{
  "id": 13139430,
  "title": "The News-Gazette's area high school football Top 25 poll: SJ-O holds on to No. 1",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/09/the-news-gazettes-area-high-school-football-top-25-poll-sj-o-holds-on",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-10-09T14:48:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Yahoo Sports",
    "slug": "yahoo-sports",
    "url": "https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/news-gazettes-area-high-school-144800154.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The News-Gazette's area high school football Top 25 poll for the 2026 season sees SJ-O maintain the No. 1 ranking. The Spartans, who have made 36 playoff appearances in program history, aim to secure a state title, following up on their runner-up finishes in 1989, 1997, 1999, 2006 and 2013. M-S, the only Champaign County school to have won a state championship in 1977, faces their 34th playoff appearance under coach Jon Adkins. Catlin and Jamaica's consolidation to form Salt Fork in 2014 has led the Storm to reach the playoffs 11 times, with coach Les Siefert hoping to extend that streak to the second round for the first time. All 19 playoff appearances for the Tigers have come under coach Guy Goodlove, who now leads Westville's team in their sixth consecutive playoff run. Sullivan's Redskins have made 14 playoff appearances this season, marking their fourth consecutive appearance. Fisher's Bunnies have secured their first winning season since 2019, marking the 16th playoff appearance in program history. BJ Zeleznik's LeRoy Panthers have made 29 playoff appearances overall and 14 times in his tenure, while Danville's Vikings look to secure their 25th playoff appearance after missing out on the postseason for the last two seasons.",
  "summary": "Oct. 9—With an expanded playoff field this season, Sports Editor Matt Daniels expands The News-Gazette's weekly high school football rankings from a Top 10 poll to a Top 25 poll. Here is his eighth ballot of the 2026 season, with a brief rundown of playoff history for each of the schools: ➜ 7-0 ➜ No. 1 ➜ The Spartans are back in the playoffs for the 36th time in program history. Can coach ...",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}