Mount Carmel jumps Loyola in the Class 8A rankings, Brother Rice remains No. 2 in Class 7A, Fenwick rises to No. 3 in Class 6A and IC Catholic Prep stands as the No. 1 team in Class 3A. Here are all of the CCL football teams ranked in the final Illinois Media Poll.

Dixon will look to bounce back at home on Friday against Plano in the opening round of the Class 4A playoffs. Newman and Fulton are also hosting Saturday, and Amboy faces Macon Meridian in a matchup of two 8-0 teams to close out the 8-man regular season.

Steve Soucie breaks down the opening round of the 2026 IHSA Class 8A playoffs with picks for every game.

Here is the final Illinois Media Poll for football, which was released Thursday for all eight classes.

Steve Soucie breaks down the opening round of the 2026 IHSA Class 7A playoffs with picks for every game.

Alden-Hebron, riding a three-game winning streak, hosts Polo in its final Illinois 8-Man Football Association game of the regular season. Junior RB Caleb Linneman is coming off a 300-yard rushing performance for the 6-2 Giants.

Hosts Alex Kantecki and Joe Aguilar preview the opening round of the playoffs in high school football in McHenry County.

Hosts Eddie Carifio, Sam Ramirez and JT Pedelty preview the Opening Round of the Illinois high school football playoffs in the western and southern portions of northern Illinois.

Steve Soucie breaks down the opening round of the 2026 IHSA Class 6A playoffs with his picks to win every game.

Here is a look at the Week 10 play-in round IHSA playoff matchups across The Times area, featuring opponents and picks for Marquette, Dwight and Sandwich.