Top 10 Small School football teams

While they may not have realized it at the time, when Buford and Calhoun met for the Georgia Class AA state championship game, they were essentially playing for the national small schools championship.

Calhoun edged Buford 27-24 in overtime and finished 15-0 on the season. The win allowed Calhoun to finish the season as the highest-rated small school in the MaxPreps Freeman Computer Rankings with a rating of 56.8.

Buford did not finish far behind, however, dropping only to No. 3 with a 54.8 rating. Anadarko, a 3A state champion from Oklahoma, is the No. 2 team with a 56.5 rating.

The Top 10 list of the nation's best small schools is compiled using state enrollment divisions as a guide. For the most part, all teams considered for the small school rankings play in enrollment divisions that consist of schools with an enrollment of less than 1,000 students. Private schools that have enrollments under 1,000 but play in a higher enrollment division were not considered for this list.

Here's a look at the nation's top 10 small school football teams for 2011.

1. Calhoun (Ga.), 15-0, 56.8
Calhoun did the unthinkable when it defeated Buford 27-24 in overtime in the Georgia Class AA state championship game. Led by Class AA state MVP Taylor Lamb, Calhoun went 15-0 on the year to claim its first state title since 1952. Lamb, a junior transfer from Greer (S.C.), led the state in passing yards with 3,638. Teammate Alex Kirby earned state defensive MVP honors and the team had four other all-state players as well, including Ben Lamb (WR), Tyler King (OL), Hunter Knight (LB) and Clay Johnson (DB).
{PAGEBREAK}2. Anadarko (Okla.), 15-0, 56.5
The Warriors knocked off perennial Oklahoma small-school powerhouse Cascia Hall 35-18 to win the Class 3A state title. Running back Sheldon Wilson led the offense with 3,335 yards rushing and a state-record 64 total touchdowns. He had back-to-back playoff games with 390 yards rushing and he finished his career as the state's all-time leading rusher with 7,774 yards. The state championship is the first in school history for the Warriors, who also received strong quarterback play from Tyler Melton with 1,786 yards passing and 21 touchdowns. Wes Satoe led the defense with 169 tackles while Bert Kyle led a defensive secondary that picked off 32 passes with 11 of his own.
{PAGEBREAK}3. Buford (Ga.), 14-1, 54.8
The only team on the list that did not win a state championship, Buford rose as high as No. 9 in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Football Rankings presented by the Army National Guard before falling to Calhoun in the Georgia Class AA state championship game. The Wolves had won four straight state titles and were attempting to win a record fifth in a row. Buford has 11 scholarship athletes on the team, including OL Vadal Alexander and LB Dillon Lee, both of whom received All-American recognition by other national ranking services. Buford finished the season with six all-state selections, including Alexander, Buford, Kurt Freitag (TE), Rick Legrant (DL), Nathan Staub (LB) and Ryan Dillard (DB).
{PAGEBREAK}4. Melissa (Texas), 13-1, 54.5
The Cardinals captured the Texas Class 2A-1 state title with a 28-15 win over Hempstead. Along the way to the title game, Melissa knocked off defending champion Daingerfield in impressive fashion, 42-14. The only loss of the season was a 31-21 setback to Gunter on Sept. 23. The Cardinals went on to win 10 straight games to finish the season. Wes Mcqueen had a huge season for Melissa, throwing for 3,264 yards and 38 touchdowns while also rushing for 508 yards and 10 scores. Melissa had three defensive players make all-state first team, including lineman Leo Sanchez, linebacker Darius Garcia and defensive back Michael Ellis.
{PAGEBREAK}5. Kirtland (Ohio), 15-0, 54.3
The Hornets blew away the competition in the Division V ranks in Ohio, giving up just 98 points in 15 games with five shutouts. Kirtland knocked off Ohio small-school power Coldwater in the finals, 28-7. The title is the first for Kirtland and the 15-0 record marks the first time the Cardinals have ever finished undefeated. Christian Hauber, who has committed to Air Force, was the top defender for the Hornets, earning Division V Defensive Player of the Year honors from JJ Huddle and All-Ohio Second Team honors at linebacker.
{PAGEBREAK}6. Refugio (Texas), 15-0, 53.8
The Bobcats had a close one in the Texas Class 2A-2 state championship game, but that was the only close game Refugio had all season long. Aside from defeating Cisco 36-35 for the state title, Refugio outscored opponents by an average score of 61-11 during the rest of the season. The team's 891 points scored for the year ranks second in national history, according to the National Federation of High Schools Record Book. Refugio landed five players on the Texas 2A All-State Team, including defensive player of the year Donald Trevino at defensive lineman. Other all-state picks were linebacker Jake Heryford, offensive lineman John Wesley Shipp, receiver Lynx Hawthorne and quarterback Travis Quintanilla.
{PAGEBREAK}7. Curtis (River Ridge, La.), 14-0, 52.5
The Patriots are always on the list of top small school teams in the country as they have won 24 state titles in school history under legendary coach J.T. Curtis. The Patriots have appeared in the state title game the past 16 seasons and Curtis became just the second coach in national history to win 500 career games midway through the season. This year, the Patriots defeated Winnfield 33-3 for the Louisiana 2A state championship. Duke Riley, a junior linebacker, earned state Defensive Player of the Year honors while five others earned all-state recognition, including Dillon Gordon (TE), Anthony Taylor (OL), Sherman Badie (RB), Torrey Bell (DL) and Chris Lorden (DL).
{PAGEBREAK}8. North Florida Christian (Tallahassee, Fla.), 13-0, 52.2
The Eagles are on a roll, adding a Florida 2A state football championship to go along with the state title they won in baseball last spring. The state championship game against Admiral Farragut was no contest as the Eagles rolled to a 69-0 win. The title-game margin of victory is the largest in state history. Quarterback Matt Dobson completed the season with 2,509 yards passing and 26 touchdowns while Jonathan Vickers led the running game with 1,534 yards and 16 touchdowns.




{PAGEBREAK}9. Clairton (Pa.), 16-0, 52.2
The Bears won their third-straight Pennsylvania Class A state championship with a 35-19 win over Southern Columbia Area and take the nation's longest winning streak of 47 games into the 2012 season. The Clairton defense was nothing short of spectacular this year, registering nine shutouts, including six in a row. Clairton gave up just 78 points in 16 games while scoring 705. Running back Tyler Boyd earned State Player of the Year honors and had company on the all-state team from teammates Carvan Thompson (OL), Erik Walker (DL), T.J. Armstrong (LB) and Trenton Coles (DB).
{PAGEBREAK}10. Conway Springs (Kan.), 13-1, 51.4
Only an early loss to Garden Plain early in the season marred the Cardinals' otherwise spotless record that included a 49-7 win over Silver Lake in the Kansas 3A state finals. Conway Springs also defeated Garden Plain 38-14 in the state semifinals. The Cardinals had two running backs with more than 1,700 yards rushing as Cory Misak gained 1,725 yards with 36 touchdowns and Brian Doffing ran for 1,731 yards and 23 scores. Matt Seiwert (OL), Doffing, Misak and Tanner Wood (LB) all earned all-state honors.