It’s time for the start of another glorious high school football season. That means it’s time for high school football rankings. Like all the other “experts” out here we are guessing at who will think will be good this year. We dont truly know who is good until the teams take the field and start playing games. Lucky for us there are a ton of great early games that will let us know who the contenders and pretenders are this season. It all starts tonight in a potential game of the year when #5 Miami Washington travels to Georgia to take on preseason #1 Norcross. We also get great games between #3 Miami Central and Palm Beach Dwyer, #8 Dematha (MD) and Phoebus (VA) and #17 Apopka (FL) at Byrnes (SC). Make sure to check back every week to see how the rankings shake out or follow us on Twitter @PrepForce1 for updates.

1) Norcross – Norcross, GA – Return most of last years team that finished #3 in last years final rankings. QB AJ Bush could really make a name for himself if he has a good year. He has plenty of pieces around him that should make it easier for him including RB Myles Autry and WR LaMarcus Hardnett. The defense is led Lorenzo Carter who is one of the best DE in the country. We will know right away if this team is deserving of the #1 ranking as they take on #5 Washington (FL).
Impact Player – Lorenzo Carter
2) St. John Bosco – Bellflower, CA – They may have the best defense in the country with 6 high D1 caliber players. The offense is led by one of the top 2015 QB’s in the country in Josh Rosen. Damien Mama is a monster that will anchor the offensive line.
Impact Player – Damien Mama
3) Central – Miami, FL – It’s hard to put the defending Florida 6A champs down at #3. It would not be surprising to see them end the season at #1. They are led by the best backfield in the county with Top 50 players Dalvin Cook and Joseph Yearby.
Impact Player – Dalvin Cook
4) Edna Karr – New Orleans, LA – This team is coming off an undefeated season and with Speedy Noil back at QB it could very well happen again this year. They will play fellow Louisiana powerhouse John Curtis at home this year in a game that will decide the best in the state.
Impact Player – Speedy Noil
5) Washington – Miami, FL – It seems impssible that a top 5 team in the nation could start 0-2 but that is what I see happening here. The Tornadoes open the season with road games at #1 Norcross and #3 Miami Central. If they keep those games close they will prove to be deserving of their ranking.
Impact Player – Chad Thomas
6) Junipero Serra – Gardena, CA – With Malik Roberson this is probably a top 5 team. Unfortunately he was hurt in the spring and isnt available. It will be interesting to see if Adoree’ Jackson steps in at RB to fill the void. This team is loaded with D1 talent on both sides of the ball.
Impact Player – Adoree’ Jackson
7) Paramus Catholic – Paramus, NJ – Quite frankly this ranking is all about Jabrill Peppers. I expect to see Paramus to run a bunch of Wildcat this year with Peppers. The offensive line is very strong. If the defense shows up this team will be tough to beat. The opening game against Gilman should give us a good read.
Impact Player – Jabrill Peppers
8 ) Dematha – Hyattsville , MD – If John Lovett can produce at QB with this offense around him it would be very disappointing. This team doesnt have the top end talent of other teams but they are solid at pretty much every position. Every thing is in place for this team to make a run at the national title including the schedule.
Impact Player – Cameron Phillips
9) Allen – Allen, TX – It’s weird to have the first team from Texas all the way down at #9 but the state of Texas lost a ton of talent from last years senior class. There is tons of talent in the state again but its more spread out between teams. Undoubtedly a Texas team will end up much hihger but its hard to figure out which one it will be. The best guess is Allen as they have the best defenese in Texas. Most of the offense is new and they will rely heavily on Kyler Murray. There is talent on the offense its just a matter of if it will gel before a couple of losses.
Impact Player – Christian Sam
10) Sandy Creek – Tyrone, GA – I wish this team was in 6A in Georgia because we would get to see how great they really are. They have the talent on both sides of the ball to beat anyone but don’t have a schedule to prove it. Their best chance to make a good impression is by beating Tampa Plant impressively in their first game.
Impact Player – Demarre Kitt
11) St. Thomas Aquinas – Ft. Lauderdale, FL – The Raiders ended last year with one of the most impressive victorys of the season when they ended the dream season of Manatee. The offense will be fine with the great talent at the skill positions. I expect a break out year from the underrated Madre London. The schedule is tough as normal and it will challenge an inexperienced defense. If this team puts it all together they can make a run at the national title.
Impact Player – Corey Holmes
12) Hoover – Hoover, AL – This team is led by all everything Marlon Humprhey. He will play on both sides of the ball and provide senior leadership to a team that has a ton of underclass talent. The defense will have to carry this team early on the road at Colquitt County (GA) but if it does this team should end undefeated.
Impact Player – Marlon Humphrey
13) De La Salle – Concord, CA – This team could suffer a similar fate to Manatee from last year. The team is solid all around but the schedule is not there to test them until the eventual CIF Open Division Title game. The offense should be great especially the offensive line. If the team falters during the regular season it will be because of the defense.
Impact Player – Dasmond Tautalatasi
14) Hamilton – Chandler, AZ – Most of the defense led by Qualen Cunningham is back for the defending Arizona state champs. The offensive line should pave the way for an experienced offense. Will have to win at Mountain Pointe to prove its the best team in Arizona.
Impact Player – Qualen Cunningham
15) University School – Ft. Lauderdale, FL – Were high on them last year and they proved us right. I expect the same this year. Jordan Scarlett is special and Lajuan Hunt has verballed to Air Force. With Auburn commit Sean White at QB and 3 D1 caliber receivers the offense will be unstoppable. The defense will have to step it up but there is talent there.
Impact Player – Sean White
16) Centennial – Corona, CA – In a similar situation to University school with a loaded offense and an inexperienced defense that does have some stars. They will need Austin Maoloata to get to the quaterback to protect the young secondary. If that happens this team could be back in the CIF Open Division title game.
Impact Player – Viane Talamaivao
17) Apopka – Apopka, FL – This team returns almost everyone from last years Florida 8A title team. That gives them a ton of experience which makes them one of the most solid overall teams in the country. There is not a ton of star power outside of QB Zack Darlington but they will be tough to beat.
Impact Player – Zack Darlington
18) St. Edward – St. Edward, OH – Our preseason choice for the best team in Ohio. It’s far from a clear cut choice though. If they can solve the QB position they should be state champs. If they get shaky QB play they could be looking at a few losses.
Impact Player – Jack Walz
19) Cass Tech – Detroit, MI – If Jayru Campbell can make this offense just average they shouldn’t lose a game this year. The defense is chock full of D1 talent and will keep them in every game they play. The problem is that the other teams in Michigan are pretty weak this year so we might never find out how truly great this team is.
Impact Player – Damon Webb
20) Katy – Katy, TX – Katy is the most consistent team year in and year out in Texas so its hard to keep them out of the rankings. If this team had another name of the front of their jersey they may very well not be ranked but Im not going to doubt them. They lost a lot of players from last years undefeated title team but they do have QB Kiely Huddleston back at the helm. They should fare very well in the trenches which will let them have another dominant running game.
Impact Player – Logan Lister
21) Bishop Gorman – Las Vegas, NV – Any team led by Randall Cunningham at QB is going to make their way into my rankings. Talk about a QB that was ahead of his time. OK OK enough about that. His son will take over the reigns for the traditional Las Vegas powerhouse. Losing top RB Nathan Starks will hurt but reports are that Daniel Stewart has looked great in practice. The Gaels lost a lot from last years team but they are never low on great talent. They get to face off against Moutain Pointe (AZ) at home in the first game which should show if this team is worthy of their ranking.
Impact Player – Randall Cunningham
22) Gainesville – Gainesville, GA – They return almost everyone back from last year Georgia 5A title team. Most importantly they get Deshaun Watson back at QB. The nations top dual threat QB showed last year that he could carry this team to a state title and I expect him to do the same this year.
Impact Player – Deshaun Watson
23) Poly – Long Beach, CA – Poly finished last year strong after a dismal start. They will look to QB Tai Tiedemannto to avoid mistakes so that they offense can score enough because the defense won’t be giving up much. They should have one of the best defenses in California which includes the best secondary in the country led by JuJu Smith.
Impact Player – JuJu Smith
24) Carroll – Southlake, TX – Im hedging my bets a little here by putting Carrol in the preseason rankings. While I do think Allen is the best team in Texas the first game of the season will be very interesting. It would not shock me at all to see Carroll pull the upset at home. They have the revenge factor from last year and that cannot be understated. It’s not often that Carroll is an underdog at home and I think it might lift them to a victory. They will rely on the defense all year and hope that QB Ryan Agnew can fill the shoes left by Kenny Hill.
Impact Player – Evan Brown
25) Steele – Cibolo, TX – Lost to eventual champ Katy in the state semifinals last year after a dominant season. I expect this year to be the same. Texas Tech committ RB Justin Stockton will be the focus of the offense while Baylor committ DE Josh Malin will have to lead an inexperienced defense.
Impact Player – Justin Stockton