
Aquinas quarterback Jacob Rudock.
Photo by Stuart Browning
It was a good weekend for teams ranked in the Xcellent 25 presented by the Army National Guard.
Only one team,
St. Peter's Prep (Jersey City, N.J.), suffered a loss as most won easily in their respective contests.
Armwood (Seffner, Fla.), which beat Tampa Bay Tech 38-6, and
Stony Point (Round Rock, Texas), which held off power DeSoto 46-29, were especially impressive.
Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, N.J.) downed Ridgewood on Thursday night and continues to ascend the rankings after
Gilman (Baltimore, Md.), a team the Ironmen beat easily, was victorious over Maryland power
DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.) on Saturday. The Ironmen are the most impressive team in the Northeast.
Entering the rankings for the first time this season is one of Florida’s top programs,
St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.). The Raiders dominated a tough Boyd Anderson squad to move to 52-13.
Xcellent 25 High School Football Rankings presented by the Army National Guard1. (1) Trinity (Euless, Texas), 4-0The Trojans turned in another dominating performance against Irving, winning easily 54-0. Trinity’s defense did not allow Irving to cross midfield until the fourth quarter, and the team’s offense, led by
Brandon Carter, compiled 353 rushing yards.
2. (2) South Panola (Batesville, Miss.), 4-0Idle this week.
3. (3) Grant (Sacramento, Calif.), 3-0Ference Lang had two long punt returns and three touchdown runs for Grant, which beat Lincoln 56-20.
4. (4) West Monroe (West Monroe, La.), 3-0Quarterback
Paul Turner was injured, but that hardly slowed the Rebels, who pounded Richwood 56-6. Running back
Tyler Cain found the end zone twice, and special teams did the rest for West Monroe.
5. (10) Hoover (Hoover, Ala.), 4-0Hoover extended its scoreless streak to four games as it kept Thompson out of the end zone to come away with a 50-0 win.
Justin McArthur rushed for four touchdowns, all in the first half, as the Bucs continue to steamroll through their schedule.
6. (9) Colerain (Cincinnati, Ohio), 4-0Tyler Williams and
Trayion Durham combined for five rushing touchdowns as Colerain’s ground game once again overwhelmed its opponent in a 44-7 whipping of Fairfield.
7. (6) Westlake (Westlake Village, Calif.), 2-0Westlake’s offensive firepower was too much for local rival Thousand Oaks as the Warriors cruised to a 31-3 victory.
Tavior Mowry,
Tre'Shon Wilson, and
Dashon Hunt all tallied scores for Westlake.
8. (7) Bingham (South Jordan, Utah), 4-0The Miners continue to dominate their schedule, blanking Herriman 48-0. Bingham has outscored opponents 196-29 this season.
9. (8) Servite (Anaheim, Calif.), 3-0Head coach Troy Thomas’ defense did most of the heavy lifting against La Habra as Servite pitched a 23-0 shutout. Linebacker
Butch Pauu returned an interception for a score to lead the way.
10. (5) Manatee (Bradenton, Fla.), 3-0Mike Blakely rushed for four scores to help Manatee knock off crosstown rival Southeast, 31-24. The Hurricanes overcame a 17-point deficit in the second half.
11. (15) Camden County (Kingsland, Ga.), 3-0Joel Ruiz and
J.J. Green each had a pair of rushing scores as the Wildcats coasted to a 50-0 win over Windsor Forest.
12. (16) Armwood (Seffner, Fla.), 2-0Armwood made it look easy against Tampa Bay Tech as
Josh Grady's three touchdowns allowed the Hawks to claim a 38-6 win.
13. (11) Glenville (Cleveland, Ohio), 3-0Dynamic athlete
Shane Wynn scored twice to give the Tarblooders an easy 34-7 victory over Anderson.
14. (12) Dwyer (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.), 2-1Dwyer punished Pahokee 52-0 thanks to three total touchdowns from dual-threat quarterback
Jacoby Brissett. The Panthers have not allowed any points in the two games following their controversial loss to Glenville.
15. (17) Katy (Katy, Texas), 4-0Quarterback
Brooks Haack accounted for three touchdowns to power Katy over West Brook of Beaumont.
16. (18) Stony Point (Round Rock, Texas), 4-0Stony Point scored on each of its first four drives and the Tiger defense held DeSoto’s powerful offense to just nine second-half points for an impressive 46-29 victory.
17. (22) Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, N.J.), 2-0The Ironmen kept momentum following a stunning blowout of Gilman (Balitmore, Md.) by beating Ridgewood 35-14. Running back Paul Canevari rushed for 153 yards and two scores on 12 carries.
18. (20) Phoebus (Hampton, Va.), 3-0It was another all-around great performance by Phoebus, which pounded Warwick 49-6.
Tyree Lee had 13 carries for 251 yards and two touchdowns for the Phantoms.
19. (19) De La Salle (Concord, Calif.), 2-0With 26 unanswered points in the second half, De La Salle pulled away from St. Mary’s for a 40-14 win. Outstanding defensive lineman
Dylan Wynn had three sacks and forced two fumbles for the Spartans.
20. (13) Northwestern (Rock Hill, S.C.), 4-0Justin Worley threw for 365 yards and five touchdowns, keeping up his stellar senior campaign as Northwestern fended off Blythewood 36-24.
21. (21) Cocoa (Cocoa, Fla.), 3-0
Alex Bridgford
Photo by Ed Kaufer
Idle this week.
22. (NR) St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), 2-0St. Thomas Aquinas looked strong in a 52-13 rout of a talented Boyd Anderson squad.
Jacob Rudock tossed three touchdowns to lead the Raiders.
23. (23) Mission Viejo (Mission Viejo, Calif.), 3-0Bob Johnson’s Diablos downed Corona 56-34 in a shootout. Quarterback
Alex Bridgford threw four touchdowns in the win.
24. (14) Hamilton (Chandler, Ariz.), 5-0Though its defense struggled, Hamilton was able to pull away against Mountain Ridge thanks to a strong second half.
Malcolm Holland accounted for two scores as the Huskies closed out a 45-28 victory.
25. (24) Mallard Creek (Charlotte, N.C.), 4-0Led once again by quarterback
Marquise Williams, Mallard Creek knocked off Chester (S.C.) 48-24. Williams out-dueled fellow prized signal caller Tony McNeal, throwing for two scores and rattling off an 83-yard touchdown run as well.
Dropped out:No. 25 St. Peter's Prep (Jersey City, N.J.)