Batavia, one of the premier high school football programs in Illinois, isn’t ducking anyone this season. Coming off a 12-2 campaign and a trip to the Class 7A state finals in 2024, the Bulldogs were reportedly right on the cusp of dropping into the Class 6A playoffs this year based on enrollment numbers.

A Lancaster football player died on Wednesday two days after suffering a medical emergency during his football practice. Preston Malone, a sophomore at Lancaster Early College High School who plays for Lancaster High School's junior varsity football team,