Wheaton Warrenville South (WW South) and Wheaton North both landed in the Daily Herald's Week 8 Top 20 poll. The Tigers sit at No. 11 and the Falcons at No. 15 heading into the final week of the regular season.

WW South (6-2, 5-1 DuKane Conference) climbed one spot from No. 12 after beating Lake Park 31-19 on Friday, Oct. 9. Wheaton North (5-3, 3-3) dropped from No. 14 after falling to Geneva 42-14 that night.

Both teams face consequential Week 9 matchups with playoff seeding on the line.

WW South travels to No. 9 Batavia (6-2) in a game that could shape the DuKane Conference title race. A Tigers win, combined with a Geneva loss at St. Charles East, would give WW South a share of the conference championship, according to Shaw Local's Friday Night Drive. Geneva sits atop the DuKane at 6-0 in league play after routing Wheaton North.

Against Lake Park, junior quarterback AJ Rogers threw touchdown passes of 60 and 30 yards to Blake Ittersagen. Trent Simpson added a 22-yard rushing score and senior Clark Jensen punched in a 3-yard touchdown run, as we reported Saturday.

Head coach Sean Norris praised his senior class in an Oct. 6 Daily Herald feature, calling them "the glue that has held the team and the program together."

Wheaton North faces a different kind of Week 9. The Falcons host Glenbard North looking to snap a three-game losing streak that started with a 21-16 crosstown loss to WW South on Sept. 25, continued with a 28-21 defeat at Batavia and ended with the 42-14 loss at Geneva. Geneva's Nelson Wendell rushed for 133 yards and five touchdowns in that game.

Against Geneva, head coach Joe Wardynski started sophomore Grant Neibch at quarterback. Neibch threw a 19-yard touchdown to senior Adam Schilling. Junior Rory Burke entered in the second half and connected with senior Drew Mazeska on a 40-yard strike before finding senior Tyler Snow for a 17-yard score. Senior running back Mac Murray was held to 37 rushing yards.

After the Sept. 25 crosstown loss, Wardynski told Shaw Local, "We got to be better in that situation, right off a turnover, that's the time opponents will take a shot and they did … We weren't ready for that. We'll learn from that."

The Falcons started the season 5-0 before dropping three straight, but they have already secured enough wins for a playoff berth.

The 2026 IHSA football playoffs expanded to 384 teams this year, with 48 qualifying per class. The top 16 seeds in Classes 7A and 8A earn first-round byes. IHSA playoff seeding is based on total wins and combined opponent wins, not media poll rankings, according to the IHSA.

As of an Oct. 5 Shaw Local playoff outlook, WW South had accumulated 36 playoff points and sat near the dividing line between the 6A and 7A brackets. Wheaton North had 30 playoff points and had already clinched a playoff return after back-to-back losing seasons.

The opening round of the IHSA playoffs begins Oct. 23.