High school flag football rankings: Prospect, Oswego East enter MaxPreps Top 25 after Illinois state playoff upsets

North Pole wins second Alaska state championship in three years.

By
Oct 12, 2026, 11:00am
A handful of state playoff upsets have shaken up this week's MaxPreps Top 25 high school flag football rankings.

In the Illinois state sectional semifinals, Schaumburg took down previously unbeaten and former No. 9 Glenbrook South (Glenview) while Oswego East (Oswego) eliminated then-No. 13 Willowbrook (Villa Park).

Schaumburg will take on Prospect (Mt. Prospect), which enters the rankings this week at No. 15 this week, and No. 23 Oswego East faces No. 2 St. Charles North (St. Charles) in sectional title games Monday.

All 16 Illinois sectional finalists advance to the Super Sixteen state tournament bracket. The state finals are set for Saturday. 

Kansas, Colorado state playoffs set to begin

Kansas will also hold its inaugural flag football state championships Saturday. The 2026 season was the first sanctioned season in the KSHSAA. The top seed in the bracket belongs to Shawnee Mission West (Shawnee Mission), which holds an 11-0 record.

The Colorado state playoffs get underway this week as well. The top four seeds for 5A are current MaxPreps No. 7 Chaparral (Parker), No. 19 Legend (Parker), No. 18 Mountain Vista (Highlands Ranch), the two-time defending 5A champion, and Arvada West (Arvada).


The state finals are scheduled for Oct. 24.
Charly Schuster-Moore (35) and Riley Darcy (33) of No. 21 Mountain View celebrate a score in a recent game. The Lions begin the Colorado state playoffs this week. (FILE PHOTO: Barry Smith)
Charly Schuster-Moore (35) and Riley Darcy (33) of No. 21 Mountain View celebrate a score in a recent game. The Lions begin the Colorado state playoffs this week. (FILE PHOTO: Barry Smith)
North Pole claims second Alaska state title

For the second time in the past three years, North Pole took home the Alaska state championship by beating Colony (Palmer) 27-21 on Saturday.

The Patriots erased a 14-6 deficit with 21 unanswered points, fueled by touchdowns from sisters Jade and Taimane Skipps. Jade Skipps was the MaxPreps Alaska Player of the Year in 2024, the last time North Pole won a state title.

Read on for a complete look at this week's rankings.

MaxPreps Top 25

1. JSerra Catholic (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.)
Record: 23-0 | Last week: 1

2. St. Charles North (St. Charles, Ill.)
Record: 22-0 | Last week: 2

Record: 16-3 | Last week: 2

4. Huntington Beach (Calif.)
Record: 21-3 | Last week: 4

5. Newport Harbor (Newport Beach, Calif.)
Record: 19-4 | Last week: 5

6. Greenbrier (Evans, Ga.)
Record: 10-0 | Last week: 7

Record: 15-0 | Last week: 6

8. Moody (Ala.)
Record: 14-0 | Last week: 8

9. Merced (Calif.)
Record: 18-2 | Last week: 10

10. Central (Phenix City, Ala.)
Record: 11-2 | Last week: 11

11. Evanston (Ill.)
Record: 17-2 | Last week: 12

12. Highland (Gilbert, Ariz.)
Record: 4-0 | Last week: 20

13. Edison (Huntington Beach, Calif.)
Record: 20-6 | Last week: 14

14. Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.)
Record: 17-6 | Last week: 15

Record: 18-0 | Last week: NR

16. Glenbrook South (Glenview, Ill.)
Record: 16-1 | Last week: 9

Record: 14-1 | Last week: 16

Record: 13-2 | Last week: 17

Record: 13-2 | Last week: NR

Record: 15-0 | Last week: 18

22. North Oconee (Bogart, Ga.)
Record: 9-1 | Last week: NR

Record: 18-1 | Last week: NR

24. Willowbrook (Villa Park, Ill.)
Record: 17-2 | Last week: 13

25. Wakefield (Raleigh, N.C.)
Record: 12-1 | Last week: 21

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