The playoff picture is packed with familiar names from Lombard, Glen Ellyn and Villa Park: all five schools featured in the Lombard Lilac Ledger sports roundup are still chasing an Illinois high school football championship.

Three teams rolled through opening-round matchups October 23–24, while two others earned a bye and are preparing to take the field for the first time this postseason.

The next games fall during the October 30–31 weekend in the expanded 2026 IHSA football playoffs.

Glenbard East Rams — Class 7A

The Rams gave Lombard plenty to cheer about with a commanding 42–14 win over Bartlett in their playoff opener.

Now 7–3, Glenbard East heads to Chicago to face No. 16 Kenwood (6–3), which received an opening-round bye.

The school has announced a Friday, October 30 kickoff at 7 p.m. at Lane Tech.

Glenbard West Hilltoppers — Class 7A

Glenbard West enters its first postseason game at 6–3 after earning the No. 15 seed and an opening-round bye.

The Hilltoppers will host Moline (7–3), which advanced with a thrilling 42–38 victory over Benet Academy.

The home matchup gives Glen Ellyn fans a chance to back their team, with the official date and kickoff time still awaiting confirmation.

Glenbard South Raiders — Class 5A

The Raiders delivered one of the weekend’s decisive local results, beating Chicago Payton 40–7.

Glenbard South (6–4) now heads to undefeated Antioch (9–0), the top seed in its portion of the Class 5A bracket.

Friday, October 30 at 7 p.m. appears on a team schedule, although the official bracket still lists the kickoff as to be announced.

Willowbrook Warriors — Class 6A

Villa Park’s Warriors kept their season alive with a 42–6 win over Chicago Amundsen.

Willowbrook (6–4) moves on to a road matchup with No. 3 Hononegah (8–1) in Rockton.

The opponent and destination are confirmed; supporters should check for the final kickoff time before making the trip.

Montini Catholic Broncos — Class 4A

Montini (7–2) earned a first-round bye and will open its playoff run at home against Geneseo (7–3), which beat North Chicago 42–14.

The Broncos are scheduled to kick off Saturday, October 31 at 2 p.m. in Lombard.

That makes Montini a local home-game option for football fans on Halloween afternoon.

Five teams, three communities and another weekend of playoff possibilities make this an exciting moment for local high school football.

Under the expanded tournament format, the October 23–24 games were the opening round, and the October 30–31 matchups are officially called the first round.

Dates and times still marked tentative should be verified with each school before heading out to cheer.