Read more: Friday Night Drive Podcast, Episode 345: IHSA semifinal football review; Private school dominance again

Join hosts Matt Rodewald and Steve Soucie as they break down what we saw in the Illinois high school football playoff semifinals, talk about Mt. Carmel coach Jordan Lynch's recent comments, and look ahead to the state title games

Read more: What we learned in Week 13: Finals field full of familiar faces

Getting a strong sense of deja vu when looking at the lineup of state championships? That's understandable considering the group has collectively made 115 title game appearances previously. Steve Soucie takes a look at what we learned in Week 13.

.@Football_Flyers showed again Saturday why it’s a next-to-impossible force to stop, handling @STLVikingFB 50-7 in the Class 6A state semifinals. @IllinoisGolfer's story: https://t.co/2BTPRWl9Fo

Byron All-State running back @CadenConsidine1 rushed for 287 yards and 5 TDs to power the Tigers past @RBHS_Football 44-10 in a Class 3A semifinal. @JoeAguilar64's story: https://t.co/uI7VZJdf0U @byronhsad

Domination. That was the word @LWHSPanthers coach Ric Arand used to describe his team’s play in the second half of a 30-16 win over Stockton in the Class 1A state semifinals Saturday. Andy Colbert's story: https://t.co/0CD8klUMnR @NUICFootball

.@Fremd_Football's deepest playoff run in program history came to an end at the hands of @CaravanFootball, 42-21, in Saturday's Class 8A semifinal. @Quags57's story: https://t.co/pFYLBC1va1

For the second straight week, @WilmingtonFB had five touchdown drives of one or two plays, tallying 483 rushing yards in a 41-0 win over El Paso-Gridley in Saturday's Class 2A state semifinal. @MSchweizerTDJS' story: https://t.co/BMEi0KvK69

Here is the schedule for next weekend's state championship games: https://t.co/MqQyxERWxC

Here are all the IHSA football playoff semifinal scores, all eight classes: https://t.co/n9Lf3jpMhX

Army commit @Cj_gray26 ran for four touchdowns as @BrotherRiceFB beat @DGNFootball 45-17 in the Class 7A semifinal. @sschmid3's story: https://t.co/QajSxcltEd

.@lucaflorio_ had a 93-yard kickoff return for a touchdown and a 53-yard TD reception to help lead @MontiniFootball to the Class 4A state title game with a 47-27 win over @morris_football. @roboesterle's story: https://t.co/62sjXZwDdu @Montini_AD @MontiniCatholic

.@jamen_williams threw an 11-yard TD pass to @tommy_thies9 in overtime and @FenwickFB stopped a @FootballNaz two-point conversion try, as the Friars stopped the Roadrunners' quest for a fourth straight state title. @RussellJHodges' story: https://t.co/SXUSZQgrfw

Despite scoring 24 points in the fourth quarter, @BataviaFootball's quest for its third Class 7A title game appearance in four years came up short, falling to St. Rita 54-34 in the semifinals. @j_boenitz2 has the story: https://t.co/xuSTggXj3B

.@DarioMilivojev1, @tannerglock1 and @SFHSFBWheaton forced five Belvidere North turnovers to earn a spot in the Class 5A state championship game against Providence. The Spartans had lost in the semifinals the last three years. @DDCEddieCarifio's story: https://t.co/ch99mTsG0s

Kaleb Stumpenhorst (@kpstumpenhorst) drilled a 42-yard field goal with a minute left, as @Oswego_Football rallied to beat @LTHSfootball in a 10-7 thriller to advance to the Class 8A championship game. 'It's surreal.' @jwelge96's story: https://t.co/jutBoamFFF @AmmarBanire

Read more: Listen: Illinois high school football recaps for the semifinal round of the playoffs

Miss out on any of the high school football action in northern Illinois? Listen to the audio versions of our stories from the semifinal round of the 2025 IHSA playoffs here

Read more: Kaleb Stumpenhorst’s 42-yard field goal sends Oswego past Lockport to Class 8A state championship game