Alabama High School Football Rankings: Top 25 teams – Sept. 2

Two weeks into the high school football season in Alabama, there’s been a significant shakeup in the top-25 rankings, including three new teams in the top-five.

After a dominant 61-14 season-opening victory over Pinson Valley, Phenix City Central ascended to the top spot in Yellowhammer State and has remained there. But some other big shifts have taken place after Week 2 games. Below are the rest of the top 25 programs in Alabama heading into Week 3:

The On3 Massey Ratings, officially used during the BCS era, is a model that ranks sports teams by analyzing game outcomes, strength of schedule and margin of victory. According to the model — four teams from Alabama rank inside the nationwide top 100.

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1. Phenix City Central

Previous: No. 1
Despite losing Auburn WR Cam Coleman, Alabama DB Red Morgan and Alabama DL Isaia Faga from last season’s title team, The Red Devils haven’t lost a beat. Two Power 4 commits lead Central’s senior class in Miami four-star wide receiver commit Daylyn Upshaw and Alabama IOL pledge Mal Waldrep. And they were dominant from start to finish as they dropped the hammer on Pinson in Week 1, followed up by a 30-12 victory over St. Louis (Mo.) Lutheran North.

2. Auburn

Previous: No. 3 (+1)
The Tigers lost in the state playoffs to Phenix City Central to finish a 9-3 overall season, but they have title aspirations this year. They opened the season at home against North Miami Beach (Fla.), dominating the visitors 49-0. They’ll followed that by crushing Birmingham Vestavia Hills 52-17 this weekend. Showdowns against top-15 foes against Opelika and Enterprise await in the next two weeks.

3. Alabaster Thompson

Previous: No. 2(-1)
The 7A state runners up started their season with a massive tilt against Loganville (Ga.) Grayson, but fell just short in a 15-14 defeat. The Warriors, led by Auburn top-50 EDGE commit Jared Smith and fellow Tigers top-100 commit Anquon Fegans, won a close one on the road against Nashville (Tenn.) Lipscomb Academy on Thursday night, eking out a 27-21 victory.

4. Pinson Clay-Chalkville

Previous: No. 6 (+2)
The reigning 6A state champions began the defense of their title with a commanding 28-7 victory over Heuytown in Week 1. They followed that with a 62-7 romp over Birmingham Ramsey in Week 2. Despite graduating a loaded senior class that included Alabama cornerback Jaylen Mbakwe, Oregon OT Jac’Qawn McRoy, Mississippi State WR Mario Craver, Auburn LB D’Angelo Barber and Arkansas CB Tevis Metcalf, the Cougars look primed for another deep run in the playoffs.

5. Saraland

Previous: No. 7 (+2)
The Spartans’ senior class is absolutely loaded with the likes of Texas four-star quarterback commit K.J. Lacey, Auburn four-star DL pledge Antonio Coleman and Ole Miss four-star WR commit Dillon Alfred. They survived a close battle with Jackson (Ala.) in Week 1, escaping with a 35-27 victory. Week 2 saw them bulldoze Eight Mile (Ala.) Blount 59-6.

6. Hewitt-Trussville

Previous: No. 5 (-1)
Hewitt-Trussville dominated Jefferson Davis 50-6 en route to their first victory of the season. A tougher test awaited in Week 2 with a showdown against top-25 Gadsden City, but the Huskies easily took care of business 42-14. Three consecutive tough tests loom on the schedule though, starting this week with a Vestavia Hills team looking to get back on track.

7. Enterprise

Previous: No. 8 (+1)
The Wildcats ended their 2023 season with a 9-3 mark, and like others, have eyes on a title this year. This senior class is loaded with Power 4 talent — top-75 defensive back Eric Winters is committed to Auburn, four-star EDGE Zion Grady is pledged to Ohio State and cornerback Andrew Purcell is committed to Kentucky. They made easy work Andalusia in Week 1 with a 35-7 win and handled Pike Road 24-6 over the weekend. They’ll now face three of state’s top 11 teams in the next few weeks, beginning with No. 11 Dothan on Friday night.

8. Spanish Fort

Previous: No. 14 (+6)
After starting the season just inside the top-20 in the state, Spanish Fort has ascended quickly into No. 8 slot in this week’s rankings. That comes on the heels of back-to-back wins against Fairhope (42-6) and Theodore (24-21). They’ll face Baldwin County this week before a huge top-10 showdown with Saraland on September 13.

9. Spain Park

Previous: No. 15 (+6)
Another significant riser early in the season has been Spain Park, which opened the season with a 38-7 throttling of Sparkman before beating Hoover in a 39-37 thriller over the weekend. The Jaguars, led by quarterback and 2026 Clemson commit Brock Bradley, look to have one of the state’s most dynamic offenses.

10. Tuscaloosa Hillcrest

Previous: No. 9 (-1)
Hillcrest won 12 straight before it fell to Saraland in the 6A quarterfinal game last season. The Patriots dispatched Florence 32-30 and beat Sparkman 31-10 on Friday night. The meat of their schedule is coming up though, with games against Hoover, Birmingham Vestavia Hills, Hewitt-Trussville and Alabaster Thompson.

Teams 11-25 in latest Alabama High School Football rankings

11. Dothan (+1)
12. Opelika 
13. Birmingham Parker (+5)
14. Mobile Baker (-1)
15. Daphne (+8)

16. Hoover (-12)
17. Montgomery Carver (-1)
18. Montgomery Catholic (-1)
19. Oxford (+1)
20. Central of Clay County (+5

21. Prattville (+1)
22. Birmingham Vestavia Hills (-3)
23. Austin (+1)
24. Birmingham Mountain Brook (-13)
25. Mary G Montgomery (previously unranked)

Dropped out: Gadsden City