Here’s how Chicagoland high school football teams fared in Week 9 of play.

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Mount Carmel 38, Loyola 21

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Mount Carmel's Quentin Burrell steps into the end zone after catching a pass from Nathan Samuels during the first quarter against Loyola on Oct. 16, 2026. (John Konstantaras/For the baiduhai)
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Being backed up to the 1-yard line means there’s no room to retreat but plenty of space to run forward. So Mount Carmel quarterback Brady Cloherty let it fly.

The 6-foot-3, 185-pound senior’s pass landed near midfield, where junior wide receiver Marshaun Thornton got good leverage on the Loyola cornerback, caught the ball and raced for a 99-yard touchdown.

“I love that play call,” Thornton said. “I looked at (Cloherty), and I just smiled because he called the right play, and it happened from there.”

That maximum-length touchdown put an exclamation point on the Caravan’s 38-21 victory in Wilmette in fired Providence coach Tyler Plantz’s first game as an assistant. Read more here.

Homewood-Flossmoor 49, Andrew 7

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Homewood-Flossmoor’s Martez Harding (13) carries the ball as Andrew’s Marc Krawisz (20) defends during the game in Tinley Park on Friday, Oct. 16, 2026 (James C. Svehla / for Daily Southtown)
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The way Homewood-Flossmoor junior Karter Nicholson sees things, nerves can’t play a part in being the quarterback. Nicholson, one of three signal-callers employed by the Vikings this season, is trying to make the most of his opportunity by keeping any jitters out of the equation.

The 5-foot-9, 170-pound Nicholson certainly looked calm Friday night.

He completed 10 of 15 passes for 151 yards and two touchdowns and ran for a TD as H-F closed the regular season with a 49-7 SouthWest Suburban Conference win over host Andrew in Tinley Park. Read more here.

Naperville Central 21, Neuqua Valley 17

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Naperville Central's Hari Santhanam (25) make a game clinching interception pulling the touchdown away from Neuqua Valley's Joshua Repmann (8) during a DuPage Valley Conference game in Naperville on Friday, Oct. 16, 2026. (Mark Black / for the Naperville Sun)
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Hari Santhanam is hardly a household name in the world of high school football. Few people outside of Naperville Central’s program know of the junior defensive back.

It turns out that the 5-foot-10, 142-pound Santhanam does his best work when it’s dark outside, and he finally got the spotlight shined on him.

Santhanam made his first career interception, picking off a pass in the end zone with 34 seconds left, as the Redhawks pulled out a 21-17 DuPage Valley Conference victory over Neuqua Valley in the regular-season finale at Memorial Stadium in Naperville. Read more here.

West Aurora 41, East Aurora 0

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West Aurora’s Brendon Salach (17) turns up field after catching a pass against East Aurora during an Upstate Eight - West conference game in Aurora on Friday, Oct. 16, 2026. (Jeremy Toney / for the The Beacon-News)
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Junior safety Devin Farmer didn’t have to be asked twice by West Aurora’s coaching staff.

Farmer was all aboard for the Blackhawks, who were looking for somebody to join a group of players to fill in for the team’s top two injured running backs in the final regular-season game.

Farmer He was one of seven players to carry the ball for West Aurora in a 41-0 Upstate Eight Conference victory over crosstown rival East Aurora at Roy E. Davis Field. He finished with team highs of 12 carries and 99 yards to go with an 11-yard touchdown run for the Blackhawks (6-3, 5-1). He also had a 53-yard TD run nullified by penalty. Read more here.

Brother Rice 49, Marist 6

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Brother Rice's Jameson Davis (21) gets ready to put a stiff arm on a Marist defender during a CCL Blue game in Chicago on Friday, Oct. 16, 2026. (Vincent D. Johnson / for the Daily Southtown)
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Over the summer, Brother Rice’s Jameson Davis committed to continue his football career at Army. While the prospects of attending a service academy might be intimidating for a lot of people, the senior running back is quite comfortable with his future.

For now, Davis is still serving the Crusaders. He caught two of the four touchdown passes by freshman quarterback Sam Holcomb as host Brother Rice rolled to a 49-6 Catholic League Blue win over Marist in Friday night’s Battle of Pulaski in Chicago.

Holcomb completed 9 of 11 passes for 138 yards for the Crusaders (7-2, 2-1), who earned a share of the league title with Mount Carmel and Loyola. Read more here.

East St. Louis 35, Naperville North 8

The final score didn’t really matter much to Naperville North.

Sure, perennial state power East St. Louis came away with a 35-8 win in the regular-season finale in Naperville on Friday.

But all that matters at the moment is the health of Huskies senior quarterback Dante Colasante, who took a hit to the head as he scrambled for a first down late in the first quarter. The team leader was taken off the field on a stretcher but did raise an arm to the fans on the way out. Read more here.

Antioch 21, Wauconda 0

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Antioch’s Logan Lennon (7) celebrates after a big play near the end of the game during their football game against Wauconda in Antioch, IL, Friday, October 16, 2026. (Michael Schmidt/For The News-Sun)
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Antioch junior Logan Lennon’s big-play ability in the triple-option offense is well-documented.

As the season has progressed, however, the Division I prospect has increasingly made his mark on a defense that will enter the postseason with back-to-back shutouts.

“He makes plays in all phases and has picked it up defensively,” Antioch coach Brian Glashagel said. “It also shows up on offense whether he’s running the ball, blocking or receiving. Any time he has his number called, he rises to the occasion.”

That certainly rang true during the Sequoits’ 21-0 Northern Lake County Conference win over Wauconda. The 6-foot-1, 190-pound Lennon made his mark on the scoreboard by tallying the first two touchdowns on 10-yard and 8-yard runs. Read more here.

Oak Forest 66, Bremen 0

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Oak Forest's Davian Picon (5) carries the ball for a TD against Bremen during a South Suburban Conference game in Oak Forest on Friday, Oct. 16, 2026. (Sean King / for The Daily Southtown)
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Oak Forest’s Neiko LeFlore, a senior running back/defensive back, refuses to be typecast.

Don’t tell him he has to play a certain way or be a specific sort of player. As someone who rarely comes off the field, LeFlore leverages the mathematical possibilities to produce bigger plays. He was definitely dialed in Friday night.

LeFlore struck paydirt with a 5-yard touchdown run set up by his own interception, helping to ignite the host Bengals in a 66-0 South Suburban Blue victory over Bremen. Read more here.

Kaneland 34, Metea Valley 7

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Metea Valley's Javier (Iggy) Amorrortu throws the ball during the second quarter of a game against Kaneland High School, Friday, Oct. 16, 2026, at Metea Valley High School in Aurora. (Dominic Di Palermo/for the Aurora Beacon-News)
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Kaneland’s Jackson Little is known for being a bruiser not a burner.

The 6-foot-1, 210-pound senior is a big hitter at linebacker for the Knights and also operates as the hammer in short-yardage situations on offense.

In Friday’s regular-season finale, though, he got to show off something else — his wheels.

Little’s 82-yard interception return for touchdown in the fourth quarter, indeed, put the game away for Kaneland in a 34-7 nonconference victory over host Metea Valley in Aurora. Read more here.

Andrean 21, Lowell 7

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Andrean’s Ethan Reyna (10) goes around the right side of Lowell’s defense during a Northwest Crossroads Conference game in Merrillville on Oct. 16, 2026. (John Smierciak/for the Post-Tribune).
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Junior wide receiver Gavin Helpingstine may be in his first season at Andrean after transferring from Brother Rice in Chicago.

But the 6-foot, 185-pound Helpingstine already has a keen appreciation for what winning the Northwest Crossroads Conference championship means to the 59ers.

“I’m new to it, but it’s a great feeling,” he said. “We really just did it as a team. Our defense had our offense’s backs a lot.”

Indeed, on a windy, rainy night, special teams also played a role. Helpingstine’s 55-yard punt return to Lowell’s 3-yard line set up the first score, senior running back Brady Stovall’s touchdown in the opening quarter, in the 59ers’ 21-7 win in Merrillville. Read more here.