Five local high school football teams representing Lombard, Glen Ellyn and Villa Park have earned places in the newly expanded 2026 IHSA postseason.

Opening-round games are scheduled for Friday, Oct. 23, and Saturday, Oct. 24, followed by first-round games Oct. 30 and 31.

Glenbard East finished 6-3 and received the No. 17 seed in Class 7A, where the Rams will host No. 48 Bartlett, a 2-7 team, in the opening round.

The Glenbard East-Bartlett winner will advance to play No. 16 Kenwood in the first round.

Willowbrook enters the Class 6A bracket with a 5-4 record and the No. 14 seed, earning a home opening-round game against No. 19 Chicago Amundsen, which finished 3-6.

If Willowbrook advances, the Warriors will travel to face No. 3 Rockton Hononegah in the first round.

Glenbard South, seeded No. 17 in Class 5A after a 5-4 season, will meet No. 16 Chicago Payton, also 5-4, in an opening-round matchup whose site and kickoff time remain to be announced.

The winner of that game will move on to visit undefeated No. 1 Antioch.

Two area programs earned opening-round byes under the expanded playoff format.

Glenbard West, 6-3 and seeded No. 15 in Class 7A, will host the winner of the opening-round game between No. 47 Benet Academy and No. 18 Moline.

Montini Catholic finished 7-2 and received the No. 8 seed in Class 4A, giving the Broncos a first-round home game against the winner of No. 24 North Chicago at No. 9 Geneseo.

The five-team showing gives every Lilac Ledger community a postseason team and guarantees several opportunities for local fans to attend playoff football close to home.

This season marks the first year of an expanded 384-team field, with the top 16 seeds in Classes 7A and 8A and the top eight seeds in each Class 1A through 6A bracket half receiving opening-round byes.

Quarterfinals are scheduled for Nov. 13-14, semifinals for Nov. 20-21 and championship games for Nov. 27-28 at Hancock Stadium in Normal.

Exact dates, kickoff times and any remaining game locations were still listed as TBA when the brackets were released, so fans should check the official IHSA playoff schedule before traveling.