Defending Ohio Division I state champions look like a contender once again under legendary head coach Chuck Kyle.
With a strong start coming off an undefeated, state championship season, St. Ignatius (Cleveland, Ohio) makes its debut in the Xcellent 25 after improving to 4-0 with a 47-7 win over Mentor.
Chuck Kyle has led St. Ignatius (Ohio) into the Xcellent 25.
Scott Seighman
Head coach Chuck Kyle’s squad was dominant in 2008, but graduated many key pieces of the Division I championship team. The Wildcats are joined by North Penn (Lansdale, Pa.) as 2009 first-timers in this week's Xcellent 25.
After losing a high-profile matchup with Oaks Christian (Westlake Village, Calif.), Skyline (Sammamish, Wash.) dropped out of the rankings, as did Longview (Texas), who fell to Lufkin.
MaxPreps Xcellent 25
1. Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), 2-0. Last Week: 1. The Raiders were off this week and will battle Cardinal Gibbons before their epic contest with No. 2 Byrnes (Duncan, S.C.) Oct. 2.
2. Byrnes (Duncan, S.C.), 4-0. Last Week: 2. Chas Dodd, Marcus Lattimore and company unloaded on Woodland, scoring 85 points. The Rebels will see old rival Gaffney before heading to Fort Lauderdale on Oct. 2 to take on No. 1 Aquinas.
3. Elder (Cincinnati, Ohio), 4-0. Last Week: 3. In its first league game, Elder was able to hold off previously undefeated La Salle 23-13. The Panthers will travel to Cleveland to take on St. Edward before seeing league rival St. Xavier in two weeks.
4. Lowndes (Valdosta, Ga.), 4-0. Last Week: 5. Lowndes continues to look absolutely dominating, pounding Colquitt County 31-6. The Vikings will host Tift County this week.
5. Smith (Chesapeake, Va.), 3-0. Last Week: 4. The Tigers shutout Kings Fork 34-0, thanks to three rushing touchdowns from sophomore sensation R.C. Coleman, who had a big game against his former school. Despite the score, it wasn’t the team’s finest performance. Star quarterback Phillip Sims was intercepted twice and sacked four times.
6. Central (Miami, Fla.), 3-0. Last Week: 6. A second consecutive shutout allowed the Rockets to breeze by Miami Beach 63-0. They have only allowed three points this season.{VIDEO_b4b602d8-d93b-4feb-b4f3-aa588cf1f427,floatRightWithBar}
7. Cedar Hill (Texas), 4-0. Last Week: 7. Three touchdowns by running back Ben Malena helped Cedar Hill hold off Arlington Martin in a shootout, 47-39. The Longhorns will have a bye week to get healthy before traveling to South Grand Prairie.
8. Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, N.J.), 1-0. Last Week: 8. After a bye week, the Ironmen will head to Alabama to take on 4-1 Prattville in their second out-of-state game of the season.
9. DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.), 3-0. Last Week: 9. The Stags’ offense continues to roll, jumping out to a 24-0 lead en route to a 45-12 victory over Friendship Collegiate Academy. Marcus Coker scored two more touchdowns for DeMatha.
10. Oaks Christian (Westlake Village, Calif.), 3-0. Last Week: 10. Oaks Christian moved to 3-0 after traveling to Washington to knock off Skyline (Sammamish) 28-25. Nick Montana threw for 260 yards and three touchdowns in the win.
11. Curtis (River Ridge, La.), 2-0. Last Week: 11. A thrilling overtime victory against 4A Salmen once again showed that Curtis can play with anyone in Louisiana. An extra point by Brandon Norman made the difference for the Patriots.
12. Centennial (Peoria, Ariz.), 4-0. Last Week: 13. Centennial faced one of Arizona’s top teams, Brophy, and came away victorious. Quarterback Dain McFarland secured Centennial's 30th consecutive win with a late touchdown run.
13. Madison Central (Madison, Miss.), 4-0. Last Week: 14. The Jaguars had the weekend off before heading to Clinton on Friday night.
14. Northwestern (Miami, Fla.), 2-0. Last Week: 15. After falling behind 13-8 to Hialeah, the Bulls rattled off 26 unanswered points en route to a 42-20 win. Teddy Bridgewater threw four touchdowns and Corvin Lamb had an 85-yard touchdown run for the Bulls.
15. Servite (Anaheim, Calif.), 3-0. Last Week: 17. The Friars raced out to a 31-0 lead and hung on for a 38-28 win against Crespi. Sean DeRosa had over 100 yards rushing for Servite, who remains undefeated.
16. St. Xavier (Cincinnati, Ohio), 4-0. Last Week: 18. With a 43-13 blowout over Louisville’s Trinity, the Bombers are ready for this week’s showdown with another Kentucky power, Highlands (Fort Thomas), in a game televised nationally on CBS College Sports.
17. Stony Point (Round Rock, Texas), 3-0. Last Week: 19. The Tigers were idle this weekend and will head to Westwood on Friday night.
18. Highlands (Fort Thomas, Ky.), 4-0. Last Week: 20. The Bluebirds cruised to a 36-14 win against Boone County. With star Austin Collinsworth on the sideline, quarterback Will Bardo threw for 245 yards and three scores. Highlands will host No. 16 St. Xavier on Friday.
19. Grayson (Loganville, Ga.), 4-0. Last Week: 21. Two late touchdowns pushed Grayson past South Gwinnett 27-16. Patrick Santry and Ean Pemberton each pounded out a second-half rushing TD as the Rams overcame a 16-14 third quarter deficit.
20. Bishop McDevitt (Harrisburg, Pa.), 3-0. Last Week: 22. Continuing to roll over competition, Bishop McDevitt easily handled Central Dauphin East 49-16. Matt Johnson was 7 of 9 passing for 145 yards with three touchdowns.
21. St. Bonaventure (Ventura, Calif.), 3-0. Last Week: 23. The Seraphs will see Crespi and Bishop Amat in consecutive weeks. Victories in those two games would look good on the program's CIF Bowl resume.
22. Jenks (Tulsa, Okla.), 3-0. Last Week: 24. There was no let down for the Trojans after their win in the Backyard Bowl. Jenks followed its 27-25 triumph over Union with a 49-3 laugher over Owasso.
Jenks (Okla.) did not let last week's celebrations affect this week's performance against Owasso.
Keith Owens
After allowing 31 points last week to Richmond, the Butler defense bounced back to allow only 7 points to West Charlotte, as the Bulldogs rolled 38-7.
24. St. Ignatius (Cleveland, Ohio), 4-0. Last Week: NR. The defending Division I state champions have added three more victories after opening the season with a win over talented Glenville. The Wildcats will be in the running for their 11th state title under head coach Chuck Kyle.
25. North Penn (Lansdale, Pa.), 3-0. Last Week: NR. Coming off a 14-1 season, North Penn is 3-0 and has beaten Liberty, Lansdale Catholic and St. Joseph’s Prep. The Knights are talented enough to make a run at the AAAA title.
Dropped out:Skyline (Sammamish, Wash.): Lost to No. 10 Oaks Christian (Westlake Village, Calif.) 28-25
Longview (Texas): Lost to Lufkin 28-14
