Upsets in the Texas high school football state playoffs shook up the penultimate Stadium Talk Top 25 High School Football Rankings. St. John Bosco (Bellflower, California) moved up to No. 1 following its 45-0 win over Serra (San Mateo, California) in the CIF Open Division state championship game. The win gives St. John Bosco the inside lane to being named Stadium Talk’s first high school football national champion in next week’s final poll.
Top-ranked Westlake (Austin, Texas) saw its streak of 54 consecutive wins and quest for a fourth consecutive state title come to an end in the Class 6A Division I state semifinals with a loss to then-No. 7 North Shore (Houston, Texas), while No. 12 Guyer (Denton, Texas) and No. 13 Katy (Katy, Texas) also lost in their semifinal games.
Five teams in the Top 25 won state championships last week. No. 11 Chaminade-Madonna (Hollywood, Florida) won the Class 1M title for its fifth championship in six seasons. No. 13 Mill Creek (Hoschton, Georgia) re-entered the poll for the first time since early this season with a record-setting 70-35 win over then-No. 20 Carrollton (Carrollton, Georgia) in the Class 7A championship game. No. 16 St. Joseph’s Prep (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) won its fourth state title in five years. No. 19 Basha (Chandler, Arizona) won the Arizona Open Division state title. And No. 21 Langston Hughes (Fairburn, Georgia) won the Class 6A state championship for the first football state title in school history.
Fourteen different states are represented in this week’s Top 25. Florida leads the way with six teams, followed by Texas with five teams.
The Stadium Talk Top 25 High School Football Rankings are released every Tuesday morning throughout the regular season with a national champion crowned following the final state championship games across the country. Check out The Stadium Talk Podcast, Season One: High School Football in America on Apple Podcast, Spotify and Amazon.
21. Langston Hughes High School (Fairburn, Georgia)
Previous ranking: 22
Final record: 15-0 (Class 6A state champion)
Last game: Defeated Gainesville 35-28
Bottom line: Langston Hughes topped Gainesville in the Class 6A state championship game in a battle of unbeaten teams for the school’s first state football title.
Langston Hughes quarterback Air Noland was almost perfect in the championship game, going 18-of-21 passing for 263 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. Langston Hughes also set the state record for points in a single season with 792.
Jaden Barnes added seven receptions for 150 yards and one touchdown for Langston Hughes, while Jekail Middlebrook had 135 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns in three different ways — rushing, receiving and on a 71-yard kickoff return.
16. American Heritage High School (Plantation, Florida)
American Heritage High School
Previous ranking: 17
Record: 13-1
Last game: Defeated Jacksonville Bolles 21-14 (Dec. 2)
Next game: Dec. 16 vs. No. 3 Miami Central (13-0)
Bottom line: High school football games in Florida don’t get any bigger than Friday’s Class 2M state championship game between American Heritage and unbeaten No. 3 Miami Central. American Heritage has a pair of big-time playmakers in senior wide receiver Brandon Innis and senior running back Mark Fletcher, who are both high-level recruits.
Innis, an Ohio State commit, has 66 receptions for 1,244 yards and 14 touchdowns. Fletcher has 1,824 rushing yards and 22 touchdowns on 203 carries and is averaging a whopping 8.3 yards per carry.
14. Lakeland High School (Lakeland, Florida)
Previous ranking: 15
Record: 13-0
Last game: Defeated Osceola 14-7 (Dec. 2)
Next game: Dec. 7 vs. Venice (9-3)
Bottom line: Lakeland takes its unbeaten record into the Class 4S state championship game against Venice, the defending Class 7A state champion before Florida reconfigured its classification system for 2022.
Lakeland’s defense has been the star this season. The Dreadnaughts have allowed seven points or less in nine out of 13 games, which includes four shutouts. Lakeland’s defense is led up front by 6-foot-2, 240-pound senior defensive end Larry Jones III, who has 16.0 sacks so far this season.
Jones is one of two players on Lakeland’s defense with double-digit sacks alongside fellow senior defensive end Idris King, who has 11.0 sacks.
11. Chaminade-Madonna College Prep (Hollywood, Florida)
Previous ranking: 11
Record: 14-0 (Class 1M State Champion)
Last game: Defeated Clearwater Central Catholic 48-14
Next game: Dec. 17 at No. 8 Bishop Gorman (13-1)
Bottom line: Chaminade-Madonna rolled to an easy win over Clearwater Central Catholic in the Class 1M state championship game.
The Lions relied on their stars in the title game. Five-star junior wide receiver Jeremiah Smith had six receptions for 104 yards and two touchdowns while junior running back Davion Gause rushed for 189 yards and two touchdowns. Junior quarterback Cedrick Bailey was 16-of-24 passing for 255 yards and three touchdowns. It was the fifth state championship for the Lions in the last six seasons.
Chaminade-Madonna are not be done playing. The Lions will play Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nevada), the NIAA 5A state champion, in the ESPN Geico Bowl Series on Dec. 17.
8. Bishop Gorman High School (Las Vegas, Nevada)
Previous ranking: 9
Record: 13-1 (Class 5A State Champion)
Last game: Defeated Bishop Manogue 70-6 (Nov. 18)
Next game: Dec. 17 vs. No. 11 Chaminade-Madonna (14-0)
Bottom line: Bishop Gorman’s season came to an end with a 70-6 win over Bishop Manogue on Nov. 18 in the Class 5A state championship game. It was the Gaels’ 13th state title in the last 15 years.
Bishop Gorman junior quarterback Micah Alejado was named Nevada MaxPreps Player of the Year after he threw for 3,403 yards, 53 touchdowns and two interceptions to go with 335 rushing yards and three touchdowns. Alejado also completed 75.9 percent of his passes.
Bishop Gorman will play again this year against Chaminade-Madonna College Preparatory School, the FHSA 1M state champion from Hollywood, Florida, in the ESPN Geico Bowl Series on Dec. 17.
6. St. Thomas Aquinas High School (Fort Lauderdale, Florida)
Previous ranking: 6
Record: 13-0
Last game: Defeated Tampa Jesuit 45-3 (Dec. 2)
Next game: Dec. 15 vs. Homestead (12-2)
Bottom line: St. Thomas Aquinas has won its last seven games by at least 30 points each and will face Homestead in the Class 3M state championship game, where the Raiders will try to win a fourth consecutive state title.
Quarterback Hezekiah Harris leads the St. Thomas Aquinas offense with 1,619 passing yards, 23 touchdowns and three interceptions to go with 281 rushing yards and six touchdowns.
On defense, 6-foot-2, 245-pound senior linebacker Keyshawn Johnson leads the team with 13 sacks.
Listen: St. Thomas Aquinas Head Coach Roger Harriott Talks Faith, Football, Winning State Title and Producting NFL Players
2. North Shore High School (Houston, Texas)
Previous ranking: 7
Record: 15-0
Last game: Defeated No. 1 Westlake 49-34
Next game: Dec. 17 vs. No. 7 Duncanville (14-0)
Bottom line: North Shore ended Westlake’s winning streak at 54 games in a battle between defending state champions in the Class 6A Division I semifinals.
North Shore is the defending Division I state champion, and Westlake was the defending Division II state champion and was trying to win its fourth consecutive state title. North Shore will face Duncanville in the championship game for the fourth time in the last five years, having won the previous three meetings.
North Shore was led by its ground game, racking up 335 rushing yards against Westlake, with Rashaad Johnson rushing for three touchdowns. North Shore led 21-19 early in the third quarter before North Shore answered with a 46-yard touchdown run by D’Andre Hardeman and a 72-yard punt return for a touchdown by Evan Jackson for a 35-19 lead with 3:59 left in the third quarter.
