Immaculate Conception Catholic Prep and York Community appeared to violate the rules of high school football in the state of Illinois during a recent rivalry scrimmage. They played at full speed with some plays resulting in full contact without full pads.
Video from the joint practice goes against IHSA By-Law 3.157.
It will be interesting to see whether the governing body of high school football in The Prairie State decides to take action. Although it is impossible to avoid accidental contact, this specific practice footage presents a very different reality.
Grant Bowen led Immaculate Conception Catholic Prep in a scrimmage against York Community.
At 6-foot-4, 220 pounds, Grant Bowen ranks as one of the top-100 prospects in the college football recruiting Class of 2028. He is rated as a four-star athlete who plays linebacker and tight end at IC Catholic Prep. His father, former NFL safety Matt Bowen, is the head coach of the Knights. They are one of the better teams in the state over the last 10 years.
IC Catholic Prep, a private school, is located in Elmhurst, Illinois. Bowen led his team during a scrimmage against York Community, the local public school in Elmhurst. These two teams do not play each other during the regular season but they are very familiar with one another by nature of location. These high school football athletes grew up together!
A video of their joint practice went extremely viral on social media with more than one million views on multiple platforms. Grant Bowen was the biggest star on the field but both teams were flying around the ball and making plays!
The whole state is ITCHING for the season to start…😳
— SLOCHE (@sloche_o) July 24, 2026
The No. 1 ATH in the class of 2028, Grant Bowen, led ICCP vs. 8A power York in a scrimmage yesterday 🔥 pic.twitter.com/dokL7vKXgT
Unfortunately, even if it was not intentional, the intensity of the scrimmage appeared to be in direct violation the Illinois High School Association rulebook. Both teams brought players to the ground with a full tackle. Bowen laid the lumber over the middle.
Illinois high school football teams cannot engage in full contact without full pads.
IHSA By-Law 3.157 defines the rules for the “summer contact period” for high school football in the state of Illinois. It says that players who are not in full pads may participate in “air,” “bags,” “wrap,” and “thud,” drills and simulations at any point. Those contact levels are defined as:
- Air – Players should run unopposed without bags or any opposition
- Bags – Activity is executed against a bag, shield, or pad to allow for a soft-contact surface, with or
- without the resistance of a teammate or coach standing behind the bag
- Wrap – Drills run at full speed until contact, which is above the waist with the players remaining on their feet
- Thud – Same as wrap but tempo is competitive with no pre-determined winner and the players are not tackling to the ground
Per By-Law 3.157, “It is assumed that when players are not in full pads, no live action drills or simulations will occur.” Full pads are defined as: a helmet, shoulder pads, football pants with the required thigh, knee, hip and tailbone pads, and a mouthpiece.
Neither IC Catholic Prep nor York Community wore football pants with the required thigh, knee, hip and tailbone pads. Because they were not in full pads, they were not permitted to partake in live action drills or simulations.
That means — according to IHSA rules — players must remain on their feet and must not tackle to the ground. The video of the crosstown scrimmage did not reflect these required regulations. Multiple defensive players tackled to the ground. Ball-carriers did not remain on their feet.
Players are obviously going to end up on the ground, even during wrap and thud. It is not a perfect science. Football is a violent game. Things happen.
With that being said, even with the short whistle, York Community and Immaculate Conception Catholic Prep were hitting hitting. The Illinois High School Association could see this video and decide to take action.