While Northwestern was taking on Ohio State at Wrigley Field, its next generation of players was in the midst of their senior playoffs.

Safety Alijah Jones and Archbishop Spalding won their third straight state title, defensive end Jonah Hayes led his team in tackles in their ninth straight win, and defensive end Caden O'Rourke and Lincoln-Way East are on a collision course with Loyola this weekend in Illinois.

Read about all of that and more in this week's recruit roundup.

Severn (Md.) Archishop Spalding and safety Alijah Jones beat McDonogh, 31-7, to cap off an undefeated season and secure their third-straight MIAA A title.

McDonogh shocked the Cavaliers with an early touchdown, their first allowed since August, but Spalding quickly shook off their surprise and ran away with the game.

Jones sacked McDonogh quarterback Braeden Palazzo as part of the 31-0 run to ice the game and clinch the championship.

Jones and the Cavalier defense was monstrous this season. At one point they shut out six straight opponents. They blanked eight of their 12 opponents in total, and allowed fewer than 3 points per game on the season.

“It’s not my judgment to make,” head coach Kyle Schmitt told his team after, recorded by the Capital Gazette. “But you’re one of the best teams in Spalding history, one of the best in MIAA history — and one of the best this state’s ever seen.”

Spalding finished the season at 12-0 and has now won 35 straight games. The Cavaliers are No. 11 in MaxPrep's national rankings.

Cincinnati (Ohio) Archbishop Moeller beat Princeton, 28-10, behind a team-high eight tackles, two of them for a loss, from defensive end Jonah Hayes.

Hayes and the Crusaders had already handled Princeton once this season, 38-21, in their season opener, and were unfazed about having to take care of business again.

They got an early scare when their offense turned it over on downs and Princeton scored to take a 7-0 first-quarter lead. But the Crusaders went on a 28-3 run the remainder of the game.

Moeller (12-1) plays St. Xavier this week for the Division I, Region 4 regional title. This will be a rematch from Sept. 20, when Moeller beat St. Xavier, 45-37.

Frankfort (Ill.) Lincoln-Way East cruised to the Illinois 8A semifinals with a 45-0 win over Stevenson last week.

Defensive end Caden O'Rourke and the Griffins defense have been sensational. Through three games of playoff football in the IHSA's top division they've allowed just one touchdown, outscoring opponents 125-7.

But the smooth sailing is almost assuredly over as the game the state has been waiting for all season has finally arrived: No. 1 Lincoln-Way East (12-0) vs. No. 12 Loyola Academy (10-2).

O'Rourke and the Griffins have been spotless this season, winning all 12 of their games by 20+ points. Loyola got off to a shaky 1-2 start with a blowout loss to Class 6A title favorite East St. Louis, and then a loss to St. Francis, albeit without their star quarterback Ryan Fitzgerald, the son of former Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald. They have since won nine straight games with an average margin of victory of about 22 points.

These two schools have met in the last two Class 8A title games, with Loyola winning both times. The stage is officially set for the rematch this season in the semifinals.

Kingwood (Tex.) and offensive tackle Hayden Wright made their playoff return in style with a 36-35 overtime victory over Clear Springs.

Clear Springs got the ball first in the OT period and scored. But the Mustangs quickly matched them with a running back Marquez Davis touchdown, and they bet on Davis again to punch in the two-point conversion.

Kingwood (7-4) plays Fort Bend Elkins in the second round this week.

Wayne (N.J.) DePaul and cornerback Marquet Dorsey earned a bye to the quarterfinals of New Jersey Non-Public B playoffs and summarily crushed Paul VI, 45-14, last week.

Paul VI tied the game at 7-7 in the first quarter, but Dorsey and the defense soon found their footing and the Spartans rattled off a 35-7 run to stamp their ticket to the semifinals.

DePaul (9-1) hosts Holy Spirit this week.

Shakopee (Minn.) and offensive lineman Trey Boyd's playoff run came to an end in the Minnesota state semifinals at the hands of unbeaten Maple Grove, 26-14.

Boyd and the Sabers led Maple Grove, the prohibitive title favorite, 14-13 into the third quarter but couldn't complete the upset bid. It was a high school classic between two powerful rushing attacks, with 421 yards combined on the ground and just one completed pass the whole game.

In fact, Maple Grove's quarterback, Kaden Harney, completed more passes to Shakopee, with three interceptions, than he did to his own receivers.

It's obviously not the result they wanted, but it was a banner year for Shakopee. This marked the program's first trip to the semis, and they got to square off with Maple Grove at U.S. Bank Stadium, home of the Minnesota Vikings.

Shakopee finished their season at 10-2.

Acworth (Ga.) North Paulding and wide receiver Dube Enongene lost their playoff opener last week, 35-17, to Lowndes.

It was a very tough draw for Enongene and the Wolfpack in Georgia's top division of high school football; Lowndes finished second in their region but still sported a 9-1 record headed into the matchup.

North Paulding finished their season at 6-5.

Princeton (Ill.) and tight end Noah LaPorte fought hard in a rematch with Montini Catholic, the team that knocked them out of the playoffs in 2023, but lost again, 24-7.

Montini is the prohibitive favorite to win Class 3A and kept LaPorte in check on offense with just two catches for six yards. But the two-way star still impacted the game on defense when he recovered a Montini fumble.

LaPorte was named to the Class 3A all-state team last week and was very emotional post-game as his high-school career came to a close.

Princeton finished their season at 10-2.

Wildwood (Mo.) Lafayette and tight end Robby Preckel hit their stride in a 42-7 win over Washington last week for their first district title in more than a decade.

Preckel hauled in Lafayette's first touchdown on a nine-yard catch to give the Lancers a 7-0 lead, and they would never trail. He also had three carries in the game, including punching it in from one yard out on the goal line.

"I love running the ball," Preckel told STL Today. "I love to lower my shoulder and get after it."

Lafayette (11-1) takes on one-loss powerhouse Cardinal Ritter in the MSHSAA Class 5 quarterfinals this week.

Lake Mary (Fla.) defensive tackle Tanner Jumpp and the Eagles went straight to work after a week off, crushing DeLand in the first round of the Florida 7A playoffs, 49-14.

The Rams' defense has been sensational this season, allowing just a little over 10 points per game during their seven-game winning streak.

Lake Mary (9-2) is the top seed in their region and hosts No. 5 Spruce Creek this week.

2025 WR Braden Blueitt suffered a torn ACL on Sept. 20 per the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and will not return this season. His Colleyville (Tex.) Heritage team (8-3) lost to Anna, 45-10, last week.

Quarterback Marcus Romain broke his non-throwing hand on Sept. 20. Romain had hoped to make it back for a second round playoff game but the injury proved to be season-ending after Wheeler lost to Colquitt County, 48-20, in their first round matchup last week.

Wheeler finished the season at 2-9, the Wildcats were 1-5 with a forfeit loss due to weather with Romain as starter.

MORE ON ROMAIN: QB commit Marcus Romain hopes to play again this season after breaking hand

Quarterback Johnny O'Brien and Palatine (Ill.) Fremd finished their season at 9-2. O'Brien led the Vikings to their first nine-win season since 2009 and their first playoff victory since 2019, and did after a 3-6 record the year before.

O'Brien broke Fremd's record for passing yards in a game twice, once during the regular season with 395 yards, and again in their second-round playoff loss to Naperville Central with 464 yards.

He threw for 3,442 yards and 39 touchdowns while completing 224 of 318 passes. O'Brien was an honorable mention for the Class 8A all-state team.

MORE ON O'BRIEN: Scouting Report: 2026 QB Johnny O’Brien sets record in playoff loss

Running back Ronny Johnson and Dexter (Mich.) finished their season at 10-1.

Defensive end Mason Mayne and Lawton (Mich.) finished their season at 8-3.

Linebacker Josh Veldman and New Lenox (Ill.) Lincoln-Way West finished their season at 7-4. Veldman was named to the Class 7A all-state team and was part of a senior class that won West's first playoff game since 2018, and led the program to its best record since the same year.

The Warriors were knocked out by No. 4 Batavia, still playing in the Class 7A semifinals this week.

Safety Jonathan Stevens Jr. and Westerville (Ohio) North finished 6-5 this season. Stevens finished with 65 tackles, two interceptions and an 82-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown. A two-way player lining up at running back and receiver, he also recorded 1,086 all-purpose yards.

Tight end Tyler Kielmeyer and Westerville (Ohio) South finished 5-6 this season. Kielmeyer seen on the sidelines of Northwestern's game vs. Wisconsin on Oct. 19 with crutches and a knee brace, but returned by the first round of the Wildcats' playoffs.

Offensive tackle Michael O'Connell and Glen Ellyn (Ill.) Glenbard West finished the season 4-5. The normally powerhouse Hilltoppers finished the season 4-1 in their last five games and narrowly missed on a playoff berth due to one of the toughest strengths of schedule in the state.

Punter Nikola Dugandzic and Winnetka (Ill.) New Trier finished 2-7 this season. Dugandzic punted 42 times for an average of 43.7 yards, with 20 landing inside the 20. His season long was 66 yards.

He also served as New Trier's kicker and was 6-for-9 on field goals with a long of 51. He made all of his extra points.