Top 25 high school football rankings

It was a tough weekend for Texas, a great weekend for New Jersey and an exciting weekend all around as several ranked teams in the Xcellent 25 High School Football Rankings presented by the Army National Guard went down.

In the Lone Star State, No. 5 Abilene fell at the hands of Florida small-school powerhouse Cocoa, 24-21. Running back Chevelle Buie was the difference for Cocoa, scoring on two late touchdown runs.

The Tigers were 14-0 last season with wins over Glades Central (Belle Glade, Fla.) and Bolles (Jacksonville, Fla.). Despite being a 2A school, Cocoa’s win against Abilene proved it can hang with the big boys from any state.

Elsewhere in Texas, defending 4A Division I state champion Lake Travis (Austin), ranked No. 25, lost 14-10 to last year’s 4A Division II winner Aledo. Junior running back Johnathan Gray found the end zone on fourth down with six minutes to play to claim a victory for Aledo.

The loss ended Lake Travis’ 48-game winning streak.

In New Jersey, the Garden State featured three teams among last week’s Top 10 games and each came away victorious.

Defending national champion Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey), an underdog in its season-opener with No. 23 Gilman (Baltimore, Md.), cruised to a 33-6 win.

Running back Paul Canevari rushed for 321 yards and three scores to lead the way.

St. Peter's Prep (Jersey City) and Bergen Catholic (Oradell), two other competitors for the non-public Group IV crown, downed St. Joseph's Prep (Philadelphia, Pa.) and defending Pennsylvania 4A champ LaSalle (Wyndmoor), respectively.

Xcellent 25 High School Football Rankings presented by the Army National Guard

1. (1) Trinity (Euless, Texas), 3-0
Following an 80-point explosion against Shiloh Christian (Springdale, Ark.), Trinity displayed the same level of offensive firepower with a 50-3 victory over Richland (North Richland Hills, Texas). Oklahoma verbal commit Brandon Carter hauled in two touchdown passes and rushed for another while running back Tevin Williams added 109 yards and a score.

2. (2) South Panola (Batesville, Miss.), 4-0
South Panola showed no signs of slowing down, blasting Clarksdale 39-0. The Tigers raced to a 33-0 halftime lead and cruised the rest of the way. Through four games, their defense has allowed only 37 points.

3. (4) Grant (Sacramento, Calif.), 2-0
Grant once again looked dominant, easily downing Burbank (Sacramento, Calif.) 55-7. The Pacers were led by running back Shaq Thompson, who busted loose for five touchdowns and 243 yards on just 20 carries. Grant’s vaunted defense tallied five sacks and an interception.

4. (6) West Monroe (West Monroe, La.), 3-0
Behind 432 yards of total offense, West Monroe pounded reigning 4A winner Neville (Monroe, La.) 34-7. Paul Turner had three touchdowns for the Rebels.

5. (3) Manatee (Bradenton, Fla.), 2-0
Squaring off against county rival Palmetto (Fla.), Manatee prevailed in a shootout 56-36. The Hurricane defense struggled at times, but the team’s offense, led by two touchdowns each from Mike Blakely and Quenton Bundrage, more than made up for it. Woodland Hills (Pittsburgh, Pa.), which Manatee blew out a week ago, dropped to 0-2 after a loss to North Hills (Pittsburgh, Pa.), diminishing that win to some extent.

6. (7) Westlake (Westlake Village, Calif.), 1-0
Westlake picked up right where it left off in 2009 by trouncing Oxnard (Oxnard, Calif.) 42-14. Quarterback Nick Isham was extremely effective, completing 7 of 8 passes for 99 yards and three scores in first-half action. Two of those TD passes went to Nelson Spruce, who finished with three catches for 65 yards.

7. (8) Bingham (South Jordan, Utah), 3-0
Idle this week. Bingham was scheduled to play Hawaii power Kahuku, but the game was canceled just weeks ago.

8. (9) Servite (Anaheim, Calif.), 2-0
As the replacement for Cody Fajardo, Cody Pittman has stepped up huge for Servite early on, throwing for 125 yards and three scores and adding another 70 yards on the ground as the Friars won 48-7 over Kennedy.

9. (13) Colerain (Cincinnati, Ohio), 3-0
Head coach Tom Bolden’s squad has continued its sensational early play, blasting DuPont Manual (Louisville, Ky.), 34-7. Trayion Durham rushed for 162 yards and two TDs for the Cardinals, whose defense allowed a mere 139 total yards. In games against Northmont (Clayton, Ohio), Elder (Cincinnati, Ohio) and DuPont Manual, Colerain has given up just 25 combined points.

10. (12) Hoover (Hoover, Ala.), 3-0
Wide receiver Jaylon Denson caught six passes for 135 yards and two scores to lead Hoover’s 60-0 rout of Oak Mountain (Birmingham, Ala.). Through three games, Hoover has still yet to allow a point.

11. (10) Glenville (Cleveland, Ohio), 3-0
Aykee Henderson rushed six times for 120 yards to lead Glenville to a 39-6 win over Rhodes (Cleveland, Ohio). The Tarblooders will travel to Shaw (East Cleveland, Ohio) next week.

12. (11) Dwyer (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.), 1-1
Rebounding from a tough loss to No. 10 Glenville, Dwyer torched city rival Palm Beach Gardens (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.) 35-0 on Saturday. Playing without star tight end Nick O'Leary, who is serving a suspension, the Panthers didn’t miss a beat, as five different players recorded touchdowns for Dwyer.

13. (14) Northwestern (Rock Hill, S.C.), 3-0
Northwestern continues to roll both offensively and defensively as the Trojans dominated Ridge View (Columbia, S.C.) 41-2. Justin Worley threw five more TD passes – three to his top target, Robert Joseph – and finished with 288 yards.

14. (15) Hamilton (Chandler, Ariz.), 4-0
The Huskies demonstrated once again why they are the class of Arizona with a 69-14 thumping of Ironwood (Glendale, Ariz.) on Friday night.

15. (16) Camden County (Kingsland, Ga.), 2-0
Idle this week.

16. (17) Armwood (Seffner, Fla.), 1-0
Idle this week.

17. (19) Katy (Katy, Texas), 2-0
Idle this week.

18. (20) Stony Point (Round Rock, Texas), 3-0
Stony Point has enjoyed an easy early-season schedule, most recently pounding Prepa Tech of Mexico, 59-14. The team’s first true test will be this week, when it hits the road to take on 3-0 DeSoto (De Soto, Texas), which held on to beat Miramar (Miramar, Fla.) in overtime this weekend.

19. (21) De La Salle (Concord, Calif.), 1-0
Idle this week.

20. (22) Phoebus (Hampton, Va.), 2-0
Tyree Lee rushed 16 times for 157 yards and three scores and also returned a kickoff for a touchdown as Phoebus won 45-0 over Churchland (Portsmouth, Va.).

21. (NR) Cocoa (Cocoa, Fla.), 2-0
The defending Florida 2A state champions, Cocoa stunned former No. 5 Abilene (Abilene, Texas) with two fourth quarter touchdowns, escaping Texas with a 24-21 upset. Previously, the Tigers downed Thomas Jefferson (Jefferson Hills, Pa.) 43-7 and beat Olive Branch (Olive Branch, Miss.) 14-7.

22. (NR) Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, N.J.), 1-0
The 2009 national champions looked extremely strong in their season opener. The Ironmen traveled to Maryland and overwhelmed previously-ranked Gilman (Baltimore, Md.) 33-6. In an extremely deep year for New Jersey football, Don Bosco will be right back in the state title mix.

23. (NR) Mission Viejo (Mission Viejo, Calif.), 2-0
Bob Johnson’s squad is looking like one of the best teams in California. The Diablos have key pieces back on both sides of the ball from last year’s 12-1 squad that lost only to Servite (Anaheim, Calif.). Mission Viejo has already dispatched Bothell (Wash.) 49-13 and rolled Loyola (Los Angeles, Calif.) 42-7.

(24) Mallard Creek (Charlotte, N.C.), 3-0
Idle this week.

25. (NR) St. Peter's Prep (Jersey City, N.J.), 1-0
The talented Marauders debuted with a 35-7 victory against St. Joseph's Prep (Philadelphia, Pa.). Star running back Savon Huggins rushed for 205 yards and three TDs while Sheldon Royster added a 50-yard punt return in the win.

Dropped out:
No. 5 Abilene (Abilene, Texas)
No. 18 Long Beach Poly (Long Beach, Calif.)
No. 23 Gilman (Baltimore, Md.)
No. 25 Lake Travis (Austin, Texas)