MaxPreps Top 10 Football Medium Schools

The state of Florida had two of the top medium school teams in the nation this year, as determined by the MaxPreps Freeman Rankings.

Norland (Miami, Fla.), the Florida Class 5A state champion, earns the nod as the top medium school team in the nation based on MaxPreps' computer rankings. The Vikings went 15-0 and had a rating of 65.6. Norland edged out Helix (La Mesa) of California for the top spot. The Highlanders finished with a rating of 64.4.

American Heritage (Delray Beach), the Florida 3A state champion, comes in at the No. 6 spot with a 62.4 rating.

Three teams that finished in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Rankings, presented by the Army National Guard, make the Medium Schools Top 10. They include Norland, Archbishop Wood and Bellevue.

Teams considered for the Medium School Top 10 include those schools that play in state enrollment divisions with generally between 1,000 and 2,000 students.

1. Norland (Miami), 15-0, 65.6 The Vikings won the Florida 5A state championship with a 38-0 win over Wakulla. Randy "Duke" Johnson had a big game in the finals for Norland, scoring five touchdowns and rushing for 130 yards on 21 carries. Johnson finished the season with 2,087 yards and 27 touchdowns on the season. Norland also had wins over Glades Central and Northwestern. Norland finished the season ranked No. 16 in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 presented by the Army National Guard.{PAGEBREAK}2. Helix (La Mesa, Calif.), 13-1, 64.4 The Highlanders captured the California Division II Bowl Game with a 35-24 win over Del Oro (Loomis). Helix lost its first game of the season to Eastlake before rattling off 13 straight wins. Quarterback Brandon Lewis earned San Diego Section Offensive MVP honors for the season while linebacker Kacy Smith picked up the defensive MVP award.{PAGEBREAK}3. Valor Christian (Highlands Ranch, Colo.), 14-0, 63.1 The Eagles picked up the Colorado 4A state championship with a convincing 66-10 victory over Pine Creek. Valor Christian outscored its playoff opponents 218-17 and was held under 42 points only twice all season. Christian McCaffrey and Max McCaffrey led the team in rushing and receiving respectively. The sons of former Denver Bronco receiver Ed McCaffrey, Christian rushed for 1,153 yards and 22 touchdowns while Max caught 40 passes for 833 yards and eight scores.{PAGEBREAK}4. Bellevue (Wash.), 14-0, 62.7 The Wolverines routed O'Dea 35-16 to win the Washington 3A state championship. Bellevue, led by Washington Class 3A state MVP Tyler Hasty, also had key wins during the season against Oaks Christian (Westlake Village, Calif.) and Skyline (Sammamish). Bellevue ended the season ranked No. 14 overall in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25.{PAGEBREAK}5. Archbishop Wood (Warminster, Pa.), 14-1, 62.5 After losing its first game of the season against Central Catholic (Pittsburgh), Archbishop Wood was unstoppable, defeating Bishop McDevitt 52-0 in the Class 3A state championship game and blasting Allentown Central Catholic 70-14 in the semifinals. Finished ranked No. 13 overall in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25, the highest ranking by any medium school team.{PAGEBREAK}6. American Heritage (Delray Beach, Fla.), 12-1, 62.4

The Stallions topped Madison County 30-3 for the Florida 3A state championship. The only mark on American Heritage's record came in Week 2 when it lost to Glades Central. Greg Bryant rushed for 2,180 yards and 25 touchdowns for the state champs.{PAGEBREAK}7. Bowling Green (Ky.), 15-0, 61.8 The Purples rolled to a 55-3 win over Anderson County in the Kentucky Class 5A state championship. Scooter Hollis led the attack for Bowling Green, throwing for 2325 yards and 28 touchdowns on the season.{PAGEBREAK}8. St. Mary Prep (Orchard Lake, Mich.), 12-2, 60.0 Although it lost to St. John's Jesuit (Toledo, Ohio) and Catholic Central (Novi), St. Mary Prep bounced back to defeat Mt. Pleasant 45-7 in the Michigan Division 3 state championship game. Linebacker James Ross was a force on defense for the Eaglets, earning all-state Dream Team honors.{PAGEBREAK}9. Indianapolis Cathedral, 12-3, 59.2 Although Cathedral had three losses, one was to Trinity (Louisville), which finished ranked No. 2 in the nation, and another was to Warren Central (Indianapolis), a team ranked in the top 25 in the nation for most of the season. The Fighting Irish dominated in the Indiana Class 4A state playoffs, topping Columbus East 62-7 in the semifinals and Washington (South Bend), 42-7 in the championship game.{PAGEBREAK}10. Prairie Ridge (Crystal Lake, Ill.), 13-1, 58.6 The Wolves won the Illinois Class 6A state championship with a 35-14 win over Richwoods (Peoria). The only loss for the season was a 22-21 defeat at the hands of Cary Grove. Collin Corcoran shined in the championship game, registering 11 tackles, three for loss, and a sack.