BLOOMINGTON — Football practices began across the state on Monday, with players and coaches taking to the field in mild weather to prepare for the upcoming season.
The landscape of high school football changes rapidly from year to year, and whether you’re a fan who follows along every year or one who just stops by when a kid plays, it’s always a good idea to take a look back at last year and see what’s new this year.
Here are four things you should know:
What happened last year
The Ironmen’s year began with Normal Community’s football team running undefeated through the Big 12, advancing to the Class 7A semifinals before losing to Downers Grove North and finishing with a record of 12-1 – the team’s best season since 2007-08.
But the Ironmen weren’t the only team to go undefeated in the regular season. At Central Catholic, Kevin Braucht’s rebuild took another big step forward, finishing 11-1 with Pantagraph All-Area Player of the Year Colin Hayes and star lineman Dominic McKibbin. It was Central Catholic’s second consecutive playoff appearance after a four-year drought.
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Normal West’s only loss of the regular season was against Normal Community, and thanks to Sencerre Brown, Ben Jorczak and Gavin Camp, the Wildcats went 9-2 and made the playoffs for the 13th consecutive year.
Bloomington returned to the playoffs with AJ Codron and Miguel Espindola with a 6-4 record, including a tough 34-26 win in Week 3 against Peoria Notre Dame.
University High made the playoffs for the first time since moving to the Central State 8, finishing the season 7-3, putting the team in the postseason for the first time since 2015 thanks to quarterback Alex Weiland and lineman Cole Matejka.
In the Heart of Illinois Conference, Tri-Valley, led by all-staters Cole Klein and Jacob Bischoff, won the HOIC Large Division with a 5-0 record and finished 10-1. It was its third consecutive playoff appearance and 14th overall in 17 seasons under Josh Roop. The teams in the middle of the conference beat each other, but El Paso-Gridley (6-4), Deer Creek-Mackinaw (5-5) and Eureka (5-5) all made the playoffs.
In the HOIC Small Division, LeRoy had its best season since 2015, ending a four-year playoff drought and winning the conference with a 9-2 record behind quarterback Bo Zeleznik. However, it was a three-way tie at the top of the conference between LeRoy, Heyworth (7-3) and Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley (6-4).
In its second year in the Sangamo Conference, Olympia went 9-3 and made the playoffs for the second consecutive year. The program took a step forward with its most wins since 1986 and its highest advancement (quarterfinals) since a second-place finish in 1985. The Spartans won with a rushing attack anchored by Nolan Yeary and a defense led by Chase Litwiller.
Prairie Central made it back to the playoffs thanks to running back Hudson Ault and a dominant line on both sides of the ball led by Jacob Vega. Despite losing three games by one point, the Hawks made it back to the playoffs for the sixth consecutive year, finishing the season 6-5.
Clinton returned to the playoffs last year for the first time since 2019 with a 6-4 record led by All-Stater Noah Bass.
What’s new
The Heart of Illinois and Central Illinois conferences have merged to form the Heart of Central Illinois Conference (HOCIC), two conferences (large and small divisions) that will expand to three next year.
The Small School Division includes schools with enrollments of 182 to 313 according to the Illinois High School Association and consists of Fisher, GCMS, Heyworth, LeRoy, Macon Meridian, Fieldcrest, Central A&M, Tuscola and Warrensburg-Latham.
The Large School Division, whose largest schools are Clinton (474.5) and Eureka (445.5), also includes Tri-Valley, EPG, Ridgeview-Lexington, Dee-Mack, Shelbyville and Tremont.
Small school teams will face all division opponents, with one non-conference game remaining. Large school programs will face all seven division opponents, with two non-conference games.
While most schools have designed their schedules outside of the league, there is still the possibility of playing crossover games.
In 2025, HOCIC will be divided into three divisions, with six schools in each of the larger enrollment divisions and five in the smallest.
In coaching news, Scott Godfrey resigned as Bloomington coach after six seasons, including playoff appearances in 2018 and 2023, and took over as coach at Heyworth following the resignation of Nate Albaugh. Bloomington hired Niall Mulcahy, who was sophomore coach under Godfrey for the past six seasons, as its new coach.
Who to keep an eye on
Despite losing a great graduating class that included Tommy Davis, Mac Brennan and Dexter Niekamp, NCHS has made the playoffs in each of the last 27 seasons they’ve been there, and quarterback Kyle Beaty and receiver Mar’Quan Gary have returned. Expect Normal West to re-tool as well.
With Weiland and Matejka, U High will be competitive again in the CS8. And although Central Catholic has a lot to replace, the defense behind Eli Rogucki should remain strong.
Prairie Central has a potential player of the year in Ault. And even though the Hawks are in a tough division, it prepares them for the playoffs – they have at least one win in the last four playoffs.
LeRoy should also be a force in the newly formed HOCIC with Zeleznik at quarterback. Heyworth will look to take a step forward with Godfrey as coach. Tri-Valley lost a talented graduating class but has shown in the past that it can regroup.
When to see
The first games of the season can be played on August 29, but in most of the state, week one will be Friday, August 30, week nine will be October 25, and playoff pairings will be announced on Saturday, October 26.
The first round of the playoffs will be held on November 1 and 2, with the state finals taking place on November 29 and 30 at Hancock Stadium on the campus of Illinois State University in Normal.
Once the season begins, be sure to stay tuned to pantagraph.com/sports/high-school on Friday nights for ongoing scoring updates and check back on Saturday and throughout the week for reports, photos, videos and Player of the Week voting.
