Previewing four of this season's best high school football games

With opening night for high school football less than two weeks away, it's time to start circling some key dates on the calendar.

Here are four matchups not to be missed:

Mount Carmel at Loyola, Oct. 24

It doesn't get much better than a showdown between a pair of three-time defending state champs.

Mount Carmel won the last three Class 7A titles and Loyola won the last three years in 8A. A new wrinkle this year is that they're now both in 8A, meaning at least one of the streaks is guaranteed to end.

Loyola has one of the state's top offensive linemen in 6-7, 250-pounder Tommy Fraumann, a Miami (Ohio) recruit. Two more to watch are a pair of the state's top sophomores: quarterback Matthew Lee and receiver Jordan McKinley.

Mount Carmel counters with arguably the state's biggest collection of top-level talent, headlined by three Power Four-bound seniors: offensive lineman Claude Mpouma (Nebraska), defensive lineman Braeden Jones (USC) and edge rusher Joey Quinn (Vanderbilt).

New quarterback Emmett Dowling has a pair of elite receivers in junior Quentin Burrell and sophomore Marshaun Thornton.

Prairie Ridge at Cary-Grove, Aug. 29

The Fox Valley is a closed conference, meaning its 10 members only play league games. Through a scheduling quirk, the FVC champ could be determined in Week 1 when these neighborhood rivals meet.

The winner will automatically be one of the favorites in Class 5A. Cary-Grove advanced to five title games since 2012 and won three, beating downstate power East St. Louis in two of those finals. Prairie Ridge has reached four title games since 2016, winning two.

Two dynamic players to watch this year are Cary-Grove fullback Logan Abrams and Prairie Ridge quarterback Luke Vanderwiel, both of whom are back healthy after missing time with injuries last year.

Geneva at Batavia, Oct. 10

This rivalry, which dates back to 1912, is more fun now that both teams are playing at a high level again. Batavia had won 13 in a row in the series before Geneva rolled to a 30-7 victory last fall. Both teams made it to the final weekend of the season, with Geneva falling to East St. Louis in the Class 6A final and Batavia losing to Mount Carmel in the 7A title game.

Batavia returns 10 starters, including Ryan Myers, a 6-5, 285-pound offensive lineman committed to Princeton, and junior quarterback Michael Vander Luitgaren, who passed for 390 yards in the loss to Mount Carmel.

Geneva's nine starters back include junior receiver Bennett Konkey and a pair of senior defensive backs who had five interceptions each: Dane Turner and Dylan Reyes.

Morgan Park vs. Simeon at Gately, Oct. 25

The road to the Public League title has run down Vincennes Avenue in recent years. Morgan Park has won 16 straight against Public League opponents since its last loss, to Simeon in Week 8 of the 2022 season.

This year's Mustangs are led by the Public League's top player: four-star receiver Nasir Rankin, who is committed to Illinois for both football and basketball. Morgan Park also picked up an impact transfer from Rich in senior defensive lineman Carmelow Reed, an Ole Miss commit.

Simeon has some Division I prospects of its own in Michigan-bound edge McHale Blade, defensive lineman Corey Randolph and receiver Cornell Conely.