IHSA Football Week Five Recap

Quotes Via Friday Night Lights Reporters / Image courtesy of Normal Community Athletics

NORMAL, Ill. — The teams in the Bloomington-Normal area are officially midway through the season, with playoffs creeping around the corner.

Bloomington Central Catholic shocked undefeated Monticello with a 33-20 win to improve to 4-1 on the year. This is the Saints second win in a row, and next week they face off against 3-2 St. Teresa on the road.

Normal West is on a roll so far this season, defeating Peoria Notre Dame 41-13 to stay undefeated. The 5-0 Wildcats play 0-4 Urbana this upcoming week at home.

Bloomington persevered in a nail-biter this week against Richwoods, pulling off a 42-41 victory. The Purple Raiders bounce back after a loss last week to improve to 3-2 on the year.

Purple Raiders head coach Kevin Braucht discussed his teams ability to close out late in games.

“Momentum’s a crazy thing but for us it’s really about riding that wave,” said Braucht. “I thought our defensive game plan was really well done, and some of the calls late from our defensive staff put some heat on them.”

The Purple Raiders now look to win back-to-back games against 2-3 Centennial next week.

Normal Community is looking like one of the best offenses in the IHSA, winning  41-7 against Champaign Central to improve to 5-0. The Ironmen stay home this week to take on the 3-2 Peoria Lions.

University High can’t seem to find their rhythm so far in the 2026 season. The Pioneers fell 28-6 to MacArthur, dropping their record to 0-5 on the year.

Following their fifth loss of the season, Pioneers head coach Brody Walworth discussed the heart his team showed in the loss.

“Our defense gave us alot of opportunities tonight but we just couldn’t’ take advantage of them offensively ,” said Walworth. “I am also proud of this team though, we have our backup quarterback, who should be playing receiver and three different offensive linemen playing tonight. Our guys played their tails off and it stinks we couldn’t come away with a win.”

The Pioneers next chance to get their first win of the season will be at home against the 1-4 Lincoln Railsplitters.

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