No. 2 Loyola at No. 19 Glenbard West
1:30 p.m. Saturday: Hard to believe one of these teams will be 0-2 to start the season. Loyola had no answer for East St. Louis’ speed in a 34-7 loss at Illinois State last weekend. The Ramblers also struggled to run the ball, finishing with 40 yards on 19 carries. Quarterback Ryan Fitzgerald, who will be a preferred walk-on at Iowa, and running back Drew MacPherson will try to get the offense back on track this week. The Hilltoppers lost 35-28 to Batavia last week despite a big game from Teyion Oriental, who returned a kickoff 87 yards for a score and also rushed for two touchdowns.
No. 3 Mount Carmel at St. Rita
7:30 p.m. Friday: Mount Carmel (0-1) has dominated this South Side rivalry lately, winning five in a row and eight of 10 for a 67-33-3 series lead. The Caravan are coming off a 42-38 loss to Hun, a prep school from Princeton, New Jersey, that featured some older players and several Division I recruits. Vanderbilt commit Jack Elliott passed for 252 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 61 yards and a score for Mount Carmel. Sophomore receiver Quentin Burrell had an impressive debut with five catches for 147 yards and a touchdown. Nick Herman ran for 107 yards and two touchdowns as St. Rita (1-0) opened with a 27-17 victory against Sandburg.
No. 5 Warren at No. 9 Maine South
7:30 p.m. Friday: Warren (1-0) made a statement last week with a dominant 55-26 win over Hersey, which hadn’t lost a regular-season game since 2021. Junior Aaron Stewart, who’s also one of the nation’s elite prep wrestlers, ran for 361 yards and five touchdowns. Blue Devils quarterback Jack Wolf was 10-for-12 passing with 190 total yards and two touchdowns. Maine South (0-1) was one of several teams struggling to keep players on the field in Week 1 amid cramping issues and lost 49-22 to Lincoln-Way East. The Hawks’ passing game had some bright spots, but the running game will look to bounce back after a subpar performance.
No. 14 Marist at No. 13 Brother Rice
7 p.m. Friday: Expect a big crowd for the Pulaski Road Super Bowl with the needle pointing up for each of the neighborhood rivals. Mike Fitzgerald is back as head coach at Marist (1-0), where he started his coaching career as offensive coordinator, and he’s coming off a 29-16 win against Morgan Park. Transfer quarterback Jake Ritter had 216 total yards and four touchdowns in his RedHawks debut, while Brad Fitzgibbon (Iowa) and Achilles Anderson (Harvard) anchor a stout defensive line. Brother Rice (1-0) opened with a 50-0 rout of Phillips behind three touchdown runs by transfer Tyler Lofton.
No. 15 Naperville Central vs. Naperville North
7 p.m. Friday at North Central College: These crosstown rivals are in different divisions of the new Southwest Valley, making this a nonconference game. Naperville Central (1-0), a 24-13 winner over Hinsdale Central last week, returns 11 starters and added two Division I-bound transfers in safety Garrett Nichols (Brown) and receiver DeShaun Williams (Indiana State). Jacob Bell passed for four touchdowns and ran for another as Naperville North (1-0) beat New Trier 42-14 last week.