High school football: Best team in every state heading into 2026 season

Ten MaxPreps Top 25 teams represent their state led by St. John Bosco, St. Thomas Aquinas, Buford and Duncanville.

Thumbnail image of this articles writer: Zack Poff
By
Jul 17, 2026, 10:00am
St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.) headlines our look at the best high school football team in each state heading into the 2026 season. The Braves begin the year at No. 1 MaxPreps Top 25 for the third time over the last nine years. The Southern California power has finished in the rankings every year since 2013, the nation's longest active streak.

No. 3 St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), No. 7 Buford (Ga.) and No. 10 Duncanville (Texas) represent high school football's three other power states. 



Gorman is 62-4 under head coach Brent Browner and look for a monumental win against St. John Bosco on Aug. 21. St. Frances Academy reloads this season after finishing No. 2 in the MaxPreps Top 25 in 2025. Last year's MaxPreps National Player of the Year — David Gabriel Georges — looks to lead Baylor to its third state title in five years. Meanwhile, Basha took home Arizona's Open Division state title last season and hope to win its third since 2022. 

No. 21 Hough (Cornelius, N.C.), No. 24 Brownsburg (Ind.) and No. 25 Thompson (Alabaster, Ala.) round out the rest of the MaxPreps Top 25 teams that represent their state.
Alabama — Thompson (Alabaster)
The lone MaxPreps Top 25 team from the Yellowhammer State has won six state titles since 2019. 

Alaska — Soldotna
Galen Brantley Jr. has led Wolverines to 176-10 record and 15 state titles since taking over as head coach in 2007. 

Arizona — Basha (Chandler)
The defending Open Division state champs return plenty of talent led by Jake Hildebrand, Noah Roberts, Landen Wade, Jaden Baldwin, Marc Duerson III and DaJohn Yarborough. 

Arkansas — Bryant
The only team from Arkansas included in our preseason top 100 has won seven state titles since 2018, while going 87-5 during that span. 

Braves begin the season ranked at No. 1 in preseason MaxPreps Top 25 for the third time since 2018. 

Bruins have won six state titles since 2019 and 15 overall. 

Connecticut — New Canaan
Lou Marinelli enters his 46th season as head coach and has led the Rams to a 399-107 record and 16 state titles. 

Delaware — Middletown
Back-to-back Class 3A state champs return plenty of talent led by Tysir Young, D.J. Davis and Michel Adams.

District of Columbia — St. John's
Expect the Cadets to make a run at winning their first WCAC crown since 2022. 

Seven-time defending state champs begin season ranked at No. 3 in preseason MaxPreps Top 25. 

Georgia — Buford
Wolves became first team from Peach State to be named MaxPreps National Champions in 2025. 

Sabers won first-ever Open Division state title last season and return all-state selections in Shaison Kukukaa, Isaiah Chong and Jeovanny Maghamil-Avilla.

Defending Class 5A state champs return plenty of key players led by all-state selections in Brody Hale, Jack Henderson, Boston Huskey, Brandon Root and Jared Thiel. 

Four-time defending state champs are riding a 19-game win streak heading into 2026 campaign. 

Indiana — Brownsburg
Back-to-back Class 6A state champs have gone 27-1 over last two years. 

Cash Parks led Lancers to a 13-0 record and is among the key returners for last year's Class 4A state champs.

Kansas — Manhattan
Defending Class 6A state champs have gone 45-5 over last four years.

Kentucky — Trinity (Louisville)
Shamrocks have won three consecutive Class 6A state titles and have plenty of talent led by Allen Evans, Elijah Burns-Crump, Sebastian Blue, Ashton Taylor and Zane Johnson. 

Back-to-back Division I Select state champs head into 2026 riding a 28-game win streak. 

Went undefeated against in-state competition last year and won the school's third state title over the last five years. 

Panthers have finished ranked in the top 10 all but one year since 2017. 

Massachusetts — Xaverian Brothers (Westwood)
Three-time defending Division 1 state champs will have a good chance at a fourth straight with Penn State-bound quarterback William Wood under center. 

Shamrocks ran the table last season and won first state title since 2009. 

Minnesota — Maple Grove
Crimson have gone 55-7 over last five years and won two state crowns. 

Mississippi — Tupelo
Antonio Berry, Devontray Brewer and Kylan Bobo among key returners for Class 7A state runner-up. 

Scott Pingel has led Cadets to 188-34 record and five state titles as he enters his 19th season as head coach.

Rams have gone 23-1 over last two years, winning it all in 2024 and a runner-up finish last season. 

Nebraska — Millard South (Omaha)
Five-star quarterback Trae Taylor made the move from Carmel (Mundelein, Ill.) as he looks to lead Patriots to third consecutive Class A state title. 

Gaels have gone 43-0 against in-state competition while outscoring the opposition 2,318-152 under Brent Browner. 

New Hampshire — Bedford
Bulldogs have won three Division 1 state titles over last four years. 

Defending Non-Public A champs return several key players led by five-star junior linebacker Tahj Gray. 

New Mexico — Cleveland (Rio Rancho)
Back-to-back Class 6A state champs bring back one of the best players in the state in junior wide receiver Evan Nanez.

Gaels head into 2026 winners of back-to-back Class AAA Catholic state championships. 

North Carolina — Hough (Cornelius)
Joshua Dobson, Ryan Peterson, Ethan Royal, Davion Jones and Michael Griffin Jr. should have Huskies in position to repeat as state champs after winning school's first state title in 2025. 

North Dakota — Kindred
Vikings have gone 56-4 over the last five years and won state titles in 2021 and 2023. 

Ohio — Massillon
Brayton Feister comes over from Archbishop Hoban (Akron) and joins a very talented group as they look to win second state title since 2023. 

Oklahoma — Bixby
Spartans have won eight consecutive state titles and 11 since 2014. 

Oregon — West Linn
Lions have gone 45-4 over last four years and won two Class 6A state titles during that span. 

Five-star junior wide receiver Jett Harrison headlines the talent for Hawks.

Rhode Island — Bishop Hendricken (Warwick)
Hawks have won three consecutive state championships and 14 since 2010. 

South Carolina — Dutch Fork (Irmo)
Tom Knotts took over as head coach in 2010 and has led Silver Foxes to 10 state titles during his tenure, including four in a row.

South Dakota — Lincoln (Sioux Falls)
Brody Schafer was named the 2025 MaxPreps South Dakota Player of the Year and is back under center as he looks to lead Patriots to their third consecutive Class 11AAA state championship game appearance. 

Tennessee — Baylor (Chattanooga)
Five-star running back David Gabriel Georges headlines the talent for defending Division II Class AAA state champs. 

Texas — Duncanville
Panthers have played in six 6A Division 1 state title games since 2018, winning it all in 2022 and 2023. 

Casey Sutera takes over as head coach as he looks to lead Chargers to fourth straight state crown. 

Vermont — Middlebury
Defending Division 1 state champs bring back plenty of talent led by all-state selections Jason Sperry and Parker Carl.

Virginia — Varina (Richmond)
Defending Class 4A are loaded heading into 2026 led by Kaleb Wyche, Raymond Hudson, Markus Lee and Sa Rex. 

Washington — Puyallup
Vikings return a ton of talent led by Gecova Doyal, Noah Smith, J'Isaiah Mitchell, Briytan Bailey, Kitiona Tupua and Markel Newell. 

West Virginia — Princeton
Tigers are coming off school's first state title and have gone 38-3 over last three years.

Wisconsin — Arrowhead (Hartland)
Warhawks closed out last season winning nine games in a row and first state title since 2013.

Wyoming — Star Valley (Afton)
Braves have won four state championships in a row and are riding a 33-game win streak. 

Related Content