Playoff expansion is No. 1 storyline ahead of the high school football season

Is it time for a new catchphrase in prep football?

For decades, coaches have talked about the “drive for five,” which refers to the number of victories generally needed to clinch an IHSA playoff berth.

But this fall, that number will change for the first time in 25 years.

That’s the biggest storyline heading into the 2026 season. Here’s a rundown of a few to watch:

Expanded playoffs

For the first time since the IHSA went from six to eight classes in 2001, the postseason field is getting bigger.

After years of debate and various proposals, IHSA member schools voted to expand the playoffs by 50% from 256 to 384 teams.

That change has led to a few more, including the earliest start to football practice in state history on Wednesday. This year’s regular season starts on Aug. 20 in order to accommodate an extra playoff round and still finish the postseason over Thanksgiving weekend.

The new format introduces byes for the first time in the football playoffs’ 52-year history. Two-thirds of the teams will play in the opening round over the weekend of Oct. 23-24, with the winners advancing to the first round against bye teams Oct. 30-31.

Playoff guru Steve Soucie of Friday Night Drive has projected that all three-win teams will earn playoff berths along with two-win teams with a good strength of schedule.

The bar to reach the postseason has been lowered. But many coaches are still aiming for five wins or more in hopes of getting home-field advantage in the opening round or earning a bye.

Conference realignment

There are some new league alignments for 2026, though the pace of change has slowed from its peak.

After operating as a football-only superconference the last two years, the nine-team SouthWest Suburban and six-team DuPage Valley have gone their separate ways. Though the split has led to some scheduling challenges with nonconference games later in the season, it has allowed the restoration of rivalries that were paused during the merger.

The 24-team Catholic League is no longer co-branded with the East Suburban Catholic Conference, which disbanded at the end of the last school year.

There was shuffling throughout the league’s six divisions. Some of the highlights included Marist replacing St. Ignatius in the top-level Catholic Blue and defending Class 4A champion Montini moving to the Green to join reigning 5A champ St. Francis, 7A runner-up St. Rita and 6A semifinalist Nazareth.

The Public League also has a new look. In place of the former top-level Red Metro, which had 16 teams, are two top-tier, six-team divisions: the Red Star and Red Shield. What was formerly the top White tier is now the second-tier Red. The new White and the Blue round out the Public League tiers.

Holecek’s back

The biggest coaching change comes at Loyola, where John Holecek is back in charge after a three-year hiatus.

In his first stint from 2006 to 2022, Holecek turned a solidly successful program into arguably the state’s best. His teams went 185-36 with three state titles and four runner-up finishes.

He was succeeded by Beau Desherow, who led the Ramblers to state titles in 2023 and 2024. Loyola went 4-5 last season, its first losing record since 2002.

Holecek returned to the staff as an assistant and now begins his second act. Desherow has shifted to a newly created position of general manager of the football program as well as assistant head coach.

Indexed and credited by AIPROPX. Originating outlet: Chicago Sun-Times. Open at source →