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Cloudy. Light snow likely late. Low 21F. Winds SE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of snow 80%. About one inch of snow expected..
Cloudy. Light snow likely late. Low 21F. Winds SE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of snow 80%. About one inch of snow expected.
Updated: November 28, 2025 @ 3:07 pm
Matt Daniels/The News-Gazette
Hancock Stadium in Normal won’t host the Class 5A through 8A football state championship games on Saturday because of an anticipated winter storm.
Sports Editor
Matt Daniels/The News-Gazette
Hancock Stadium in Normal won’t host the Class 5A through 8A football state championship games on Saturday because of an anticipated winter storm.
NORMAL — In anticipation of a winter storm on Saturday that is expected to affect most of Illinois, and with Illinois State University closing its campus, the IHSA announced on Friday afternoon it will postpone four high school football state championship games that were scheduled to kick off Saturday at Hancock Stadium.
This does not affect the four state title games on Friday, with Unity (12-1) set to kick off against Byron (13-0) at 4 p.m. on Friday in the Class 3A state championship game. Unity is the only area program in The News-Gazette’s coverage area playing in a state title game.
The IHSA said in its announcement it is working with Illinois State leadership to determine the dates and times of the remaining state title games. The games won’t take place in Normal on Sunday, either, the IHSA said.
Here was the schedule of games on Saturday that now won’t take place:
Class 5A: St. Francis (10-3) vs. Providence (10-3), 10 a.m.
Class 6A: East St. Louis (10-3) vs. Fenwick (10-3), 1 p.m.
Class 7A: Brother Rice (12-1) vs. St. Rita (9-4), 4 p.m.
Class 8A: Chicago Mount Carmel (13-0) vs. Oswego (11-2), 7 p.m.
“The postponement of the IHSA football state finals is unprecedented in the state playoffs 51-year history,” IHSA Executive Director Craig Anderson said in a statement. “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.”
Matt Daniels is sports editor at The News-Gazette. His email is mdaniels@news-gazette.com, and you can follow him on Twitter (@mdaniels_NG).
Sports Editor
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