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Hersey students lights up the bleachers during the opening night football game against Warren last year in Arlington Heights. Hersey will play Carmel tonight in this year’s season opener while Warren hosts Loyola. (John Starks/Daily Herald) John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com
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Let the games begin
Hersey students lights up the bleachers during the opening night football game against Warren last year in Arlington Heights. Hersey will play Carmel tonight in this year’s season opener while Warren hosts Loyola. (John Starks/Daily Herald)
John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com
The 2026 high school football season starts tonight. We’ve got previews of games from around the suburbs, Kevin Schmit wraps up his series on the countdown to prep football, and we start our Friday look at five top games you don’t want to miss.
Kevin Schmit’s column
Five games to watch
Prep football
Five Week 1 high school football games to watch
Aug 20, 2026 3:07 pm - Maine South (10-2) at Batavia (10-3)
It would be hard to find a matchup of two programs with more success or more elite talent. Maine South won state in 1995, 2000, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2016 with four second-place finishes over the same span. Batavi
Week 1 previews
Daily Herald preseason Top 20
Prep football
Daily Herald football Top 20
Aug 14, 2026 8:02 pm - 1. Montini (14-0) Enters season on 24-game winning streak
2. Batavia (10-3) Senior class loaded with talent, experience
3. St. Francis (11-3) Defending Class 5A champions
4. Maine South (10-2) QB Purcell headed to Indiana
5. Glenbard West (9-2) Exper
Mike McGraw’s Chicagoland Top 25
There’s plenty more going on this fall with high school sports. Here’s our boys soccer and golf season previews, and look for girls volleyball, girls flag football and boys and girls cross country, and more previews coming soon.
Cook and Lake County soccer preview
DuPage County soccer preview
Fox Valley soccer preview
Boys soccer
Boys soccer season preview: Scouting the Fox Valley
Aug 18, 2026 9:06 pm - Aurora Central Catholic
Coach: Jean-Marie Nazareth
Last year’s record: 11-7-1, 4-2 Chicago Catholic Conference (third place)
Top returning players: Alan Acosta, sr., MF; Leroy Arias, sr., MF; Landen Diedrich, sr., D; Omar Flores, sr., D;
Boys golf preview
Girls golf preview
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