BLOOMINGTON-NORMAL --- Hardin Calhoun starts off their quest for a state football championship at home Saturday afternoon, Oct. 31, 2026, while Edwardsville faces top -seeded Normal Community on the road Saturday afternoon as the Illinois High School Association announced the dates and kickoff times for the first round of the football playoffs Monday afternoon.
The playoffs started this past weekend with opening round games of the expanded playoffs, with top-seeded teams receiving byes into the first round, and automatic home dates for those games.
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In Class 1A, Fithan Oakwood, who won over Pleasant Hill 53-12 last weekend, travels to eighth seed Greenfield Northwestern on Halloween day in a 1 p.m. kickoff, while number three seed Calhoun hosts Carlyle, who defeated Nokomis 41-7, on Saturday afternoon, also at 1 p.m. In Class 2A. Carlinville, the 16th seed who defeated Riverton at home last week 35-28, is at top-seeded Johnston City Friday night at 7 p.m., while seventh-seeded Red Bud is at home to Auburn, a 54-7 winner over Jacksonville Routt Catholic, Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m.
In Class 3A, 16th seed Roxana, a 60-23 winner over Metropolis Massac County, plays at top seed Hillsboro Saturday at 1 p.m., while 15th seed Belleville Althoff Catholic, who defeated Harrisburg 13-12 in the opening round, goes to second-seeded St. Joseph-Ogden Saturday at 2 p.m. In the first round of Class 4A, Civic Memorial, the 16th seeded team, plays at top-seeded Centralia Friday night at 7 p.m., number 20 Jersey goes to number four Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin Friday night in a 7 p.m. kickoff, fifth seeded Breese Central, who received a bye into the first round, hosts number 12 Metamora, who won over Marquette Catholic 56-7, Friday night at 7 p.m., it will be number 10 Highland, a 56-12 winner over Lincoln, playing at number seven Freeburg Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m., Waterloo, who was seeded 19th and a 34-28 winner over Taylorville, plays at third seed Rochester Friday night at 7 p.m., and Cahokia, the number 11 seed who won over East Peoria 47-0, travels to number six Jacksonville Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
In the only local Class 5A game, Triad, who was seeded fifth and earned a bye, will host number 21 Washington, who won at Mascoutah 35-28, Friday at 7 p.m., while in Class 7A, the Tigers, who shut out Chicago Lincoln Park 42-0, plays at Normal Community Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m., while fourth-seeded East St. Louis plays host to Burbank Reavis, a 31-28 winner over Elgin, Friday night at 6 p.m. In the area's only Class 8A game, 27th seeded O'Fallon, a 36-6 winner over Joliet West, goes to sixth seed Park Ridge Maine South in suburban Chicago Saturday afternoon at 2:30 p.m.
The winners all advance to the second round next weekend, Nov. 6-7, with the results determining home teams. If in a bracket, either both home teams or both visiting teams win, the game will be at the highest seeded team, but if a visiting team and a home team win, the winning visiting team receives the home game.
The finals are set for Thanksgiving weekend, Nov. 27-28, at Hancock Stadium on the campus of Illinois State University in Bloomington-Normal.
