Final 2024 Top 25 Illinois High School Football Rankings

State champions East St. Louis, Loyola and Mount Carmel top our final 2024 Top 25 Illinois High School Football State Rankings

The East St. Louis Flyers capped a brilliant season with a 48-28 win over Geneva in the Class 6A Illinois high school football state championship game and finished No. 1 in our Final Top 25 Illinois High School Football Rankings of the 2024 season. / Rick Slaughter

Class 6A champion East St. Louis tops the final rankings, followed by 8A winner Loyola and 7A champ Mount Carmel.

1. East St. Louis (13-1)

Previous rank: 1 Last week: 6A, Def. Geneva 48-28

Kemdrick Lyons passed for 225 yards and two touchdowns, both to Ronnie GoMiller, and LaRevious Woods had 10 carries for 113 yards and three TDs.

2. Loyola (11-3)

Previous rank: 2 Last week: 8A, Def. York 35-14

Ryan Fitzgerald threw for 160 yards and three touchdowns, while Drew MacPherson ran 19 times for 150 yards and two TDs as the Ramblers won their third straight Class 8A title.

3. Mount Carmel (11-3)

Previous rank: 3 Last week: 7A, Def. Batavia 55-34

Vanderbilt commit Jack Elliott accounted for seven touchdowns — six passing and one rushing — as the Caravan won their third consecutive Class 7A championship.

4. Lincoln-Way East (12-1)

Previous rank: 4 

With Oregon commit Jonas Williams at quarterback, the Griffins won their first 12 games before falling to eventual 8A champ Loyola in the semifinals.

5. York (11-3)

Previous rank: 5 Last week: 8A, Lost to Loyola 35-14

Bruno Massel ran 17 times for 141 yards and a TD, and also threw for 81 yards as the Dukes finished second in their first trip to state.

6. Nazareth (12-2)

Previous rank: 6 Last week: 5A, Def. Joliet Catholic 29-27 

Logan Malachuk threw for 336 yards and four touchdowns, including a pair to Trenton Walker, as the Roadrunners earned a three-peat in Class 5A.

7. Naperville Central (11-2)

Previous rank: 7 

The Redhawks rode a balanced offense led by quarterback Sebastian Hayes and running back Aiden Clark to a berth in the 8A semifinals, where they fell to York.

8. Geneva (12-2)

Previous rank: 8 Last week: 6A, Lost to East St. Louis 48-28

Tony Chahino passed for 323 yards and three touchdowns, while Georgia commit Talyn Taylor had 15 touches for 235 yards and a TD as a receiver and kick returner.

9. Batavia (12-2)

Previous rank: 9 Last week: 7A, Lost to Mount Carmel 55-34

Sophomore Michael Vander Luitgaren passed for 390 yards and three touchdowns — all to Brett Berggren, who had 191 receiving yards.

10. Joliet Catholic (10-4)

Previous rank: 12 Last week: 5A, Lost to Nazareth 29-27

Larry Stringham ran for 147 yards and Nate Magrini added 125 yards and a TD on the ground. Lucas Simulick threw for 126 yards and two scores.

11. Cary-Grove (12-1)

Previous rank: 11 

The defending Class 6A champs rode their potent option offense to the semifinals, where they lost by two points to Geneva.

12. St. Francis (10-3)

Previous rank: 12 

The Spartans beat two eventual state champs — Class 8A Loyola and Class 5A Nazareth — in the regular season before losing the rematch to the Roadrunners in the 5A semifinals.

13. St. Rita (10-3)

Previous rank: 13 

All of the Mustangs' losses were to state champs: two to Class 7A winner Mount Carmel and one to 5A winner Nazareth.

14. Marist (9-2)

Previous rank: 14

A year after missing the playoffs at 4-5, the RedHawks had one of the state's biggest turnarounds under first-year coach Mike Fitzgerald.

15. Lyons (11-1)

Previous rank: 15 

The Lions set a program record for wins and had their first unbeaten and untied regular season since going 6-0 in 1950.

16. Downers Grove North (10-2)

Previous rank: 16 

After reaching the Class 7A title game in 2023, the Trojans were eliminated by eventual runner-up Batavia in the quarterfinals this season.

17. Maine South (8-4)

Previous rank: 18 

The Hawks rebounded from a 1-3 start to reach the Class 8A quarterfinals, where they were eliminated by eventual champ Loyola.

18. Normal (10-2)

Previous rank: 18  

The Ironmen gave Mount Carmel its toughest test of the Class 7A playoffs, losing 49-42 in the quarterfinals.

19. Fremd (9-2)

Previous rank: 19 

Led by junior quarterback Johnny O'Brien, a Northwestern commit, the Vikings reached the Class 8A second round before losing by three to Naperville Central.

20. Richards (11-2)

Previous rank: 20 

The Bulldogs had a pair of one-point wins in the Class 6A playoffs before falling to eventual champ East St. Louis in the semifinals.

21. Kankakee (10-2)

Previous rank: 21 

The Kays lost their opener by seven to eventual Class 5A champ Nazareth, won 10 in a row and then lost by a point to Richards in the 6A quarterfinals.

22. Quincy (11-1)

Previous rank: 23 

After 11 straight wins — all by double digits — the Blue Devils were knocked out of the Class 7A playoffs with a quarterfinal loss to St. Rita.

23. Montini (11-2)

Previous rank: 23 Last week: 3A, Def. Monticello 49-8

Israel Abrams threw for 225 yards and three touchdowns, including a pair to CJ Harkins. Jeremiah Peterson ran for 134 yards and a score.

24. Oswego (10-1)

Previous rank: 24 

The Panthers allowed just 70 points en route to a 10-0 start. They lost in the Class 8A second round to eventual runner-up York.

25. Lincoln-Way Central (9-4)

Previous rank: 25 

The Knights reached the Class 7A semifinals before losing by four to eventual runner-up Batavia.