BLOOMINGTON-NORMAL - Edwardsville will start its playoff journey on Halloween night, Friday, Oct. 31, 2025, while top-seeded Hardin Calhoun will open on Saturday afternoon, Nov. 1, 2025, as the dates and times for the opening round games in the Illinois High School Association football playoffs were announced officially Monday afternoon, Oct. 27, 2025, at the IHSA office in Bloomington-Normal.
The first-round playoff pairings were announced in the annual television broadcast Saturday night, with all 256 teams learning who they would play first, and where. The dates and times of the games will be announced in the IHSA office every Monday afternoon through the semifinals. with the finals set or Hancock Stadium on the campus of Illinois State University in Bloomington-Normal, Thanksgiving weekend.
Get The Latest News!
Don't miss our top stories and need-to-know news everyday in your inbox.
In Class 1A, Calhoun, the top seed in the southern half of the bracket, will host number 16 Villa Grove at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, while number eight Greenfield Northwestern hosts number nine Sesser Valier Saturday at 2 p.m. The Warriors and Tigers could face each other in the second round if both win. Meanwhile, number two Camp Point Central will host number 15 Winchester West Central, and number three Dupo plays at home against number 14 Catlin Salt Fork, both games kicking off at 1 p.m., and number 11 Carrollton plays at number six Fithan Oakwood Saturday at 2 p.m.
In Class 2A, Trenton Wesclin, the number 16 seed in the south, goes to top-seeded Johnston City Halloween night at 7 p.m., while 10th-seeded Carlinville meets seventh-seeded DuQuoin on the road Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. In Class 3A, 11th seed Roxana travels to sixth seed West Frankfort Saturday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. The Class 4A schedule sees ninth-seeded Cahokia playing at eighth-seeded Centralia Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m., Columbia, the 13th seed, going to fourth-seeded Breese Central Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m., 12th-seeded Highland plays at fifth-seeded Freeburg Saturday at 2:30 p.m., 15th-seeded Marquette Catholic plays at number two Carterville 1 p.m. on Saturday, and 11th-seeded Waterloo goes to sixth-seeded Mt. Zion Friday night at 7 p.m.
The only Class 5A game sees 10th seed Mascoutah play seventh-seed Bloomington Saturday evening at 6 p.m., while in Class 6A, East St. Louis opens its defense of the state championship, as the eighth-seeded Flyers meet the ninth seed, Plainfield East, Friday night at Clyde C. Jordan Stadium in a 7 p.m. kickoff. Edwardsville, the 32nd seed in Class 7A, travels to top-seeded Oak Lawn Richards Friday night in a 6 p.m. kickoff, while in Class 8A, 17th-seeded Belleville East plays at number 16 West Aurora Saturday night at 6 p.m.
The winners go through to the second round next weekend, Nov. 7-8, with the eight championship games set for Nov. 28-29 at Hancock Stadium, Class 1A-4A set for Friday, and Class 5A-8A on Saturday, with kickoff times being 10 a.m., 1 p.m., 4 p.m., and 7 p.m.
