Florida High School Football Rankings: Top 25 Teams - August 26

It was an exciting opening slate for Florida high school over the weekend as top teams around the state clashed with other elite talent from around the country.

Lakeland took down Miami Central in a tough top-15 battle, while Venice won a shootout over Tampa Bay Tech in the other ranked in-state matchup of the weekend. IMG Academy lost a nailbiter to Corner Canyon (Utah) on Thursday while Chaminade-Madonna Prep and St. Thomas Aquinas both lost close games on ESPN on Saturday.

Below is the updated Florida On3 Massey Ratings top 25, as of Aug. 26.

The On3 Massey Ratings — which were officially used during the BCS era and have generated college high school sports team rankings since 1995 — rank sports teams by analyzing game outcomes, strength of schedule and margin of victory.

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1. IMG Academy

Previous Ranking: No. 1
IMG Academy went on the road to Corner Canyon (Utah) in week one and fell to the Chargers in a 35-34 heartbreaker. Ascenders quarterback and SMU commit Ty Hawkins threw for 260 yards and three touchdowns, also accounting for a score on the ground. IMG struggled to keep top-50 wide receiver Jerome Myles in check, as Myles found the end zone three times through the air. Next up for the Ascenders is Bergen Catholic (N.J.) on Thursday.

2. Chaminade-Madonna Prep

Previous Ranking: No. 2
Chaminade-Madonna lost 34-27 to St. John Bosco (Calif.) on Saturday as part of the ESPN High School Football Kickoff. Sophomore quarterback Tyler Chance threw for nearly 300 yards and three touchdowns with one interception. Penn State commit Koby Howard and elite junior Derrek Cooper combined to lead the team in rushing. The Lions will play at Blanche Ely on Friday.

3. St. Thomas Aquinas

Previous Ranking: No. 3
St. Thomas Aquinas also dropped a tough battle on ESPN over the weekend, losing 29-21 to Bishop Gorman (Nev.). The Raiders jumped out to a 21-10 lead over favored Bishop Gorman with a 52-yard touchdown pass from Andrew Indorf to Julius Jones. But, the excitement couldn’t last for St. Thomas Aquinas as Gorman came storming back with over 500 yards of offense. St. Thomas Aquinas will next play on the road at Boyd Anderson on Friday.

4. Venice

Previous Ranking: No. 7 (+3)
Venice pulled out a win in a high-scoring affair with a 63-40 win over formerly ranked opponent Tampa Bay Tech. James Madison running back commit Jamarice Wilder led the way for the Indians with three touchdowns on the ground. Venice will play No. 10 Northwestern this week in what could be the Sunshine State game of the week.

5. Lakeland

Previous Ranking: No. 13 (+8)
Lakeland took down top-5 Miami Central in a major upset victory for the Dreadnoughts. Junior four-star linebacker Malik Morris accounted for a rushing touchdown, a blocked punt and a stuffed Miami Central third-down run on the 1-yard line. Next up for Lakeland is No. 13 Lake Mary in two weeks.

6. Cocoa

Previous Ranking: No. 5 (-1)
Cocoa thrashed Titusville in week one with a 42-10 win over the Terriers. Michigan junior top-100 quarterback commit Brady Hart threw for 270 yards and three touchdowns — with 111 of those yards and one score going to UCF four-star wide receiver pledge Jayvan Boggs. The Tigers will play at Mainland on Friday.

7. F. W. Buchholz

Previous Ranking: No. 11 (+4)
Buchholz picked up win No. 1 with a 24-7 victory over Vanguard. Junior quarterback Trace Johnson passed for 237 yards and two touchdowns while junior receiver Justin Williams picked up 151 receiving yards and a score. The Bobcats will play on the road at Vero Beach this Friday.

8. Norland

Previous Ranking: No. 10 (+2)
Miami Norland downed Miramar 27-0 in the opening week. Sophomore defensive back Kenton Dopson came down with an interception for the Vikings. Norland will host Miami Carol City this Friday.

9. Armwood

Previous Ranking: No. 19 (+10)
Armwood topped Gaither 41-19 behind a strong performance from junior quarterback Rhys Brush, who led the Hawks to 18 unanswered points in the second half. Next up for Armwood is Sumner on the road this Friday.

10. Northwestern

Previous Ranking: No. 8 (-2)
Miami Northwestern flattened Coconut Creek 45-0 in its first game under new coach Teddy Bridgewater. Junior quarterback Leon Strawder threw four touchdown passes for the Bulls, including two to elite junior wide receiver Calvin Russell. A showdown at No. 4 Venice is on deck.

Teams 11-25 in latest Florida High School Football Rankings

11. Seminole (-2)
12. Columbus
13. Lake Mary (+10)
14. Miami Central (-10)
15. Bartram Trail (+3)

16. Mandarin (+5)
17. Clearwater Central Catholic (NR)
18. American Heritage (-12)
19. Jones (-5)
20. St. Augustine (+3)

21. Choctawhatchee (NR)
22. Niceville (NR)
23. Bishop Verot (NR)
24. Miami Palmetto (NR)
25. Naples (NR)

Dropped from rankings: Edgewater, Mainland, Tampa Bay Tech, Berkeley Prep, Hawthorne, Lake Wales