firepower in blowing past Glenbard South 42-0 in Saturday's Class 6A first-round playoff game.

Here are previews and picks for all the first-round games for teams in the Suburban Life coverage area.

The addition of running back and linebacker London Leflore, a transfer from South Elgin, is a big factor in Wheaton Academy's 8-1 season as the Warriors prepare for a playoff rematch with Sandwich. That, plus notes on Glenbard South and Nazareth from Bob Narang.

Here are the first-round matchups for each Suburban Life area team. Dates and times will be updated when confirmed.

Here are previews and picks for Week 8's games for the 2024 season for teams in the Suburban Life coverage area.