IHSA Football Week 7 Recap

Quotes Via Friday Night Lights Reporters / Image courtesy of Normal West High School

NORMAL, Ill. — The 2026 IHSA season is coming to an end. The teams in Bloomington-Normal are looking to finish off the year strong.

Bloomington Central Catholic was one of the hottest teams in Illinois the last few weeks, but all good things come to an end. The Saints fell 54-42 to St. Joseph-Ogden, snapping a three game win streak and falling to 5-2 on the season. They look to bounce back next week against 3-4 Pontiac at home.

Normal West kept their strong season going this week with a 58-7 win over Danville. The Wildcats remain undefeated with a 7-0 record. Next week, they play 2-5 Richwoods at home.

Bloomington came into this week with high hopes, riding a two game winning streak. However, the Purple Raiders failed to execute, losing to Peoria Notre Dame in a 29-28 thriller to drop to 4-3 on the year. The Purple Raiders hope to keep playoff hopes alive next week against 3-4 Champaign Central.

Normal Community is proving itself as one of the best offenses in Illinois. The Ironmen dominated Neuqua Valley 46-13 to improve to 7-0 on the year.

Normal Community head coach Jason Drengwitz spoke on the Ironmen’s success.

“When you score a lot of points, it’s a result of many things,” said Drengwitz. “Our offensive staff put in a really good gameplan. Our players are locked in to what we are trying to do here. We do a good job of executing in games.”

“But I though Luke (Beaty) was special tonight and elite,” Drengwitz continued. “We feel blessed to have guys like that. We have great young men that are coached well and do what we ask. When you’re coached well, have good game plans and great young men, that leaves a lot of success.”

Next week, the Ironmen face off against 3-4 Centennial with hopes of keeping their undefeated season alive.

University High had its best performance of the season last week with its first win. This week however, they could not get the job done. The Pioneers fell 62-13 to an undefeated Rochester team. They are now 1-6 and host 6-1 Jacksonville next week.

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