Illinois High School Football Rankings: Top 25 Teams - September 23
The Illinois high school football rankings have updated after the fourth week of games in the Land of Lincoln.
Chicago Mount Carmel, Batavia, Joliet Catholic Academy and Barrington each won ranked matchups last week while St. Rita won its top-10 clash with St. Francis.
Below is the updated Illinois On3 Massey Ratings top 25, as of Sept. 23.
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 remained undefeated on the season with a 40-0 win over Belleville-East on Saturday. 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. On deck is a road visit to O Fallon.
2. Lincoln-Way East
Previous Ranking: No. 2
Lincoln-Way East is 3-0 with wins over Maine South, Amos Alonzo Stagg and Naperville North — the latter by a 49-17 score. 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. Next up is Homewood-Flossmoor, which sits just outside the Illinois top 25.
3. Chicago Mount Carmel
Previous Ranking: No. 3
The Caravan scooped up another win with a 45-24 victory over St. Ignatius. Mount Carmel has now won three in a row after losing the season-opener to Hun School (N.J.). 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. Mount Carmel is a big home favorite this week against Benet Academy.
4. Batavia
Previous Ranking: No. 4
Batavia holds steady at No. 4 with a 4-0 record following a 45-21 win over a ranked St. Charles North. Up next is a road tilt with No. 22 Wheaton North on Friday. The Bulldogs are three-score favorites as they continue their push to return to the state Final Four.
5. St. Rita
Previous Ranking: No. 8 (+3)
St. Rita shot up the rankings a bit after taking down then-No. 10 St. Francis 31-13. On deck is Notre Dame College Prep. The Mustangs are now 3-1, their lone loss coming to Chicago Mount Carmel early this season.
6. Loyola Academy
Previous Ranking: No. 6
The Ramblers, Illinois’ preseason No. 1, improved to 2-2 with a 28-21 win over Brother Rice. At the start of the year, Loyola dropped a blowout loss to East St. Louis in week one. It bounced back with a comfortable win over Glenbard West, but then fell again two weeks ago to St. Francis. Undefeated DePaul College Prep is on deck, but the Ramblers are big favorites.
7. Downers Grove North
Previous Ranking: No. 5 (-2)
Downers Grove North is now 4-0 after a 54-0 win over Proviso West. The Trojans will host River Forest this weekend as huge favorites. They have the No. 20 offense in the state of Illinois and the No. 6 defense in the state.
8. Barrington
Previous Ranking: No. 11 (+3)
Barrington is also still undefeated on the year after beating Maine South 42-35 after going on the road as slight underdogs. The Broncos struggle a bit on defense but have the No. 7 offense in the state. They are idle this week ahead of an Oct. 4 matchup with Fremd.
9. Lyons
Previous Ranking: No. 12 (+3)
Another undefeated team moves into the top 10 this week, after Lyons beat Glenbard West 24-7. The Lions are 4-0 with an offense outside the top 25 but a defense inside the Illinois top 10. Next up is Proviso West.
10. York Comm
Previous Ranking: No. 9 (-1)
Despite falling one spot in the rankings, York is still undefeated following a three-touchdown win over River Forest. Hinsdale Central will visit York this Friday. Notre Dame four-star defensive line commit Joseph Reiff is the crown jewel of this York defense that ranks No. 15 in Illinois.
Teams 11-25 in latest Illinois High School Football Rankings
11. Prairie Ridge (+2)
12. Cary-Grove (+3)
13. Marist (-6)
14. Naperville Central (+2)
15. Geneva Community (+5)
16. Joliet Catholic Academy (+5)
17. Nazareth Academy (+1)
18. St. Charles North (-4)
19. St. Francis (-9)
20. Oswego (-3)
21. Libertyville (NR)
22. Wheaton North (-3)
23. Fenwick
24. St. Laurence (NR)
25. Edwardsville (NR)
Dropped from rankings: Maine South, Lake Forest, St. Ignatius