Illinois high school football state rankings: How Peoria-area teams fared in final 2026 poll

The final statewide rankings from the Illinois Media were released Thursday, Oct. 22, putting three Peoria-area high school football teams among the top 10 in the IHSA in their respective classes after Week 9.

Two Mid-Illini Conference teams — Dunlap and Morton — are ranked. El Paso-Gridley is the lone area small-school, coming in at No. 1 in the Class 2A ranks.

Here are the complete Illinois Media football rankings for Oct. 22, based on a statewide vote of sports writers and broadcasters, with team name, first-place votes in parentheses, regular-season record, points in the poll and preseason ranking. Peoria-area teams are in bold.

2026 Illinois high school football final state rankings

Class 8A

• 1. Lincoln-Way East (12) 9-0 120 2
• 2. Mount Carmel 7-2 107 3
• 3. Loyola 8-1 91 1
• 4. Bolingbrook 8-1 77 4
• 5. Huntley 9-0 70 5
• 6. Oswego 8-1 65 6
• 7. Maine South 8-1 52 7
• 8. St. Ignatius 7-2 28 9
• 9. Homewood-Flossmoor 7-2 26 8
• 10. New Trier 8-1 16 RV
• Others receiving votes: Sandburg 12, York 1.

Class 7A

• 1. East St. Louis (13) 8-1 130 1
• 2. Brother Rice 7-2 112 2
• 3. Hersey 9-0 109 3
• 4. Normal 9-0 84 5
• 5. Downers Grove North 8-1 73 6
• 6. Prospect 8-1 64 4
• 7. Batavia 7-2 55 7
• 8. St. Rita 6-3 43 8
• 9. Jacobs 8-1 25 RV
• 10. Glenbard West 6-3 13 RV
• Others receiving votes: Plainfield South 8, Belleville East 1.

Class 6A

• 1. Geneva (13) 8-1 130 1
• 2. Harlem 9-0 114 3
• 3. Fenwick 6-3 93 4t
• 4. (tie) Dunlap 8-1 86 4t
• 4. (tie) Normal West 8-1 86 2
• 6. Hononegah 8-1 55 9 (7A)
• 7. Riverside-Brookfield 8-1 39 8
• 8. Nazareth 4-5 33 6
• 9. Libertyville 7-2 18 9
• 10. Wheaton-Warrenville South 6-3 27 10 (7A)
• Others receiving votes: Joliet Catholic 21, Wheaton North 2, Grant 1.

Class 5A

• 1. Mahomet-Seymour (10) 9-0 134 1
• 2. Kankakee (1) 7-2 114 4
• 3. Morgan Park 8-1 104 5
• 4. Providence (3) 6-3 95 2
• 5. Morton 8-1 85 6
• 6. Antioch 9-0 72 7
• 7. Triad 8-1 59 8
• 8. Kaneland 8-1 41 9
• 9. Carbondale 7-2 27 NR
• 10. Cary-Grove 7-2 20 10t
• Others receiving votes: King 15, Crete-Monee 7, St. Francis 4.

Class 4A

• 1. Morris (10) 9-0 116 1
• 2. Montini (3) 7-2 96 2
• 3. Sacred Heart-Griffin 8-1 90 3 (5A)
• 4. Rochester 8-1 84 3
• 5. Centralia (1) 9-0 76 4
• 6. Coal City 8-1 65 5
• 7. Carterville 9-0 45 7
• 8. Breese Central 8-1 43 6
• 9. Cahokia 6-3 16 8
• 10. Jacksonville 8-1 15 RV
• Others receiving votes:Metamora 11, MacArthur 2. Sterling 1.

Class 3A

• 1. IC Catholic (12) 8-1 139 1
• 2. Byron (2) 9-0 134 2
• 3. St. Joseph-Ogden (1) 9-0 120 3
• 4. Richmond-Burton 9-0 107 4
• 5. Hillsboro 9-0 69 6
• 5. Mt. Carmel 9-0 68 5
• 7. Williamsville 8-1 61 7
• 8. Bloomington CC 7-2 40 10 (4A)
• 9. Bishop McNamara 7-2 20 8
• 10. Monticello 7-2 18 9
• Others receiving votes: Du-Pec 14, Benton 13, Olympia 7, Althoff 6, Staunton 3, Tolono Unity 3, Macomb 2, Sparta 1.

Class 2A

• 1. El Paso-Gridley (8) 9-0 121 2
• 2. Wilmington (4) 8-1 114 1
• 3. Riverdale 9-0 97 4
• 4. Maroa-Forsyth (1) 8-1 86 3
• 5. Johnston City 9-0 81 6
• 6. Tri-Valley 8-1 76 5
• 7. Aurora Christian 8-1 45 7
• 8. West Frankfort 8-1 40 9
• 9. Nashville 7-2 31 10t
• 10. Flora 8-1 14 RV
• Other receiving votes: Erie-Prophetstown 6, Westville 2, Chester 1, Peotone 1.

Class 1A

• 1. Brown County (11) 9-0 119 1
• 2. Stockton (1) 8-1 97 3
• 3. Calhoun 8-1 95 2
• 4. Heyworth 9-0 94 4
• 5. Camp Point Central 8-1 72 5
• 6. Lena-Winslow 6-3 51 6
• 7. Rockridge 8-1 44 8 (2A)
• 8. Clifton Central 8-1 37 9
• 9. Forreston 7-2 32 7
• 10. ALAH 8-1 13 RV
• Others receiving votes: Oakwood 2, Tuscola 2, Fulton 1, Wethersfield 1.

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Illinois high school football state rankings: How Peoria-area teams fared in final 2026 poll