Illinois High School Football Rankings: Top 25 Teams - September 16
The Illinois high school football rankings have been updated after another week featuring multiple upsets in the state top 25.
St. Francis leaped all the way into the top 10 after taking down Loyola Academy, while Maine South and Oswego both fell in the rankings after suffering losses.
Below is the updated Illinois On3 Massey Ratings top 25, as of Sept. 16.
The On3 Massey Ratings — which were officially used during the BCS era and have generated college high school sports team rankings since 1995 — rank sports teams by analyzing game outcomes, strength of schedule and margin of victory.
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1. East St. Louis
Previous Ranking: No. 1
East St. Louis went on the road to Philadelphia on Saturday and knocked off Imhotep Institute 35-14. The Flyers were projected to have the toughest strength of schedule heading into this season, but thus far remain perfect. Missouri four-star safety commit Charles Bass is ranked as a top-10 senior in the state. East St. Louis will go back on the road this Saturday to Belleville-East.
2. Lincoln-Way East
Previous Ranking: No. 2
Lincoln-Way East stayed perfect on the year with a dominating 49-3 win over Amos Alonzo Stagg. East is home to the top quarterback recruit in the state, as Oregon four-star junior QB commit Jonas Williams transferred in. The Griffons also have Northwestern EDGE commit Caden O’Rourke and Miami (Ohio) tight end pledge Trey Zvonar. They will play at Naperville North this Friday.
3. Chicago Mount Carmel
Previous Ranking: No. 4 (+1)
Mount Carmel has now won two in a row after losing the season-opener to Hun School (N.J.). The Caravan beat top-25 Nazareth Academy 56-33 on Friday. The squad is led by Vanderbilt quarterback commit Jack Elliot and 2026 4-star EDGE Braeden Jones, a top-200 recruit in the junior cycle. Another ranked matchup is on deck as Mount Carmel hosts No. 25 St. Ignatius on Friday.
4. Batavia
Previous Ranking: No. 5 (+1)
Batavia remained undefeated in 2024 with a blowout 56-6 win over Lake Park. The Bulldogs racked up 565 yards of offense with three touchdowns apiece from Nathan Whitwell and Brent Berggren. Batavia will host St. Charles North in a top-15 showdown this Friday. The Bulldogs are three-touchdown favorites as they continue their push to return to the state Final Four.
5. Downers Grove North
Previous Ranking: No. 8 (+3)
Downers Grove North smashed Glenbard West 42-7 last weekend to improve to 3-0 on the season. Quarterback Owen Lansu threw three touchdown passes in the second quarter en route to the rout. The Trojans will play at Proviso West on Friday.
6. Loyola Academy
Previous Ranking: No. 3 (-3)
The Ramblers, Illinois’ preseason No. 1, are now 1-2 on the season with a pair of shocking upset losses. First was a blowout loss to East St. Louis in week one. Loyola bounced back with a comfortable win over Glenbard West, but then fell again last weekend to unranked St. Francis. The Ramblers will try to right the ship this Friday against Brother Rice.
7. Marist
Previous Ranking: No. 6 (-1)
Marist beat Brother Rice in an overtime thriller two weeks ago, and things were somewhat less stressful this past week with a 21-6 win over Montini Catholic. After finishing with a mediocre 6-6 record a year ago, the RedHawks are off to a perfect 3-0 start. Next up is another tough test on the road against No. 21 Joliet Catholic Academy.
8. St. Rita
Previous Ranking: No. 16 (+8)
St. Rita knocked Brother Rice out of the Illinois top 25 this weekend with a 14-7 win over the Crusaders. The Mustangs are 2-1 this year, its lone loss coming to Chicago Mount Carmel two weeks ago. They will travel to No. 10 St. Francis this weekend as slight favorites.
9. York Comm
Previous Ranking: No. 7 (-2)
York smacked Downers Grove South 54-21 on Friday to improve to 3-0 on the season. The Dukes also have wins over Glenbrook South and Plainfield North, and boast a top-10 offense and defense in Illinois. Notre Dame four-star defensive line commit Joseph Reiff is the crown jewel of this York defense. The Dukes are big favorites against River Forest this week.
10. St. Francis
Previous Ranking: NR
St. Francis saw the biggest rankings jump of any program this week after its surprising upset over top-5 Loyola Academy. The Spartans are 3-0, also with wins over Lift For Life Academy and Kenwood Academy. They are slight underdogs at home to St. Rita this week as they prepare for yet another top-10 clash.
Teams 11-25 in latest Illinois High School Football Rankings
11. Barrington (+3)
12. Lyons (+2)
13. Prairie Ridge
14. St. Charles North (+6)
15. Cary-Grove (+2)
16. Naperville Central (-3)
17. Oswego (-7)
18. Nazareth Academy
19. Wheaton North (-8)
20. Geneva Community (NR)
21. Joliet Catholic Academy (+4)
22. Maine South (-13)
23. Fenwick (-1)
24. Lake Forest (NR)
25. St. Ignatius (NR)
Dropped from rankings: Homewood-Flossmoor, Warren Township, Brother Rice, Minooka