What a weekend of high school football, the games lived-up to all the hype. As I said last week, the quality of games was probably as good as I’ve seen in my 40 years of covering high school sports.
The four games featuring Top 25 vs. Top 25 match-ups were great to watch or follow online, and the outcomes have made a huge impact on this week’s High School Football America National Top 25 that is created with our proprietary algorithm.
St. John Bosco (California), our preseason #1, opened with a solid 34-0 win on the road at St. Xavier in Ohio. The Braves remain the top team this week, but below that, there’s a complete shuffle, except for Mater Dei (California) holding at #4.
Bishop Gorman‘s impressive 44-14 win on the road against former #3 Cedar Hill, jumps the Gaels from #5 to #2. BIG GAME alert, if both Bosco and Gorman win this week, they’ll square-off in SoCal on September 9th.
IMG Academy (Florida) slides one spot to #3, even though they beat former #8 Grayson (Georgia). This Saturday, IMG heads to Southern California to take-on #24 Corona Centennial in a marquee match-up.
Rounding-out the Top 10 are: DeMatha (Maryland) #5, Allen (Texas) at #6, Westlake (Texas) at #7, Cibolo Steele (Texas) at #8, Colerain (Ohio) at #9 and Miami Central (Florida) at #10.
Booker T., the strength of its win over previous #7 St. Thomas Aquinas (Florida), is the week’s biggest climber, moving from #37 to #11. STA dropped to #13. BTW and Miami Central will meet in in four weeks.
Aside from Booker T. Washington, St. Edward, the two-time defending Ohio Division I champs, and Corona Centennial (California) are the only other teams to break into the Top 25 this week. The Eagles, who finished #6 last year in our national Top 25, enter at #23, while Corona Centennial at the aforementioned #24.
Three teams —#15 St. Joseph Regional (Montvale, New Jersey), #18 Don Bosco Prep (New Jersey) and #25 Good Counsel (Maryland) — haven’t played yet. All three dropped a couple of spots this week and open the season this weekend.
High School Football America Top 25
Presented by Krossover Intelligence
#1 St. John Bosco Braves (California)
Record: (1-0)
Previous Rank: #1
Rewind: beat St. Xavier (Ohio) 34-0
Fast Forward: vs. La Mirada (California), Friday
#2 Bishop Gorman Gaels (Nevada)
Record: (1-0)
Previous Rank: #5
Rewind: beat #3 Cedar Hill (Texas) 44-14
Fast Forward: vs. #42 Cocoa (Florida), Friday
#3 IMG Academy Ascenders (Florida)
Record: (1-0)
Previous Rank: #2
Rewind: beat #8 Grayson (Georgia) 26-7
Fast Forward: vs. #24 Corona Centennial (California), Saturday
#4 Mater Dei Monarchs (California)
Record: (1-0)
Previous Rank: #4
Rewind: beat Bishop Amat 63-14
Fast Forward: vs. Mayfair (California), Friday
#5 DeMatha Stags (Maryland)
Record: (1-0)
Previous Rank: #10
Rewind: beat Oscar Smith (Virginia) 42-7
Fast Forward: vs. Avalon (Maryland), Friday
#6 Allen Eagles (Texas)
Record: (1-0)
Previous Rank: #14
Rewind: beat Hoover (Alabama) 25-7
Fast Forward: vs. Evangel Christian (Louisiana), Friday
#7 Westlake Chaparrals (Texas)
Record: (1-0)
Previous Rank: #17
Rewind: beat #6 Katy (Texas) 32-29
Fast Forward: vs. Liberty (Nevada), Friday
#8 Cibolo Steele Knights (Texas)
Record: (1-0)
Previous Rank: #9
Rewind: beat San Antonio Madison 37-7
Fast Forward: vs. #41 Lake Travis (Texas), Friday
#9 Colerain Cardinals (Ohio)
Record: (1-0)
Previous Rank: #19
Rewind: beat #24 Warren Central (Indiana) 31-28
Fast Forward: at St. Xavier (Ohio), Friday
#10 Miami Central Rockets (Florida)
Record: (1-0)
Previous Rank: #12
Rewind: beat East Ridge (Florida) 59-14
Fast Forward: vs. Killian (Florida), Friday
#11 Booker T. Washington Tornadoes (Florida)
Record: (1-0)
Previous Rank: #37
Rewind: beat #7 St. Thomas Aquinas (Florida) 27-23
Fast Forward: vs. Monsignor Pace (Florida), Friday
#12 Grayson Rams (Georgia)
Record: (0-1)
Previous Rank: #8
Rewind: lost to #2 IMG Academy (Florida) 26-7
Fast Forward: at McEachern (Georgia), Friday
#13 St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders (Florida)
Record: (0-1)
Previous Rank: #7
Rewind: lost to #37 Booker T. Washington (Florida) 27-23
Fast Forward: at Miramar (Florida), Friday
#14 Katy Tigers (Texas)
Record: (0-1)
Previous Rank: #6
Rewind: lost to #17 Westlake (Texas) 32-29
Fast Forward: vs. Klein Collins (Texas), Saturday
#15 St. Joseph Regional Green Knights (New Jersey)
Record: (0-0)
Previous Rank: #13
Rewind: Idle
Fast Forward: vs. Serra (Gardena, California), Saturday at The Honor Bowl in Mission Viejo, CA
#16 Roswell Hornets (Georgia)
Record: (1-0)
Previous Rank: #15
Rewind: Idle
Fast Forward: vs. Central Gwinnett (Georgia), Friday
#17 Mallard Creek Mavericks (North Carolina)
Record: (2-0)
Previous Rank: #18
Rewind: beat Butler (North Carolina) 35-20
Fast Forward: vs. Byrnes (South Carolina), Friday
#18 Don Bosco Prep Ironmen (New Jersey)
Record: (0-0)
Previous Rank: #16
Rewind: Idle
Fast Forward: at #33 American Heritage (Plantation, Florida), Friday
#19 Mill Creek Hawks (Georgia)
Record: (2-0)
Previous Rank: #22
Rewind: beat Stephenson (Georgia) 32-7
Fast Forward: vs. Dacula (Georgia), Friday
#20 Cedar Hill Longhorns (Texas)
Record: (0-1)
Previous Rank: #3
Rewind: lost to #5 Bishop Gorman (Nevada) 44-14
Fast Forward: vs. Mansfield (Texas), Friday
#21 McGill-Toolen Yellowjackets (Alabama)
Record: (2-0)
Previous Rank: #21
Rewind: beat Davidson (Alabama) 39-36 in 3 OTs
Fast Forward: at Murphy (Alabama), Friday
#22 Warren Central Warriors (Indiana)
Record: (1-1)
Previous Rank: #24
Rewind: lost to #19 Colerain (Ohio) 31-28
Fast Forward: at North Central (Indiana), Friday
#23 St. Edward Eagles (Ohio)
Record: (1-0)
Previous Rank: #26
Rewind: beat Pine-Richland (Pennsylvania) 28-27
Fast Forward: at #49 Archbishop Hoban (Ohio), Friday
#24 Corona Centennial Huskies (California)
Record: (1-0)
Previous Rank: #27
Rewind: beat Chandler (Arizona) 56-49
Fast Forward: vs. #3 IMG Academy (Florida), Saturday
#25 Good Counsel Falcons (Maryland)
Record: (0-0)
Previous Rank: #23
Rewind: Idle
Fast Forward: at Mount St. Joseph (Maryland), Saturday
