Ridgewood Spartans Football: 2026 Schedule and Results (8-Man)
Latest result — Week 3, Friday September 4: won 46-0 against West Prairie/Southeastern. Now 2-1. Next: at Galva, Friday September 11, 6:00.
2026: 2-1 · Coach: Dawson Anderson · League: Illinois 8-Man Football Association · Combined enrollment: 214
Three years ago Ridgewood played for a state championship. Last year they missed the playoffs. This is a programme in the middle of something.
First, what Ridgewood actually is
Not a school. A co-op formed in 2009 between Cambridge High School (the Vikings, in Cambridge) and AlWood High School (in Woodhull), competing as the Ridgewood Spartans in football, basketball, softball, volleyball, track, dance and cheer.
Two notes that trip people up. MaxPreps files the team under Woodhull, not Cambridge. And there is an entirely unrelated Ridgewood High School in Norridge, near Chicago — a different school with no connection to this one.
Cambridge is the Henry County seat, population 2,086. Cambridge High School is listed among the oldest public high schools in the United States.
2026 so far
- Aug 21 — beat River Ridge 56-8 on the road
- Aug 28 — lost to Polo 48-28 at home
- Sept 4 — beat West Prairie/Southeastern 46-0 at home. A shutout, and the Spartans move to 2-1 and second in the 8-Man Central West. MaxPreps\u2019 schedule tab still shows this game unplayed; the standings tab has the 2-1.
Running back Hayden McCleary-Larson leads the team at 182 rushing yards a game.
2026 schedule
| Date | Opponent | Site | Time | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 21 | at River Ridge | Away | 7:00 | W 56-8 |
| Aug 28 | Polo | Home | 7:00 | L 48-28 |
| Sept 4 | West Prairie/Southeastern | Home | 7:00 | — |
| Sept 11 | at Galva | Away | 6:00 | — |
| Sept 26 | Peoria Heights | Home | 1:00 (Sat) | — |
| Oct 2 | at Bushnell-Prairie City | Away | 7:00 | — |
| Oct 9 | West Central | Home | 7:00 | — |
| Oct 16 | at Flanagan/Cornell/Woodland | Away | 7:00 | — |
| Oct 23 | SFEM | Home | 7:00 | — |
Note September 26: a Saturday afternoon kickoff at 1:00. The only one on any local schedule this season.
2023: the state final
Ridgewood reached the I8FA state championship game in 2023 and lost it 74-22 to Amboy, in a final played at Monmouth College. They finished 10-3.
The coach that season was Pat Elder — who now coaches Bureau Valley, in the eleven-man Lincoln Land North division. Elder made the eight-man playoffs in all three of his Ridgewood seasons.
In 2024 Ridgewood went 9-2 and won the conference at 8-0. Last season they slipped to 4-5 and missed the postseason.
The biggest trophy in the region
Ridgewood won the IHSA Class 1A softball state championship in spring 2024 — the first state title in the programme’s history. The IHSA lists it under “Woodhull (AlWood),” the co-op’s softball entry.
Softball has stayed strong: 23-10 in 2026, second in conference at 10-1, eliminated 5-1 by West Central in the state series in May.
And there is a pipeline behind it. Ridgewood Junior High girls won the IESA state softball title in September 2024.
Also in the cabinet: AlWood girls basketball was Class 1A state runner-up in 1994, finishing 31-1 after an 80-68 loss to Okawville. Cambridge holds nineteen IHSA football playoff qualifications and one second-place football trophy from its pre-co-op years.
Volleyball, 2026
1-3 through the opening week, with a three-set win over Rockridge in tournament play.
Where the season goes from here
Ridgewood’s September is the busiest stretch of local eight-man football. They host West Prairie/Southeastern on the 4th, travel to Galva on the 11th, and then have a fortnight before the Saturday afternoon fixture against Peoria Heights on the 26th.
West Central, currently 2-0, visits Cambridge on October 9.
Three seasons, three directions
| Season | Record | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 10-3 | I8FA state runner-up |
| 2024 | 9-2 | Conference champions at 8-0 |
| 2025 | 4-5 | Missed the playoffs |
The 2023 final was played at Monmouth College and lost 74-22 to Amboy. The coach that year, Pat Elder, now runs Bureau Valley in the eleven-man ranks.
The softball championship
In spring 2024, Ridgewood won the IHSA Class 1A softball state championship — the first state title in the co-op’s history. The IHSA files it under “Woodhull (AlWood).”
The programme has stayed strong. In 2026 it went 23-10, finished second in conference at 10-1, and was eliminated 5-1 by West Central in the state series on May 29 — a defending champion knocked out by another school on this site.
And there is a pipeline: Ridgewood Junior High girls won the IESA state softball title in September 2024.
Before the co-op
AlWood girls basketball was Class 1A state runner-up in 1994, finishing 31-1 after an 80-68 defeat to Okawville. Cambridge holds nineteen IHSA football playoff qualifications and one second-place football trophy from its years as a standalone school.
Cambridge itself is the Henry County seat, population 2,086, and its high school is listed among the oldest public high schools in the United States.
Volleyball
The 2026 team is 1-3, with a three-set win over Rockridge in tournament play on August 29. Note that MaxPreps’ two Ridgewood pages disagree about that weekend’s results; we have used the schedule page.
What Ridgewood actually is
Worth restating clearly, because almost every reference source gets some part of it wrong.
Ridgewood is a co-operative formed in 2009 between Cambridge High School — whose own teams are the Vikings — and AlWood High School in Woodhull. Together they compete as the Spartans in football, basketball, softball, volleyball, track, dance and cheer.
Cambridge enrolls 116 students and AlWood 98, for a combined 214.
Two traps to avoid: MaxPreps files the team under Woodhull, not Cambridge, so searches for “Cambridge football” return little. And there is an entirely unrelated Ridgewood High School in Norridge, near Chicago, which shares the name and nothing else.
One further caution: the Cambridge town page on Wikipedia lists the golfer Dan Halldorson among its notable people. Halldorson was Canadian, from Manitoba. That entry appears to be an error and we have not repeated it.
The Saturday game
Mark September 26. Ridgewood hosts Peoria Heights at 1:00 in the afternoon — the only Saturday afternoon kickoff on any schedule in this coverage area this season.
It follows a fortnight’s break after the trip to Galva, the longest gap in the Spartans’ season.
Send us results
Eight-man football gets a fraction of the coverage the eleven-man game does around here. If you have a score, a stat line or a photo, send it in — we post them as they come and correct errors the same day.
Records via IHSA and MaxPreps; co-op structure via Cambridge and AlWood districts.
