CHICAGO (CBS) – There may be hope that Chicago teachers and students will be back in the classrooms as early as Monday, but it’s a different story for the Friday night football games.

For hundreds of Chicago high school athletes, the reality is hitting home for them now, CBS 2’s Mike Parker reports.

There’s nothing like the spectacle of Friday night high school football. It appears there will be nothing like that spectacle going on at Chicago high school fields this week.

The games are expected to be canceled, even with a last-minute settlement of the teachers’ strike.

Still, Corliss High players worked out and ran scrimmages Thursday during an unofficial practice, even though their game against Chicago Vocational seems doomed.

“It’s a bad day that we can’t have our game. It’s like they’re taking away from us, taking our dream away from us,” Corliss player Kevon Harris says.

“Hopefully they get our season back as soon as possible, so we get in there and do what we need to get done,” Antonio Robinson adds.

At the Beverly library, Aaryn Parham and his two sons worked on computer skills today. All three say they’re eager to get back to normal — and back to school.

“I wish they could’ve been back yesterday,” the dad said. “If Monday, then good — that’s a good thing.”

A Chicago Public Schools spokesman says even if the teachers union’s delegates vote to end the strike Friday, there probably wouldn’t be enough time to notify the coaches and the players and get buses, equipment and security organized for the games.

The Illinois High School Association earlier this week declined to give CPS a waiver that would have allowed games to occur during the strike.