New Trier's path to a division championship just got shorter and steeper.
The Central Suburban League has restructured from two six-team divisions into three four-team divisions for the 2026 football season, The Record North Shore reported Tuesday. The Trevians land in the new CSL South alongside Maine South (10-2 in 2025), Glenbrook South (8-3), and Evanston (3-6). That means the division title will be decided across just three league games, each one carrying enormous weight.
New Trier went 1-2 against those three opponents last season: a 35-6 win over Evanston, a 35-7 loss to Maine South, and a 45-0 loss to Glenbrook South. No margin for error this time.
The compressed division race is one consequence of the IHSA's playoff expansion, approved 377-252 by member schools in December 2025. Each class bracket grew from 32 to 48 teams, with the top 16 seeds earning a first-round bye. The expansion also moved the regular season start up one week, eliminating the old Week 0 scrimmage. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, teams with as few as three or four wins in a nine-game season may now qualify for the postseason, down from the previous five-win standard.
For a program that finished 5-5 in 2025 and made the Class 8A playoffs for the first time since 2021, the wider net is welcome insurance. But head coach Brian Doll has his sights set higher.
"Our goal more than anything right now … and our main focus is starting out hot and beating Naperville North in Week 1," Doll said in a July 12 interview with The Record North Shore. "We have good seasons when we win that Week 1 game and we become more of a threat as the season goes on."
That opener arrives Friday, August 21 at Ransom Cable Stadium, where the Trevians host Naperville North at 7 p.m. The Northfield campus athletic fields are wrapping up Phase 1 of a $14.2 million renovation funded largely by a $10 million anonymous donation, with new synthetic turf, scoreboards, and lighting slated for the fall season.
Doll's roster gives him reason for optimism. Purdue-committed quarterback Jackie Ryder returns behind a backfield three deep: seniors Declan O'Meara (600-plus rushing yards and five touchdowns in 2025) and Donsley Lyman, plus junior Nikolas Hanold. All three have squatted over 400 pounds, a program first.
The season builds toward a marquee finish. The longstanding New Trier-Evanston rivalry moves to Northwestern University's rebuilt Ryan Field on Friday, October 16. It will be the first high school football game ever played at the new stadium.
North Shore sports ahead
- Friday, Aug. 21, 7 p.m. — New Trier football vs. Naperville North (home opener), Ransom Cable Stadium, Northfield. Season opener; NT won 20-14 in 2025.
- Thursday, Sept. 10, 7 p.m. — New Trier vs. Maine South (home, CSL South). The Hawks went 10-2 last year and won the CSL South title.
- Friday, Oct. 9, 7 p.m. — New Trier vs. Glenbrook South (home, CSL South). The Titans beat NT 45-0 in 2025.
- Friday, Oct. 16, 7 p.m. — New Trier at Evanston, Ryan Field (CSL South). First high school game at Northwestern's rebuilt stadium.
