Illinois football state championships postponed due to winter storm

For the first time in the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) football state finals 51-year history, the championships is postponement due to a severe winter storm predicated to enter the region.

The IHSA announced on Friday afternoon that the association has postponed all four Illinois high school football state championship games scheduled for Saturday, which would be classes 5A-8A. The following is a statement posted on the IHSA’s website.

“Due to the Winter Storm Warning issued by the National Weather Service for Central Illinois, including the Bloomington-Normal area—calling for 5 to 12 inches of heavy snow, strong winds, hazardous roads, and potentially impossible travel—the IHSA has postponed all Saturday Football State Championship games (Classes 5A, 6A, 7A, 8A). This storm is expected to create dangerous conditions on roads, bridges, and overpasses, with the potential for power outages. The safety of student-athletes, coaches, officials, and spectators remains our highest priority.“

IHSA Executive Director Craig Anderson also released an official statement via the state’s athletics website regarding the unprecedented situation surrounding the Illinois high school football state finals.

“The postponement of the IHSA Football State Finals is unprecedented in the state playoffs’ 51-year history,” Anderson said via the press release on the association’s website. “All of the competing teams in Class 5A, 6A, 7A and 8A have been alerted that their state championship games will not be played on November 29, but that they will be played in the coming days. We appreciate the patience and understanding of these schools and communities as we work to determine the best and safest solution to rescheduling these contests and crowning state champions in our four largest classes.”

The games impacted are the following Illinois IHSA football state championship matchups:

• Class 5A — St. Francis vs. Providence Catholic

• Class 6A — 1:00 PM | Fenwick vs. East St. Louis

• Class 7A — 4:00 PM | St. Rita vs. Brother Rice

• Class 8A — 7:00 PM | Mount Carmel vs. Oswego

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