​The Illinois high school football season will be kicking off in August, and the 2026 version of the Massey Ratings have been released.The Massey Ratings model “ranks sports teams by analyzing game outcomes, strength of schedule, and margin of victory,” according to On3.com. The system — from the mind of longtime sports statistician Kenneth Massey — considers scores, location of game and strength of schedule to determine its ratings and rankings.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementHere are the top high school football teams heading into the 2026 season, according to Massey, including the top 25 in Illinois, top 10 around Peoria and top 10 nationally.The early-season rankings incorporate the previous two seasons as starting points. On3.com says Massey Ratings need about five games to become fully accurate — but it’s always fun to see where teams stack up before the season begins.MaxPreps also does rankings for high school football teams.You can see the Illinois rankings here.Listed with national rank and 2025 record.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement48. Chicago Mount Carmel | 14-071. East St. Louis | 10-497. Chicago Brother Rice | 13-1112. Frankfort Lincoln-Way East | 9-3137. Wilmette Loyola | 4-5278. Chicago St. Rita | 9-5283. LaGrange Park Nazareth | 11-2295. Batavia | 10-3333. Oak Park Fenwick | 11-3359. Park Ridge Maine South | 10-2397. Lockport | 9-4426. Glen Ellyn Glenbard West | 9-2434. Chicago Marist | 4-5451. Oswego | 11-3452. Downers Grove North | 10-3510. Lombard Montini | 14-0524. New Lenox Providence Catholic | 10-4549. Elmhurst York | 6-4570. St. Charles North | 10-2584. Barrington | 10-2591. New Lenox Lincoln-Way Central | 9-2596. Palatine Fremd | 11-2609. LaGrange Lyons | 8-3624. Joliet Catholic | 4-6651. Orland Park Sandburg | 7-3Listed with state rank and 2025 record.56. Washington | 10-281. Peoria High | 9-386. Dunlap | 9-398. Morton | 7-4101. Metamora | 8-3115. Pekin | 5-5143. Peoria Notre Dame | 8-3153. El Paso-Gridley | 12-1161. LaSalle-Peru | 2-7175. Princeton | 6-4Listed with national rank and 2025 record.Baltimore St. Frances Academy | 9-1Buford (Georgia) | 15-0Bradenton (Florida) IMG Academy | 9-0Santa Ana (California) Mater Dei | 8-3Bellflower (California) St. John Bosco | 9-2Duncanville (Texas) | 12-2Las Vegas (Nevada) Bishop Gorman | 11-1Rancho Santa Margarita (California) Santa Margarita Catholic | 11-2Carrollton (Georgia) | 14-1Alabaster (Alabama) Thompson | 11-3This article originally appeared on Journal Star: The top high school football teams in Illinois for 2026, according to the Massey Ratings