(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Several Chicago-area schools secured Illinois High School Association (IHSA) state football titles over the weekend.
Loyola Academy repeated as Class 8A champions after defeating Lincoln-Way East in a rematch of the 2022 title game.
South Side powerhouse Mount Carmel won its 15th state championship after beating Downers Grove North in the Class 7A title game. Mount Carmel’s victory meant it tied Joliet Catholic for the most IHSA state football championships.
The Class 6A championship was Saturday’s closest title game. In it, the Cary-Grove Trojans won their fourth state title — the school’s third since 2018 — with a victory over the East St. Louis Flyers. The Trojans were down by five points with a little about 11:45 left in the fourth quarter when they grinded out a 19-play, 71-yard touchdown drive that lasted 10:41.
Cary-Grove’s defense then forced an interception to close out the game. The Trojans and the Flyers previously played in the 2021 final, which Cary-Grove also won.
In Class 5A, Nazareth Academy came back from a 13-point deficit to defeat Joliet Catholic 38-20 and notch its fifth IHSA football championship. Nazareth became the first Illinois high school team with five losses to become state champions.
Nazareth also won in 2022.
In the Class 2A final on Friday, Will County’s Wilmington Wildcats defeated the Athens Warriors for its third state title.
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