Illinois high schools start their seasons this weekend, but the 2024 high school football season has begun in different pockets across the country.

Eight of the 18 members of Northwestern's committed Class of 2025 have made their senior debuts and there's already plenty of action. A safety had a scoop-and-score, a quarterback's first game is under protest between forfeit and postponement, and a Maryland state title defense is underway.

Read about all that and more in this week's Recruit Roundup!

It was a dominant start for Westerville (Ohio) North and safety Jonathan Stevens Jr.,, crushing crosstown opponent Westerville Central by a score of 34-0.

Stevens was a key to North's big win by recovering a fumble and taking it nearly the length of the field early in the game.

It's a statement to win by 34 in a rivalry game, but to do it on the road at Westerville Central makes it even more empathic. Stevens and the Warriors kicked it into another gear in their season opener after beating Central by just nine points last season.

Westerville North (1-0) hosts Olentagy Orange this week.

Quarterback Marcus Romain's Marietta (Ga.) Wheeler team actually started their season two weeks ago, on Aug. 16.

Romain got the game started against North Forsyth with a 61-yard touchdown run to cap off Wheeler's opening drive, and they took that 7-0 lead into halftime. Then, thunderstorms arrived and so did delay after delay.

Wheeler's athletic director declared the game postponed and will look to reschedule, but North Forsyth's athletic director called it a forfeit by Wheeler, per reporting by the Marietta Daily Journal's Matt Nascone. Time will tell whose story wins.

Last week, the Wildcats came up just short in a 35-34 loss to Harrison, who scored their final touchdown to take the lead with just 28 second left. It was a game of huge runs. The Wildcats snagged a pick-six to go up 20-7, but Harrison stormed back to lead 28-27, then the final trade of touchdowns left Romain and Wheeler a point short.

Wheeler (0-1 or 0-2, pending the North Forsyth game) plays at North Atlanta this weekend.

Westerville (Ohio) South and tight end Tyler Kielmeyer opened up their season with a hard-fought 14-7 win over Dublin Jerome.

The game was broadcast locally on The CW and lived up to its billing. Jerome struck first from the shadow of its own end zone with a 97-yard touchdown pass on third down, taking a 7-0 lead in the first quarter.

Kielmeyer's first reception of the game, a 13-yard catch and run, brought Westerville South into the red zone for the first time, and set up a touchdown on the next play to tie the game at 7 in the second quarter.

His best play of the first half, a contested catch across the middle, when he steamrolled through two tacklers for a first down on third-and-9, was wiped out by a holding penalty.

Workhorse running back Ian Gordon punched it in the end zone, behind a key block from Kielmeyer, to take a 14-7 lead with just 1:13 left on the clock.

Kielmeyer finished the game with two catches for 16 yards by my count from the broadcast, though Westerville's attack is predicated almost entirely on the run.

Westerville South (1-0) hosts Westerville Central this week.

Romain's fellow Georgian, wide receiver Dube Enongene, also started his season on Aug. 16, and he split his first two games.

Acworth (Ga.) North Paulding snagged a 17-6 victory in their opener over Parkview.

Parkview opened the scoring with two quick field goals, but North Paulding recaptured the lead by the end of the first quarter and never looked back. The conditions that led to the controversy for Wheeler also affected North Paulding, with the game called off early in the fourth quarter due to the inclement weather.

North Paulding lost last week, 33-16, in a crosstown matchup with East Paulding.

Enongene and the Wolfpack (1-1) have the opportunity to get some revenge for Romain when they play Harrison this week.

Cincinnati (Ohio) Archbishop Moeller and defensive end Jonah Hayes set the tone in the return of the 'King of the Block' rivalry with Princeton, posting a 38-21 win in their season opener.

The rivalry had not been played since 2008, per WRKC, and Moeller reasserted its dominance in a series it now leads 39-7 all-time.

Last season, Hayes and the Crusaders got out to a slow,1-3 start before they rallied to win nine of their last 11 games and come an overtime short of a state title game appearance.

Moeller (1-0) plays at Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger, who they trounced in 2023 by a score of 57-0, this week.

Northwestern is back in the MIAA Conference that brought them four-star DE Anto Saka from Loyola Blakefiled iin the Class of 2022 with three-star safety Alijah Jones from Severn (Md.) Archbishop Spalding in the Class of 2025.

Spalding is the back-to-back defending Class A state champions in Maryland and were poor hosts to Cleveland (Ohio) Archbishop Hoban, beating the Ohio Division II state runners-up in their season opener, 28-14.

The two-score win is evidence of the deep pool of talent on the Cavs' roster. Alongside Jones are four-star quarterback Malik Washington (no relation to the former Wildcat by the same name), three-star cornerback Jaylen Shipps and three-star defensive tackle Delmar White, who are all committed to Maryland.

Spalding (1-0) hosts Hyattsville DeMatha this week.

Lake Mary (Fla.) and defensive tackle Tanner Jumpp opened their 2024 campaign with a smooth 49-20 win over Cardinal Gibbons on the road.

Gibbons scored an early touchdown after an interception return, but Jumpp and Lake Mary led 28-7 at the half and never looked back.

The Rams are ranked No. 4 in their 7A division by the Orlando Sentinel.

Lake Mary (1-0) hosts Osceola this week.

WR Braden Blueitt, Colleyville (Tex.) Heritage: Aug. 29 at Red Oak

DT Mason Mayne, Lawton (Mich.): Aug. 29 vs Benton Harbor

DE Caden O'Rourke, Frankfort (Ill.) Lincoln-Way East: Aug. 30 vs Maine South

LB Josh Veldman, New Lenox (Ill.) Lincoln-Way West: Aug. 30 at Blue Island Eisenhower

CB Marquet Dorsey, Wayne (N.J.) DePaul Catholic: Aug. 30 vs Pope John Paul XXIII

P Niki Dugandzic, Winnetka (Ill.) New Trier: Aug. 30 vs Naperville North

TE Noah LaPorte, Princeton (Ill.): Aug 30 vs. Newman Central Catholic

TE Robby Preckel, Wildwood (Mo.) Lafayette: Aug. 30 at Parkway North

RB Ronny Johnson, Dexter (Mich.): Aug. 30 at Franklin

OL Trey Boyd, Shakopee (Minn.): Aug. 30 vs. Hopkins

OT Michael O'Connell, Glen Ellyn (Ill.) Glenbard West: Aug. 31 vs. Batavia

Class of 2026

QB Johnny O'Brien, Palatine (Ill.) Fremd: Aug. 30 at Lake Zurich