IHSA Football Week Six Recap

Quotes Via Friday Night Lights Reporters / Image courtesy of Bloomington Central Catholic Athletics

NORMAL, Ill. — The end of the 2026 regular season is in sight, and IHSA playoffs are right around the corner. The teams in Bloomington-Normal are making their final push following their week six matchups.

Bloomington Central Catholic extended their win streak to three games this week with a 36-22 victory over St. Teresa. The Saints are playing their best football at the perfect time and are now 5-1 on the year. Next week will look to be their biggest test yet, facing off against undefeated St. Joseph Ogden.

Normal West has been playing lights-out football every Friday night. The Wildcats defeated Urbana 54-0 to improve to 6-0 on the year.

Normal West head coach Nathan Fincham spoke about giving playing time to non-starters in their dominant victory.

“Our approach this week was to give our starters a lot of work but we also did a lot of rotations,” said Fincham. “Our guys came in prepared and focused, everybody got reps throughout the week and it showed tonight.”

Next week, the Wildcats will play 3-3 Danville on the road.

Bloomington is starting to find its groove. The Purple Raiders earned their second win in a row with a 21-13 victory over Centennial to improve to 4-2 on the year. Next week, they host 3-3 Peoria Notre Dame, who are 0-2 against teams from the Bloomington-Normal area.

Normal Community displayed another spectacular offensive showing against Peoria. The Ironmen won 52-16 to stay undefeated at 6-0 this season. Next week, they face off against 3-3 Neuqua Valley at home in a non-conference matchup.

University High has had their fair share of struggles this year. But just because you fall down doesn’t mean you can’t get up. The Pioneers earned their first win of the season against Lincoln, winning 42-0 to improve to 1-5 on the year.

University High’s head coach Brody Walworth spoke about the commitment his team has shown throughout the long season.

“The proudest thing is that we continued to fight,” said Walworth. “When you go 0-5, there’s a chance that kids started fading away on you and they haven’t done that. We are a young team and an injured team but we continue to come to practice and get better.”

Next week, the Pioneers look to keep it rolling against undefeated Rochester on the road.

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