The biggest state tournament in Illinois high school football history is about to get underway.
An expanded playoff bracket for 2026 has scattered 48 teams in 8 classes across Illinois for the next five weeks, culminating in the state finals at Illinois State University on Thanksgiving weekend.
Welcome to the "opening round" of the tournament, where teams will duke it out for a shot to advance to the "first round." They'll then face the top 8 seeds in a northern and southern bracket for Classes 1A-6A, and the top 16 seeds in Classes 7A-8A, who get a week off to recover and scout their foes.
Games are spread out between Friday night and Saturday afternoon.
The schedule for teams from area conferences is below, and our live scoreboard beneath it will update as long as the final buzzer hasn't sounded. Check back all weekend long for more information.
It's also the final week of the regular season for 8-man teams, whose playoffs begin next week.
IHSA football playoffs opening round schedule for Western Illinois
1A North
#24 Morrison at #9 Abingdon-Avon, 7 p.m. Friday. Winner at #8 Fisher.
#21 Bureau Valley at #12 Dwight, 7 p.m. Friday. Winner at #5 Annawan-Wethersfield.
#18 Orion at #15 LeRoy, 1 p.m. Saturday. Winner at #2 Stockton.
#19 Tremont at #14 Newman Central Catholic, 2 p.m. Saturday. Winner at #3 Rockridge.
#22 Monmouth United at #11 Fulton, 1 p.m. Saturday. Winner at #6 Stark County.
1A South
#20 Triopia at #13 Havana, 2 p.m. Saturday. Winner at #4 Sullivan.
#22 Casey Westfield at #11 South Fulton, 3 p.m. Saturday at VIT. Winner at #6 Tuscola.
2A North
#17 Eastland-Pearl City at #16 Beardstown, 2 p.m. Saturday. Winner at #1 Riverdale.
#24 West Hancock at #9 Illini West, 7 p.m. Friday. Winner at #8 Peotone.
#21 Pleasant Plains at #12 Farmington, 1 p.m. Saturday. Winner at #5 Wilmington.
#23 Georgetown Ridge Farm at #10 Warrensburg-Latham, 7 p.m. Friday. Wonner at #7 Erie-Prophetstown.
3A North
#21 Monmouth-Roseville at #12 Chicago Hope, 7 p.m. Friday. Winner at #5 Kankakee McNamara.
#22 Woodstock Marian at #11 Kewanee, 3 p.m. Saturday. Winner at #6 Johnsburg.
3A South
#21 Eureka at #12 Paris, 2 p.m. Saturday. Winner at #5 Macomb.
4A North
#24 North Chicago at #9 Geneseo, 3 p.m. Saturday. Winner at #8 Lombard Montini.
#20 Aurora Marmion at #13 North Lawndale Charter. Winner at #4 Sterling.
5A South
#18 Galesburg at #15 LaSalle-Peru, 7 p.m. Friday. Winner at #2 Chicago Agricultural.
6A South
#17 Champaign Central at #16 United Township, 6:30 p.m. Friday. Winner at #1 Chicago Kennedy.
#24 Thornton South at #9 Quincy, 6 p.m. Friday. Winner at #8 Chicago Goode.
Class 7A
#47 Benet Academy at #18 Moline, 7 p.m. Friday. Winner at #15 Glenbard West.
IHSA football playoffs opening round scores for Western Illinois
This article originally appeared on Galesburg Register-Mail: IHSA opening-round football playoff scoreboard for Western Illinois