Illinois High School Football Preseason Top 25: Chicago Mt. Carmel Opens at No. 1

Illinois won't have to wait long to find out whether its preseason No. 1 football team can hold onto the top spot.

Defending Class 8A state champion Chicago Mt. Carmel opens at No. 1 in the High School On SI Illinois preseason Top 25, but the Caravan will immediately put that ranking on the line Saturday night at No. 2 East St. Louis.

Mt. Carmel enters 2026 coming off a 14-0 season and its fourth consecutive Class 8A championship, while East St. Louis returns a loaded roster from the team that reached last year's Class 6A title game.

Here are the High School On SI preseason Top 25 Illinois high school football rankings entering the 2026 season.

Illinois high school football state rankings — High School On SI

1. Chicago Mt. Carmel

Last season: 14-0

Mt. Carmel enters the season ranked No. 24 in the High School On SI national Power 25 after going 14-0 and winning its fourth consecutive Class 8A championship. The Caravan return an impressive collection of senior talent, including linebacker Roman Igwebuike (Notre Dame), cornerback Tavares Harrington (Michigan), wide receiver Quentin Burrell (Michigan), edge rusher Darin Graham (Wisconsin) and offensive lineman Chase Clark (Purdue).

2. East St. Louis

Last season: 8-4

East St. Louis could make a compelling case for a national Top 25 ranking with a victory over Mt. Carmel in Saturday night's opener. The Flyers have the home-field advantage and senior running back Myson Johnson-Cook (Auburn) making his debut after transferring from DeSoto in Texas where he helped lead the Eagles to a Class 6A Division II championship. Other senior leaders include cornerback Raheem Floyd (Florida) and safety Jabarri Lofton (Missouri) along with one of the state's best wide receiver tandems in Ronnie Gomiller (Cincinnati) and Laron Baker Jr. (Kansas State). Junior athlete Jahmori Ware also figures to play a big role.

3. Brother Rice

Last season: 13-1

The defending Division 7A champions figure to mount a vigorous defense of their 2025 state title, with defensive lineman Brayden Parks (Notre Dame), safety Jonathan Harris (Iowa), and offensive linemen Ethan Posey (Maryland) and Carlos Rios (San Diego State), headlining a deep senior class. Edge rusher Kameron McGee, meanwhile, is the state's top Class of 2028 prospect, and fellow junior tight end Jack McNamara is one of the best at his position.

4. Nazareth Academy

Last season: 11-2

Nazareth lost to Fenwick in the Division 6A semifinals, but a trio of top-ranked senior prospects is back in edge rusher Chris Kasky (Missouri), safety Henry Sakalas (Michigan State), and offensive lineman Luke Injaychock (Missouri) to lead the Roadrunners on another run at glory.

5. Loyola Academy

Last season: 4-5

Loyola Academy made a quick exit in a first-round playoff loss to top-ranked Chicago Mt. Carmel, and the Ramblers will lean heavily on senior standouts like tight end Charlie Fowler (Boston College) and linebacker Will Mettee (Boston College) to keep pace with the frontrunners this fall. Juniors like quarterback Matthew Lee, tight end Jordan McKinley, and running back Jayden Garrett will help determine how far Loyola rambles this fall.

6. Fenwick

Last season: 11-3

Fenwick was a surprise winner of last year's Division 6A title game, stunning heavily favored East St. Louis, 38-28, in the finale. A repeat performance seems unlikely, but senior safety Jake Thies (Iowa) returns to provide valuable leadership.

7. Montini Catholic

Last season: 14-0

The defending Division 4A champs feature the state's top Class of 2027 prospect at any position in quarterback Israel Abrams (Miami). The Broncos also have one of Abrams' top protectors back in the fold in offensive lineman Gavin Ericson-Staton (Illinois).

8. St. Rita

Last season: 9-5

St. Rita finally ran out horsepower in last year's Division 7A title tilt, losing 16-0 to the state champions from Brother Rice. But the Mustangs figure to be in the running again in 2026 with a talented roster that includes senior defensive lineman Ohimai Ozolua.

9. Lincoln-Way East

Last season: 9-3

Lincoln-Way East's march toward the Illinois Division 8A championship game was rudely interrupted by the eventual state champions from Chicago Mt. Carmel in a 48-7 blowout in the semifinals. They'll be hard-pressed to overtake the Caravan in 2026, but they have a big building block returning up front in offensive lineman Mason Halliman (Illinois).

10. Batavia

Last season: 10-3

The Division 7A semifinalists have one of the state's top quarterbacks in Michael Vander Luitgarten (Wyoming), and that might just be enough reason to bet on the Bulldogs making a deep run again this fall.

11. St. Francis

Last season: 11-3

St. Francis beat Providence Catholic in a 39-35 thriller for the state's Division 5A championship, with their star quarterback Brock Phillip scoring his fifth touchdown of the game with just 11 seconds on the clock. With Phillip now graduated, identifying his successor at quarterback will be one of the biggest questions surrounding the defending champions.

12. Byron

Last season: 14-0

The reigning Division 3A state champions finished 14-0, winning their second title in undefeated fashion in three years. But they've already suffered one big loss in 2026 with quarterback Andrew Talbert's decision to focus solely on baseball where he's already committed to the North Carolina Tar Heels.

13. Oswego

Last season: 11-3

The Division 8A finalists played Chicago Mt. Carmel about as well as could be expected in the state championship game, losing 20-3 to the champs. That represented the Caravan's lowest offensive output of the season, and defense was where the Panthers hung their hat in 2025. Senior safety Dontrell Young (Iowa State) returns to bolster that unit again, and junior athlete Ammar Banire is also an impact player.

14. Downers Grove North

Last season: 10-3

The Trojans lost in the Division 7A semifinals in a 45-17 rout to Brother Rice. They've won at least 10 games in three consecutive seasons, and remain in the broader conversation as one of the top teams in Illinois.

15. St. Laurence

Last season: 8-5

St. Laurence was rudely ousted from the Division 6A semifinals on the short end of a 50-7 score against East St. Louis, outlining the margin that still exists between the Flyers and some of the other top teams in the classification. But the Vikings still have linebacker Sean Rice (Illinois) to build around while they try to close that gap.

16. Carmel Catholic

Last season: 8-3

Carmel's playoff run ended in a second-round loss to St. Charles North, but the experience will benefit a young team whose top prospects are still just juniors. They include linebacker Jameer Miles, offensive tackle Wyatt VanBoening, and edge defender Kristian Chadick.

17. Maine South

Last season: 10-2

Like Lockport just below them, Maine South was booted from the Division 8A playoffs by Oswego with both teams losing by a field goal to the eventual state runner-up. The Hawks lost in the quarterfinals, but they might be better positioned to move ahead of Lockport in the pecking order with senior quarterback Jameson Purcell (Indiana) returning and classmate Matthew Schlenhardt (Syracuse) holding down one of the linebacker spots.

18. Lockport

Last season: 9-4

Lockport's 10-7 loss to Oswego was all that kept Lockport from advancing to the Division 8A title game. That, of course, would have set the Porters up with a matchup against Chicago Mt. Carmel. In the end, they settled for a 9-4 finish while watching Oswego take the inevitable loss to the Caravan.

19. Fremd

Last season: 11-2

Fremd had the misfortune of being paired against Chicago Mt. Carmel in the Division 8A semifinals, and that proved to be the end of the road for the Vikings in a 42-21 loss. Like the other Division 8A squads ranked above them, Chicago Mt. Carmel is the puzzle that has to be solved in order to finally break through.

20. Barrington

Last season: 10-2

Barrington reached the Class 8A quarterfinals before falling to Lockport last season. Taking the next step will require the Broncos to close the gap on a loaded group of contenders at the top of the classification.

21. St. Charles North

Last season: 10-2

A visit to the Division 7A quarterfinals proved to be the end of the road for St. Charles North in a 42-18 loss to the eventual champions from Brother Rice. A return trip to the division's elite will be the first goal for the North Stars in 2026.

22. Glenbard North

Last season: 8-4

Glenbard North also made it to the Division 7A quarterfinals, but like St. Charles North, their season turned south from there. The Panthers met their match there in a 42-27 loss to Batavia.

23. Lincoln-Way West

Last season: 10-2

Lincoln-Way West was ousted from the Division 8A quarterfinals by Downers Grove North in a 28-10 rout, proving the Warriors have a ways to go to reach the elite teams in this division.

24. Simeon

Last season: 7-5

Simeon is loaded with some top talent in senior defensive linemen Brian DeMoss and Corey Randolph (Boston College) along with running back James Bell. Whether they can put it all together and challenge the likes of Division 6A's elite programs like East St. Louis, which bounced the Wolverines from the playoffs in a 49-0 rout last year, remains to be seen.

25. IC Catholic Prep

Last season: 8-4

IC Catholic ran into Byron in the Division 3A semifinals, and that was it for the Knights as they were eliminated in a 28-6 loss to the eventual state champions. Byron might be vulnerable with the loss of their all-state quarterback, however, and the Knights could be in position to be one of the challengers to the throne.

The preseason debate won't last long. No. 1 Mt. Carmel visits No. 2 East St. Louis on Saturday in a matchup that will immediately test the top of these rankings. For now, the Caravan's returning talent, championship experience and four consecutive Class 8A titles make them the team everyone else in Illinois is chasing.

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