Florida High School Football Top 25 Rankings - Sept. 7

The Florida high school football season wrapped up its third week of play, as many of the Sunshine State’s top programs were in action. Plenty of interesting results followed. IMG Academy enjoyed a bye week as St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders cruised by perennial state power Columbus and Miami Central dropped another 50-point outing.

Another jam-packed slate is on deck as teams around the state continue their respective quests for state championships as all roads lead to Pitbull Stadium in December. .

The Massey Ratings, officially used during the BCS era, is a model that ranks sports teams by analyzing game outcomes, strength of schedule, and margin of victory.

Here is the latest New Jersey high school football Top 25 rankings, according to Massey.

1. IMG Academy Ascenders

The undefeated Ascenders continue sit atop of our Sunshine State rankings after a 35-14 victory over Winslow Township at the Battle at the Beach Classic in Ocean City, N.J.

IMG Academy has looked a lot more like its dominant self under the watch of first-year head coach Greg Studrawa. It’s been no easy path, either, with wins over The First Academy, Hoover (Ala.) and now Winslow Township.

Up next for IMG Academy is a road matchup against Nevada’s Coronado (1-1) this Friday.

2. St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders

St. Thomas Aquinas maintains the second spot in the rankings after winning in dominant fashion over Columbus in a 42-7 dismantling of the Explorers.

Three-star quarterback Mason Mallory, who transferred from West Boca Raton during the offseason, has displayed what he could do as the Raiders’ dual-threat behind center. Mallory has compiled over 250 all-purpose yards and multiple touchdowns in his first two games.

The Raiders should come away winners in their next few games as they take on Western this Friday, with Hollywood Hills, McArthur, Monarch, NFL Academy mixed in before their final two contests against American Heritage and Chaminade-Madonna, respectively.

3. Miami Central Rockets

The Rockets (2-0) finally got a chance to start the Derrick Gibson era as they took the field against Miami Edison a couple weeks ago and routed the Red Raiders, 50-12.

Miami Central followed up the blowout win with another as they routed Miami Booker T. Washington, 58-12, last week. Does Gibson have this team right back in the thick of it as one of South Florida’s best teams?

Meetings against American Heritage (Sep. 19) and rival Miami Northwestern (Oct. 4) should be indicators of where this Rockets team is at on a state level.

4. Armwood Hawks

Continuing to rise up the charts in last week’s Florida high school football rankings are the Hawks of Seffner, who are now coming off their third straight win, a 28-7 domination of rival Tampa Bay Tech.

There’s plenty of reasons to like this Armwood (3-0) team, including senior three-star quarterback Rhys Brush, who is committed to USF.

Looking deeper at this Armwood roster and head coach Evan Davis has a slew of Power Four recruits littered all over, including in the secondary with cornerbacks Jaelen Waters (Miami commit), Larry Warren (UNLV commit) and safeties D’Montae Tims (Colorado commit), Kallen Martinez (UConn commit).

With the win over the Titans, expect Armwood to go 10-0 as they will be favored in every game moving forward.

5. Chaminade-Madonna Prep Lions

Chaminade-Madonna Prep made it two wins in a row when they defeated American Heritage in a thriller on the road last week.

Four-star Derrek Cooper (Texas commit) is as good as they come for running backs, but he can not do it alone if Chaminade-Madonna wants to remain in the conversation as one of the nation’s best. Junior tailback Arwin Jackson has been solid, rushing for 260 yards and adding a touchdown.

At the helm of the offense behind center for the Lions as 13-year old Malik Leonard, who continued his impressive play against another quality opponent. The young southpaw signal caller threw for 134 yards and a touchdown against American Heritage’s defense last week.

The Lions looks to keep the momentum going when they face off against Miami Edison.

6. Northwestern Bulls

Miami Northwestern didn’t get to play No. 9 ranked Venice the previous week due to inclement weather, but the Bulls returned to action last week at Traz Powell Stadium against Miami Carol City, coming away with a 37-6 win.

Despite the departure of coach Teddy Bridgewater, the Bulls remain one of Florida’s top tier programs. When looking at this team, there’s a very real possibility of repeating as state champions, regardless of the 1-1 start.

There’s a real possibility that Miami Northwestern could run the table the rest of the way as the Bulls play a fairly advantageous schedule from here on out. That and the fact that they dominated last year’s Class 3A playoffs, out-scoring opponents 262-12, we think that there’s a fair chance it could happen again this fall. A Oct. 4 meeting with No. 3 Miami Central will be one to watch for down the stretch.

7. American Heritage Patriots

American Heritage was feeling pretty good coming off a comeback victory over St. Joseph’s Prep before they had to experience it themselves.

The Patriots entered the fourth quarter with a 24-14 lead at home and ended up losing, 28-24, to Chaminade-Madonna in a all-time classic.

Five-star Texas commit Dia Bell has been playing superb behind center for American Heritage through two games. Bell has completed 43 of 68 passes for 540 yards and four touchdowns. Senior wide receiver Jamar Denson has been Bell’s favorite target, hauling in 20 passes for 334 yards and two touchdowns.

The Patriots will look to bounce back from the loss to the Lions when they travel up to the Big Easy and go up against Louisiana’s top ranked Edna Karr Cougars at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

8. St. Augustine Jackets

The surprise of the Florida high school football season has been the play of the St. Augustine Jackets thus far, with the latest example of their superb play coming in a 40-35 win over The Bolles School last week.

Fueling the Jackets’ offense after the graduation of Locklan Hewlett, who is now at USF, is junior quarterback Brenton James. James has been as good as they come in the Sunshine State behind center, with the signal caller completing 47 of 60 passes for 741 yards and 10 touchdowns to zero interceptions.

Games to keep a close eye on the rest of the season are clashes with Nease (Sep. 19), Columbia (Sep. 26) and Mandarin (Oct. 30).

9. Venice Indians

Venice finally rebounded from their season-opening loss at home when they defeated a feisty Bishop Verot group, 27-12.

The Indians struggled to move the ball on offensively in Week 1 against Tampa Bay Tech with quarterback Sean Long, who came away winning the quarterback battle. Now head coach John Peacock has to figure out how to change the team’s fortunes as they face a difficult slate of games heading into the middle portion of the season.

Up next is a showdown with No. 20 ranked Port Charlotte at Powell Davis Stadium.

10. Mainland Buccaneers

The Buccaneers made their debut into the Top 10 of the rankings and stay pat after a 28-7 rout of Flagler Palm Coast last week. Solid quarterback play from senior Sebastian Johnson, who has thrown for 475 yards and four touchdowns, has been key so far.

Mainland will get a chance to show everyone they are for real the rest of the way they face the likes of teams like Coffee (Ga.) and Deland (Fla.).

Florida High School Football Rankings: Nos. 11 – 25

11. Oakleaf (3-0)
12. Jones (2-1)
13. Tampa Bay Tech (2-1)
14. Raines (2-0)
15. Vero Beach (3-0)

16. Norland (2-1)
17. Lakeland (2-1)
18. Edgewater (3-0)
19. The Bolles School (2-1)
20. Port Charlotte (3-0)

21. Nease (3-0)
22. Clearwater Central Catholic (3-0)
23. Jesuit (2-1)
24. Lake Mary (2-1)
25. Columbia (3-0)

How to Follow Florida High School Football

For Florida high school football fans looking to keep up with scores around the nation, staying updated on the action is now easier than ever with the Rivals High School Scoreboard. This comprehensive resource provides real-time updates and final scores from across the Sunshine State, ensuring you never miss a moment of the Friday night frenzy. From nail-biting finishes to dominant performances, the Rivals High School Scoreboard is your one-stop destination for tracking all the high school football excitement across the state of Florida.