A Roxana High School proposal that would expand the playoffs and provide a regional schedule model has released regional mockups for Class 5A and Class 6A. See the proposed regions here.

Congratulations to these 22 Illinois high school football players who were voted onto Friday Night Drive's Team of the Week for Round 1 of the 2025 high school football playoffs

C.J. Gray led Brother Rice over Jefferson, Zach Washington's kick return sparked St. Francis against Morgan Park and Israel Abrams tossed four TD passes to help Montini remain undefeated. Fenwick, St. Rita, Providence and IC Catholic Prep added first-round playoff wins.

Ranked teams did what they should do largely rolling to easy first round victories in the state playoffs. Check out the new rankings here:

Matt Rodewald, Steve Soucie, and John Sahly break down what happened with a fifth down in the PORTA vs. Fairfield first-round playoff game, and review what else happened in Round 1 in the IHSA football playoffs

Jonas Williams returns for Lincoln-Way East, plus notes on Bolingbrook, Minooka and Wilmington in the Herald-News Football notebook.

If you like points being scored the opening round of the playoffs was definitely worth tuning into. Steve Soucie takes a look at what we learned in Week 10.

Lincoln-Way Central displayed all its weapons Friday night in a 49-7 shellacking of Reavis to open its 7A playoff adventure.

Each week, we’ll have 22 players – 11 on offense, 11 on defense – to make the Friday Night Drive Team of the Week. Vote for your favorite players for Round 1 of the playoffs!

Khairi Sias hauled in a 49-yard touchdown pass on the first play of the fourth quarter to give Lockport a two-touchdown cushion, and the Porters went on to a 21-14 win over Sandburg in a Class 8A first-round game Saturday night.

Here are the second round pairings for the 2025 IHSA playoffs.

Coal City's Logan Natyshok rushed for 272 yards and five touchdowns while the Coalers defense allowed Sterling just 100 total yards in a 49-7 victory in Saturday's Class 4A playoff first-round game in Coal City.

Seneca outscored visiting Port Byron Riverdale by 14 points in the second quarter, ultimately the difference in the Fighting Irish's 35-21, first-round Class 2A playoff victory.

The Kays got timely plays on both sides of the ball, including fourth-quarter touchdowns from Kymani Billings and Ezekiel Sherrod, to get past Lemont in a physical, defensive-minded Class 5A playoff game at Kankakee Saturday.

Wilmington ran for 362 yards on just 19 carries and held West Hancock to 3 rushing yards in a 70-8 win in the first round of the Class 2A playoffs Saturday.

Broden Mackert ran for 145 yards and three touchdowns in the first quarter alone as Providence routed Springfield High on Saturday, 63-19.

Joliet Catholic's opening round playoff game with Glenwood was a bit like the Hilltoppers regular season. Marked by a slow start, followed by a few positive developments but ultimately ending up just a little bit short in a 17-12 loss to Chatham Glenwood.

Providence hosted Springfield for a varsity football game on Saturday, Nov. 1.

Lincoln-Way East looked more like themselves on Friday night. Fueled by the return of standout quarterback Jonas Williams the Griffins breezed to a 45-0 win over Stevenson in the opening round of the Class 8A Playoffs on Friday night.

Morris can score in a hurry. The No. 2 seed proved that Friday night, putting up 25 points in less than 5 minutes before halftime on its way to a 54-7 win against Woodstock in the opening round of the IHSA Class 4A playoffs.

Morris hosted Woodstock for a 4A first round varsity football playoff game on Friday, Oct. 31.

Bolingbrook hosted Oswego East for a varsity football game on Friday, Oct. 31.

Lincoln-Way East hosted Stevenson for a varsity football round one playoff game on Friday, Oct. 31.

After receiving feedback from IHSA membership schools, a Roxana High School proposal to change the postseason structure and regular-season scheduling process has some alterations.

There's a prominent addition to the Class 8A field in Mount Carmel, but there's plenty of teams that are hoping than can keep the Caravan from collecting 8A hardware. Steve Soucie breaks down the opening round of the 2025 IHSA Class 8A Playoffs.

With three-time 7A State Champion Mount Carmel moving up to Class 8A, there's plenty of team chomping at the bit for a chance to be the new team hoisting the state championship hardware. Steve Soucie breaks down the opening round of the 2025 IHSA Class 7A Playoffs.

The Chicago Catholic League/East Suburban Catholic Conference has revealed its All-Conference honorees and award winners for the 2025 varsity football season. Click the link below to read this year's award winners.

With an intensity and work ethic unmatched, Joliet Catholic senior and Navy recruit Ian Campbell has set the tone for the Hilltoppers, who took down Providence to win the CCL/ESCC Orange and sneak into the playoffs. Campbell has 12 sacks in the last two years.

Can anyone prevent a collision course game between East St. Louis and Nazareth in the state championship? A lot of teams would like to think so. Steve Soucie breaks down the opening round of the 2025 IHSA Class 6A Playoffs.

The Herald-News prep football preview for Week 10 of the 2025 season, featuring key showdowns across the greater Will and Grundy county area as the IHSA playoffs begin.

Join hosts Josh Welge and Steve Soucie as they preview the first round of the IHSA football playoffs.

A Roxana High School proposal that would expand the playoffs and provide a regional schedule model has released regional mockups for Class 3A and Class 4A. See the proposed regions here.

Both teams in last year's title game are in different classifications now leaving a wide open chase for this year's state title. Steve Soucie breaks down the opening round of the 2025 IHSA Class 5A Playoffs.

Enrollment changes lead to the 4A draw looking a bit different than it has in the past few years. Steve Soucie breaks down the opening round of the 2025 IHSA Class 4A Playoffs.

Seven of the state's remaining 26 undefeated teams reside in the Class 2A field and along with some other daunting teams the draw looks as deep as any classification. Steve Soucie breaks down the opening round of the 2025 IHSA Class 2A playoffs.

Congratulations to these 22 Illinois high school football players who were voted onto Friday Night Drive's Team of the Week for Week 9 of the 2025 high school football season

Montini made history with a win over St. Laurence, Joliet Catholic stunned Providence to make the playoffs and St. Patrick defeated St. Viator in a matchup of former NFL players turned head coaches. Marian Catholic, Brother Rice and Carmel each added wins in Week 9.

Join hosts Matt Rodewald and Steve Soucie as they review Week 9 in IHSA football and look ahead to Round 1 of the playoffs.

There are over a dozen CCL/ESCC teams participating in the IHSA football playoffs this season. Among the playoff qualifiers are defending state champions Mount Carmel, Loyola, Nazareth and Montini. Here are all of the first-round matchups for CCL/ESCC teams.

The race to filling the field of 256 teams took some surprising twists and turns. Steve Soucie takes a look at what we learned in Week 9.

Take a look at first-round IHSA football playoff information for all Herald-News teams here.

Each week, we’ll have 22 players – 11 on offense, 11 on defense – to make the Friday Night Drive Team of the Week. Vote for your favorite players for Week 9!

Here are the first round pairings for the IHSA playoffs.

Check here for live updates and changes to Steve Soucie's IHSA football playoff projection for all eight classes.

Wilmington earned a 44-21 home win over Coal City to claim its third straight Illinois Central Eight Conference title on Friday, Oct. 24, 2025.

Crete-Monee held off a late Kankakee rally to earn a 27-14 win on Friday, Oct. 24, 2025.

TJ Lewis rushed for 173 of his 203 yards in the second half, Tyson Ward also rushed for over 100 yards and had the go-head touchdown with just over a minute left as Bolingbrook beat Yorkville 26-21 to win the Southwest Prairie West championship.

Wilmington claimed its third straight Illinois Central Eight Conference title with a 44-21 home win over Coal City, rushing for 509 yards and sending the Coalers a second-place finish for the third straight year.

Minooka turned away Oswego East on its last-ditch effort to get into field goal range, hanging on to steal a 15-14 victory on the road, and securing a playoff spot in the process.

Joliet Catholic football held on for a wild, 30-27 win over playoff-bound Providence – a win that kept JCA in the playoff conversation pending results across the rest of the state.