Houston Area Class 4A preseason Top 10 high school football teams

MaxPreps Houston Area Class 4A Preseason Football Top 10 1. Summer Creek (Houston)
Entering just their fourth season of existence, the Bulldogs are coming off a Regional semifinal appearance and are returning many of the major pieces to their puzzle on a team that went 11-2 in 2012. Led by two-time District 19-4A MVP and Kansas State commit Aaron Sharp — the No. 2 rated quarterback in the greater Houston area — Summer Creek is ready for a legitimate run at reaching the state title game, with eight returning starters on their multiple-set offense. Sharp's favorite targets will be running back Jordan Braden (600 yards, 10 TD) and wide receiver Torrey Johnson (800 yards, 10 TD) amongst a plethora of options. The Bulldogs add a stout defense that is led by linebacker Dakota Allen (103 tackles). Add it all up, and Summer Creek is the team to beat out of Region III.

2. Texas City
Texas City returned to the spotlight last season under new head coach Leland Surovik and they are now poised to make a deeper run into the postseason, after bowing out in the Region III semifinals in 2012. With athletes all over the field, the Stingarees are the 24-4A favorites in a district that is historically deep and loaded with great teams. Running back D'Onta Foreman was a unanimous All-District pick and linebacker D'Vonta Hinton had a stunning 172 tackles, including 18 for a loss. Andrew Allen will guide the offense at quarterback for a team that can create their own highlight reel every game.

3. Dawson (Pearland)
It's going to be a battle all season long between the Eagles and Stingarees in 24-4A, as these two squads are amongst the best in the entire city. The two will meet on Oct. 4 in one of the early-season games to watch, after Dawson hung on to beat Texas City last season, 32-29 — handing them one of their two regular season losses. First team All-District wide receiver Tony Upchurch — who has verballed to LSU — is one of the nation's elite wideouts, and the Eagles defense is led by defensive end Brent Johnson and linebackers Ryan Woods and Travonte Moody. Dawson's only loss last year was to Nederland in the other Region III semifinal.

4. Fort Bend Marshall (Missouri City)
The Buffaloes got past Texas City in the Region III semifinals for their 13th straight win in 2012, before falling to Manor in the 4A regional final. Their story starts with junior quarterback J.W. Ketchum, who threw for 22 scores and ran for 29 more, and will be extremely confident and comfortable running the Marshall show again. Coach James Williams says Ketchum may be the best athlete he's ever coached, and Marshall will be the heavy favorite to repeat its title in district 22-4A, as well as make another playoff run.

5. Angleton
The Wildcats have been the team to beat in 23-4A for years, as they combine tremendous speed with skilled position players, and 2013 will be no different. Coach Ryan Roark is looking for quarterback athlete T. J. Josey to make a strong return from a knee injury to make big-time plays on offense, while the Wildcat defense will be led by first-team All-District linebacker Brad Randolph and safety Kydron Butler. Angleton has made the playoffs five straight years and have won 10 or more games in three of the last four. Expect more of the same.

6. Dayton
The Broncos have made the playoffs for an incredible 17 straight seasons, one of the longest streaks in the state of Texas. And until Summer Creek showed up, Dayton was the historical favorite in 19-4A. Now, they'll be looking to chase down the Bulldogs with a talented young roster that won nine games last year, and has senior linebackers Brandon McBride and Daniel Douglas taking charge of their defensive unit.

7. Magnolia West
Head coach Shawn Bell — the former Baylor quarterback and one of the most prolific passers in Big 12 history — enters his fourth season at the helm of the Mustangs, and has guided the school to the postseason in each of his three previous campaigns. He's never had a problem scoring points, but now that he has developed his first senior class on the defensive side of the ball — highlighted by Baylor commit defensive end Xavier Jones — Mag West has a better chance to stop teams from scoring. That will give the Mustangs a shot to win district 18-4A this year.

8. Crosby
The Cougars will be in a dogfight with Summer Creek and Dayton in 19-4A, but they'll have the talent to contend for a playoff position again with 13 starters returning to an area finalist squad from 2012. None of those returners will be more important to their success than identical twins Aston and Austin Walter, who are committed to Rice. In 2012, Austin rushed for 2,000 yards and Aston threw for 17 touchdowns, and they combine with receiver and Utah commit Raelon Singleton to create a formidable offense.

9. Stratford (Houston)
As the alma mater of Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck, the Spartans know how to move the football, and they return 11 starters to their camp that reached the area finals last season and won nine games. As a run-heavy offense, they will be counting on backs Terrance Peters and Rakeem Boyd to carry the load, after the two combined for over 2,200 yards and 30 touchdowns. It may be difficult for the Spartans to catch Marshall for the 22-4A title, but they will definitely be in the playoff mix.

10. North Forest (Houston)
As the crème of the crop in the 21-4A Houston ISD, the Bulldogs went 11-1 last year, with their only loss coming to Rosenberg Terry in the area round of the playoffs. Head coach Plez Atkins is grooming up-and-coming quarterbacks Jamarcus Anderson and Jaron Dillard to complement running back Anthony Jones, who produced over 1,000 yards and 20-plus scores last season. Wide receiver Jarvis Harris returns to give North Forest a weapon to throw the ball to. The Bulldogs are the favorite to repeat as 21-4A champs.

David Fanucchi is a Sports Reporter for Houston Community Newspapers. He can be reached and followed on Twitter at @miracleongrass.