Manatee has been No. 1 since the summer. Will it hold on to its spot atop the Xcellent 25?
Photo by Marc Estrada
With only a few weeks remaining in the 2012 high school football season, the Xcellent 25 National Football Rankings are coming into focus near the top.
Manatee, which has held the top spot in the rankings since the preseason, retains the No. 1 spot, but figures to get pushed by the three teams beneath it: Curtis, DeSoto and Katy.
Sleepers in the race to finish No. 1 include Norcross with potentially two big wins left on its schedule, and the top teams in California, Narbonne and De La Salle.
Whitehaven, Centennial and Gainesville all debut this week, while Archbishop Moeller makes its return after capturing Ohio's Division I state title.
Xcellent 25 National Football Rankings presented by the Army National Guard1. (1) Manatee (Bradenton, Fla.), 13-0Manatee continued its nearly perfect play with a 51-0 thrashing of Fort Pierce Central.
Qwixcore2. (2) Curtis (River Ridge, La.), 13-0With a 55-0 victory over Springfield, Curtis is one win away from a Class 2A state title.
3. (3) DeSoto (Texas), 13-0It was tested against Bowie, but DeSoto pulled away for a 24-6 victory.
Qwixcore /
Game recap4. (4) Katy (Texas), 13-0Is Katy the top team in Texas? The argument can easily be made, in spite of DeSoto's dominance, following Katy's 55-10 dismantling of LaPorte.
5. (5) Bellevue (Wash.), 14-0Bellevue capped off an incredible season with a 35-3 victory over Eastside Catholic.
