Illinois High School Football Top 25 State Rankings (Sept. 21, 2026)

East St. Louis remains firmly entrenched at No. 1 in the latest Illinois high school football rankings, but there was plenty of movement behind the Flyers after another weekend of significant results across the Land of Lincoln.

The biggest shake-up came in the lower half of the top 25, where Lincoln-Way Central's victory over previous No. 13 Homewood-Flossmoor opened the door for several teams to move up with three new teams also joining the rankings.

Homewood-Flossmoor paid a price, of course, dropping to No. 20 this week in their second stint on this list, but Joliet Catholic, Sacred Heart-Griffin, and Lincoln-Way Central all joined the top 25, each helped significantly by that win. That trio occupies the No. 17 through No. 19 spots this weekend just ahead of Homewood-Flossmoor.

At the top, the heavyweights continue to separate themselves. East St. Louis has rolled through its first two conference games by a cumulative score of 125-6 after navigating a challenging early-season national schedule, while the rest of the top six also remains unchanged.

With another slate of important matchups on tap Friday, including No. 2 Chicago Mt. Carmel at No. 6 Brother Rice and No. 23 Geneva at No. 10 Batavia, this week's rankings could be only the beginning of another round of changes next Monday.

Illinois high school football state rankings — High School On SI

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1. East St. Louis

Record: 4-1

Previous Rank: 1

Last Week: East St. Louis 61, Belleville East 0

Loss(es): American Heritage (Fla.), 35-28

East St. Louis survived the national portion of its schedule with a 4-1 record, and now the Flyers have entered their in-state conference slate, where they are rarely challenged. That's certainly been the case two weeks into league play, as they've won their first two games by a combined 125-6. The Flyers might find a little more resistance in their Friday night trek to Edwardsville, but it still figures to be an easy win for the top-ranked team in the Land of Lincoln.

2. Chicago Mt. Carmel

Record: 4-1

Previous Rank: 2

Last Week: Chicago Mt. Carmel 55, St. Patrick 7

Loss(es): East St. Louis, 42-23

Chicago Mt. Carmel hasn't had much of a challenge since outlasting New Jersey's St. Joseph Regional in a 48-44 shootout back on Aug. 28. A Friday night visit to No. 6 Brother Rice should provide more than token resistance, but the Caravan is still a heavy favorite to prevail.

3. Loyola Academy

Record: 5-0

Previous Rank: 3

Last Week: Loyola Academy 42, Benet Academy 10

Loss(es): None

Loyola Academy is the top-ranked undefeated team in Illinois, and the Ramblers will have to win on the road Friday night at a Marist team making a bid to return to this list next week.

4. Lincoln-Way East

Record: 5-0

Previous Rank: 4

Last Week: Lincoln-Way East 38, Sandburg 17

Loss(es): None

Lincoln-Way East will host Andrew Friday night, and the Griffins shouldn't have any problem improving to 6-0 against the Thunderbolts.

5. IC Catholic Prep

Record: 5-0

Previous Rank: 5

Last Week: IC Catholic Prep 40, Leo 0

Loss(es): None

IC Catholic Prep has big wins over Nazareth Academy and Saint Ignatius College Prep bolstering its position here, and the Knights just need to avoid any pitfalls, including Friday's road trip to face a top-100 St. Laurence team.

6. Brother Rice

Record: 3-2

Previous Rank: 6

Last Week: Brother Rice 63, Niles Notre Dame 28

Loss(es): Lincoln-Way East, 22-21; Loyola Academy, 27-24

Brother Rice's two losses have come by a total of four points to two teams ranked here in the top four. It will be three losses to teams in the top four if the Crusaders can't find a way to beat No. 2 Chicago Mt. Carmel Friday night on their own home field.

7. Rochester

Record: 5-0

Previous Rank: 8

Last Week: Rochester 56, Lincoln 6

Loss(es): None

Rochester has climbed up to No. 7 despite having only one true marquee win — a 44-16 rout of current No. 10 Batavia back on Aug. 28. Friday's visit to face Glenwood won't really add much to the narrative for the Rockets, provided that they win comfortably as expected.

8. Saint Ignatius College Prep

Record: 4-1

Previous Rank: 11

Last Week: Saint Ignatius College Prep 42, St. Rita 16

Loss(es): IC Catholic Prep, 22-15

Saint Ignatius College Prep has roared into the top 10 the past two weeks, and the Wolfpack's elite schedule could even lead to them leaping over Rochester, provided that they keep winning. They are headed to Carmel Friday night to face a top-50 team that could be another significant bullet point on their résumé.

9. Downers Grove North

Record: 5-0

Previous Rank: 9

Last Week: Downers Grove North 51, Proviso West 0

Loss(es): None

Downers Grove North has passed every test so far, and they'll have to continue playing at a high level Friday night at home against top-50 Oak Park-River Forest.

10. Batavia

Record: 4-1

Previous Rank: 12

Loss(es): Rochester, 44-16

Last Week: Batavia 55, St. Charles North 34

Batavia has a number of high-quality wins, including victories over current No. 16 Maine South, along with Glenbard North and St. Charles North — both of which have spent time here in the top 25. The only blemish is a blowout loss to current No. 7 Rochester, so the Bulldogs are in good position if they keep winning. They'll have to be at their best Friday when No. 23 Geneva comes to town.

11. Fenwick

Record: 4-1

Previous Rank: 14

Last Week: Fenwick 28, St. Francis 21

Loss(es): Saint Ignatius College Prep, 30-20

Fenwick fended off a St. Francis squad that had spent the entire season ranked here before falling out this week. Another tough challenge awaits Friday night as Providence Catholic brings its No. 14-ranked squad to town.

12. Montini Catholic

Record: 4-1

Previous Rank: 17

Last Week: Montini Catholic 42, Carmel 35

Loss(es): Sandburg, 35-28

The Broncos busted Carmel for a 42-35 win last week, improving to 4-1 with only a loss to Sandburg on the ledger. Sandburg is unranked after back-to-back losses to Homewood-Flossmoor and Lincoln-Way Central, and that could work against Montini Catholic in the coming weeks if the Broncos are unable to keep winning against a schedule that includes back-to-back games against No. 19 Lincoln-Way Central this Friday and No. 4 Lincoln-Way East next weekend.

13. Nazareth Academy

Record: 2-3

Previous Rank: 23

Last Week: Nazareth Academy 17, Providence Catholic 7

Loss(es): IC Catholic Prep, 35-21; Chicago Mt. Carmel, 35-7; Montini Catholic, 47-42

Nazareth Academy got a much-needed bounce-back win over previous No. 7 Providence Catholic, but the Roadrunners will have to survive a Friday trip to St. Francis, which fell out of the top 25 this week.

14. Providence Catholic

Record: 4-1

Previous Rank: 7

Last Week: Nazareth Academy 17, Providence Catholic 7

Loss(es): Nazareth Academy, 17-7

Providence Catholic settles here after losing its first game of the season to Nazareth Academy. It won't get any easier this week with a Friday date against No. 11 Fenwick on the road.

15. Byron

Record: 5-0

Previous Rank: 15

Last Week: Byron 48, Stillman Valley 0

Loss(es): None

Byron holds steady here after another big win, but the Tigers just don't have the elite schedule to move up much on this list for now. They should get to 6-0 Friday night at Winnebago.

16. Maine South

Record: 4-1

Previous Rank: 19

Last Week: Maine South 56, Deerfield 27

Loss(es): Batavia, 49-35

Maine South's only loss to date is to the new No. 10 Batavia, and the Hawks should roll Friday night at home against winless Niles West.

17. Joliet Catholic

Record: 3-2

Previous Rank: Unranked

Last Week: Joliet Catholic 56, Marian Catholic 6

Loss(es): Fenwick, 28-13; Providence Catholic, 27-0

Joliet Catholic was lifted into the top 25 this week in part by Lincoln-Way Central's upset of Homewood-Flossmoor. Lincoln-Way Central's only loss is to Sacred Heart-Griffin, which in turn has lost only once to this Joliet Catholic squad. With the Hilltoppers' only losses to date coming to two teams ranked in the top 14, their big win over Marian Catholic was enough to lift them into the rankings along with those teams from Sacred Heart-Griffin and Lincoln-Way Central. To stay here, they'll have to win Friday night on the road at top-70 DePaul College Prep.

18. Sacred Heart-Griffin

Record: 4-1

Previous Rank: Unranked

Last Week: Sacred Heart-Griffin 55, Jacksonville 14

Loss(es): Joliet Catholic, 21-14

As noted in the analysis above, Sacred Heart-Griffin returns to the rankings in part due to Lincoln-Way Central's win over Homewood-Flossmoor last week. Of course, the Cyclones had to take care of their own business, too, and they did that by wrecking Jacksonville in a 55-14 win. They should be able to blow past Quincy Notre Dame Friday on the road.

19. Lincoln-Way Central

Record: 4-1

Previous Rank: Unranked

Last Week: Lincoln-Way Central 38, Homewood-Flossmoor 27

Loss(es): Sacred Heart-Griffin, 27-23

Lincoln-Way Central's win over Homewood-Flossmoor rearranged the lower part of the top 20, lifting three new teams into the rankings by virtue of the outcome and previous results. Now, the hard part comes as the Knights have to come up big against a challenging schedule, including Friday's visit to previous No. 16 Sandburg, which was one of the teams booted from this list to make room for those new teams.

20. Homewood-Flossmoor

Record: 3-2

Previous Rank: 13

Last Week: Lincoln-Way Central 38, Homewood-Flossmoor 27

Loss(es): Lincoln-Way East, 38-7; Lincoln-Way Central, 38-27

As noted in the analysis above, Homewood-Flossmoor's loss to Lincoln-Way Central led to some major reshuffling here, but its own 31-0 win over Bolingbrook helped the Vikings maintain their place in the top 25 — albeit seven positions lower than they were a week ago. They have to beat Lincoln-Way West Friday at home to maintain their position here next week.

21. Bolingbrook

Record: 4-1

Previous Rank: 18

Last Week: Bolingbrook 62, Plainfield Central 0

Loss(es): Homewood-Flossmoor, 31-0

Bolingbrook beat Plainfield Central 62-0 and still dropped three spots this week to make room for teams impacted by Homewood-Flossmoor's loss to Lincoln-Way Central. But the 4-1 Raiders aren't in any danger of falling out entirely as long as they keep winning games like Friday's visit to Oswego East.

22. Oswego

Record: 4-1

Previous Rank: 21

Last Week: Oswego 35, Plainfield South 6

Loss(es): Bolingbrook, 21-7

Oswego's only loss is to the team ranked in front of the Panthers, but they have a tough test Friday at a top-60-caliber squad in Yorkville.

23. Geneva

Record: 4-1

Previous Rank: 22

Last Week: Geneva 41, Lake Park 15

Loss(es): Oswego, 44-42

Geneva's narrow loss to Oswego is holding the Vikings back from being ranked higher on this list, but they have a huge opportunity Friday night at No. 10 Batavia to make a statement.

24. St. Rita

Record: 2-3

Previous Rank: 10

Last Week: Saint Ignatius College Prep 42, St. Rita 16

Loss(es): Providence Catholic, 28-21; Loyola Academy, 31-0; Saint Ignatius College Prep, 42-16

St. Rita is hanging on by a thread on this list, and the Mustangs can't afford another loss. That could be tough to avoid Friday night when they visit No. 12 Montini Catholic.

25. Prospect

Record: 5-0

Previous Rank: 25

Last Week: Prospect 54, Elk Grove 7

Loss(es): None

Prospect has somewhat quietly maneuvered its way into the top 25 here, and the Knights shouldn't have any problem hanging around for another week after hosting Rolling Meadows Friday night.

Final Analysis

The pecking order at the top of the Illinois rankings remains relatively stable, but the middle and lower portions of the Top 25 are anything but settled. With several ranked teams facing one another Friday night, including No. 2 Chicago Mt. Carmel at No. 6 Brother Rice and No. 23 Geneva at No. 10 Batavia, there could be another shake-up waiting when next week's rankings are released. For now, the race for positioning remains wide open, with every week offering another chance to make a statement.

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