Chicagoland high school football rankings: Get Mike McGraw’s Top 25 for Week 5

Homewood-Flossmoor cracks the top 10 after an impressive win over Sandburg, while Bolingbrook, St. Ignatius and Wheaton North enter the rankings.

Last week’s rankings in parentheses.

1. Lincoln-Way East 4-0 (1): Griffins rolled past Bradley-Bourbonnais as Jayden Cawthon caught a pair of touchdown passes. Meanwhile, win over Homewood-Flossmoor looks even better.

NEXT: Friday at No. 18 Sandburg.

2. Loyola 4-0 (5): Ramblers won a thriller over Brother Rice on Matthew Lee’s 46-yard TD pass to Joe Haughey with 1:10 remaining in the game.

NEXT: Saturday at Benet Academy.

3. Mount Carmel 3-1 (2): Quarterback Brady Cloherty threw for 295 yards and five TDs as Caravan pulled away in second half to beat Marist.

NEXT: Friday at St. Patrick.

4. Providence 4-0 (7): News that the school fired head coach Tyler Plantz was unexpected, to say the least, but this is still a team with four impressive wins.

NEXT: Friday at Nazareth.

5. Brother Rice 2-2 (3): Crusaders have lost to the top two teams by a combined four points. Defensive linemen Brayden Parks, a Notre Dame recruit, and Kameron McGee caused problems for Loyola.

NEXT: Friday at Notre Dame.

6. IC Catholic 4-0 (8): Jakobe Baldwin rushed for 134 yards as the Knights rolled past CCL White rival DePaul Prep.

NEXT: Friday vs. Leo.

7. Hersey 4-0 (9): Huskies beat Barrington for the first time since 1994 as Kentucky commit Jake Nawrot threw three TD passes.

NEXT: Friday vs. Buffalo Grove.

8. Downers Grove North 4-0 (10): Glenbard West was looking to avenge its 2025 playoff loss, but the Trojans stayed unbeaten with a rivalry win.

NEXT: Friday at Proviso West.

9. Montini 3-1 (11): Broncos trailed Nazareth 42-27 in the fourth quarter before Miami recruit Israel Abrams engineered three late scoring drives to get the win.

NEXT: Friday vs. Carmel.

10. Homewood-Flossmoor 3-1 (20): Vikings’ defense was incredible against Sandburg with five sacks, four turnovers, and fumble returns for TDs by Cameron Wilkerson and Vito Pickard Jr.

NEXT: Friday at Lincoln-Way Central.

11. Lyons 4-0 (12): Lions loaded up the big plays against Hinsdale Central, starting with Brendan McCabe’s 73-yard run and EJ Kuhlman’s 81-yard dash.

NEXT: Friday vs. Glenbard West.

12. Prospect 4-0 (14): Safety Caden Moran snagged three interceptions as Knights pulled away in the second half for eye-opening win over Fremd.

NEXT: Friday at Elk Grove.

13. Oswego 3-1 (4): Defense played well in the loss to Bolingbrook, but Panthers gave up TDs on kickoff and interception returns.

NEXT: Friday vs. Plainfield South.

14. Geneva 3-1 (15): Vikings held on to beat Wheaton Warrenville South, even after giving up three scores and two recoveries on onside kicks in the final four minutes

NEXT: Friday at Lake Park.

15. Batavia 3-1 (16): Offense continued to post big numbers as NIU commit Brennon Zeng had eight catches for 132 yards in Bulldogs’ win over Lake Park.

NEXT: Friday vs. St. Charles North.

16. Maine South 3-1 (19): Indiana recruit Jameson Purcell threw for 209 yards and ran for 85 yards as the Hawks recorded their 11th straight victory over New Trier.

NEXT: Friday at Deerfield.

17. St. Rita 2-2 (23): Will rugged schedule make Mustangs stronger? They’ve played four ranked teams, with two more on deck.

NEXT: Friday vs. No. 20 St. Ignatius.

18. Sandburg 3-1 (6): Offense really struggled against Homewood-Flossmoor, but Eagles face an even tougher test.

NEXT: Friday vs. No. 1 Lincoln-Way East.

19. Bolingbrook 3-1 (NR): Preseason hype faded after a Week 1 loss to Homewood-Flossmoor, but the ‘Brook is back after the defense dominated in an impressive win over Oswego.

NEXT: Friday vs. Plainfield Central.

20. St. Ignatius 3-1 (NR): After taking IC Catholic to the wire, Wolfpack got a quality win against Fenwick as Nino Capuano had a big night running the ball.

NEXT: Friday at No. 17 St. Rita.

21. Morgan Park 3-1 (22): Chicago Public League opener against Payton was a breeze as quarterback Ronald Smith Jr. threw for 221 yards and three TDs.

NEXT: Saturday at Phillips

22. Fenwick 3-1 (13): Freshman Noah Marshall, whose brother Nate plays edge at Michigan, caught a touchdown pass in Friars’ loss to St. Ignatius.

NEXT: Friday at St. Francis.

23. Jacobs 4-0 (24): After Eagles fell behind 20-3 against Burlington Central, quarterback Austin Stennett led a comeback and Aiden Brunner ran for the winning TD with 1.8 seconds left.

NEXT: Friday vs. McHenry.

24. Wheaton North 4-0 (NR): Mac Murray ran for 130 yards and two TDs against St. Charles North as the Falcons recorded their fourth decisive win.

Next: Friday vs. St. Charles East.

25. Morris 4-0 (NR): Logan Conroy’s 50-yard punt return for a TD broke open Warriors’ convincing win over Kaneland.

NEXT: Friday at Rochelle.

Others to watch: St. Patrick, Nazareth, New Trier, Glenbard West, Antioch, Fremd, Lincoln-Way Central, Plainfield South.