The Lake Forest High School Scouts will open their 2026 football season at home against Deerfield on Friday, August 21, according to the official schedule the IHSA released Wednesday, July 22.
The nine-game slate features two non-conference matchups and seven North Suburban Conference games. The season starts one week earlier than in past years after the IHSA expanded its playoff field from 256 to 384 teams under Proposal 19, which added an extra playoff round and pushed the regular season up a week to accommodate it.
The August 21 opener falls before Lake Forest classes begin. Deerfield starts school Wednesday, August 12, a full two weeks ahead of the Scouts.
The full schedule
- Week 1 — Friday, Aug. 21 vs. Deerfield (home)
- Week 2 — Friday, Aug. 28 at Carmel
- Week 3 — Friday, Sept. 4 at Zion
- Week 4 — Thursday, Sept. 10 vs. Libertyville (home)
- Week 5 — Friday, Sept. 18 vs. Warren (home)
- Week 6 — Friday, Sept. 25 at Waukegan
- Week 7 — Friday, Oct. 2 vs. Lake Zurich (home)
- Week 8 — Friday, Oct. 9 at Stevenson
- Week 9 — Friday, Oct. 16 at Mundelein
Key matchups
The Week 2 trip to Carmel on Friday, August 28 is the sixth year of an annual series the Corsairs have dominated, winning four of five meetings. Last fall's result: 51-7 Carmel, according to The Athletic Scout's Jon Kerr. Carmel lost Power 4 recruit QB Trae Taylor, who transferred to a high school in Lincoln, Nebraska, but added former Warren quarterback Reed Dangel and returns junior linebacker Jameer Miles, a Top 60 national recruit with eight Big Ten offers.
The Week 4 Thursday night home game against Libertyville on September 10 marks the first Thursday matchup between the two rivals since 2023, when the Scouts won in overtime. Libertyville returns All-USA tight end Brock Williams, committed to the University of Texas.
Players to watch
The Scouts finished 4-5 in 2025 and missed the playoffs after a Week 8 loss to Libertyville. But several key players return healthy. Wide receiver Jack Burger, a senior and the team's top recruiting prospect alongside edge/linebacker George Holland (6-4, 235), broke his leg in Week 1 last season and missed six games. Kerr described Burger as "a difference-maker and a future college player" in a July 5 camp preview.
Senior athletes Emmet Lee and Jack Dacy also missed significant time to injury in 2025. At quarterback, senior Rafi Karam and junior Colin McMahon are competing for the starting job, per The Athletic Scout's camp report.
What's next
The Scouts wrap summer camp at Varsity Field the week of July 21 before heading to the Parkside scrimmage in Kenosha the weekend of Saturday, July 26. Under the expanded IHSA playoff format, a 4-5 record qualifies for the postseason in most seasons. The home opener against Deerfield kicks off the schedule Friday, August 21 at Varsity Field.
