The third statewide rankings from the Illinois Media were released Wednesday, Sept. 2, putting four Peoria-area football teams among the top 10 in their respective classes after Week 2.
Here are the Illinois Media football rankings for Sept. 2, based on a statewide vote of sports writers and broadcasters, with 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 state rankings for Week 3
Class 8A
- 1. Loyola (9) 2-0 108 1
- 2. Mount Carmel (2) 1-1 100 2
- 3. Lincoln-Way East 2-0 94 3
- 4. Oswego 2-0 78 4
- 5. Homewood-Flossmoor 2-0 64 5
- 6. Lyons 2-0 48 6
- 7. Fremd 2-0 41 7
- 8. Sandburg 2-0 31 RV
- 9. Marist 2-0 26 9
- 10. Maine South 1-1 11 RV
- Also receiving votes: Bolingbrook 5, Evanston 1, Huntley 1.
Class 7A
- 1. Hersey (7) 2-0 111 3
- 2. Brother Rice (4) 1-1 96 2
- 3. Downers Grove North 2-0 78 4
- 4. St. Rita 1-1 64 6
- 5. Batavia 1-1 64 1
- 6. St. Charles North (1) 2-0 63 7
- 7. Glenbard West 1-1 36 5
- 8. Normal 2-0 35 8t
- 9. Prospect 2-0 33 10
- 10. Lincoln-Way West 2-0 13 ORV
- Others receiving votes: Wheaton-Warrenville South 5, Guilford 2, Jacobs 1, DePaul Prep 1, Quincy 1.
Class 6A
- 1. East St. Louis (13) 1-1 129 1
- 2. Fenwick (1) 2-0 117 2
- 3. Nazareth 1-1 101 4t
- 4. Normal West 2-0 83 3
- 5. Geneva 1-1 62 4t
- 6. Burlington Central 2-0 56 8t
- 7. Carmel 1-1 46 6
- 8. Dunlap 2-0 45 7
- 9. Harlem 2-0 36
- 10. Joliet Catholic 1-1 32
- Others receiving votes: Bradley-Bourbonnais 4, Wauconda 4.
Class 5A
- 1. Providence (16) 2-0 160 1
- 2. Mahomet-Seymour 2-0 125 5
- 3. St. Francis 1-1 105 4
- 4. Kaneland 2-0 102 6
- 5. Sacred Heart-Griffin 1-1 101 2
- 6. Kankakee 1-1 92 3
- 7. Morgan Park 1-1 61 7
- 8. Triad 2-0 37 ORV
- 9. Sycamore 2-0 30 NR
- 10. Antioch 2-0 25 ORV
- Others receiving votes:Morton 24, MacArthur 6, Wheaton Academy 6, Carbondale 5, Crystal Lake South 1.
Class 4A
- 1. Rochester (13) 2-0 139 2
- 2. Montini (1) 1-1 131 1
- 3. Morris 2-0 105 3
- 4. Bloomington Central Catholic 2-0 94 4
- 5. (tie) Breese Central 2-0 76 6
- 5. (tie) Metamora 2-0 76 8
- 7. Centralia 2-0 51 9
- 8. Geneseo 2-0 42 10
- 9. Coal City 1-1 31 5
- 10. Cahokia 1-1 28
- Others receiving votes: Dixon 25, Macomb 15, Carterville 10, Althoff 1.
Class 3A
- 1. (tie) Byron (7) 2-0 132 1
- 1. (tie) IC Catholic (7) 2-0 132 2
- 3. St. Joseph-Ogden 2-0 105 3
- 4. Richmond-Burton 2-0 91 5
- 5. Monticello 2-0 89 6
- 6. Williamsville 2-0 71 7
- 7. Tolono Unity 1-1 48 4
- 8. Du-Pec (Durand-Pecatonica) 2-0 32 RV
- 9. Bishop McNamara 1-1 25 9t
- 10. PORTA 2-0 17 RV
- Others receiving votes: Benton 15, Hillsboro 10, Olympia 5, Mt. Carmel 2, Fairfield 1, Manteno 1.
Class 2A
- 1. Wilmington (14) 2-0 148 1
- 2. El Paso-Gridley (1) 2-0 132 2
- 3. Maroa-Forsyth (1) 2-0 124 3
- 4. Tri-Valley 2-0 105 4
- 5. Aurora Christian 2-0 71 6
- 6. Westville 2-0 67 8
- 7. Rockridge 2-0 58 10
- 8. Riverdale 2-0 33 ORV
- 9. St. Teresa 2-0 23 ORV
- 10. Flora 2-0 13 ORV
- Others receiving votes: Sterling Newman 11, Central A&M 10, West Frankfort 7, Johnston City 6, DuQuoin 5, Farmington 5, Eastland 4, Nashville 2, Erie-Prophetstown 1.
Class 1A
- 1. Brown County (9) 2-0 141 2
- 2. Calhoun (3) 2-0 131 3
- 3. Camp Point Central 2-0 107 4
- 4. Lena-Winslow (1) 0-2 103 1
- 5. Heyworth 2-0 74 5
- 6. Oakwood 2-0 66 7
- 7. Stockton 1-1 64 6
- 8. Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond 2-0 8
- 9. (tie) Forreston 2-0 35 10
- 9. (tie) Annawan/Wethersfield 2-0 35 9
- Others receiving votes: Tuscola 20, Galena 5, Stark County 4, Carlyle 1, Greenfield-Northwestern 1.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Illinois high school football state rankings: Peoria-area schools in poll for Week 3