Florida High School Football Rankings: Top 25 Teams - September 16
The top four in the Florida high school football rankings remain unchanged, but the rest of the top 25 has seen some movement after an exciting fourth week of games in the Sunshine State.
Norland, American Heritage and Bradford each won ranked matchups over the weekend while F. W. Buchholz suffered an upset at home.
Below is the updated Florida On3 Massey Ratings top 25, as of Sept. 16.
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 improved to 3-1 in 2024 with a 57-0 blowout win over Mt. Zion Prep (Md.) last Thursday. The Crusaders have 17 blue-chip prospects between the junior and senior classes. The Sunshine State’s No. 2 offense is led by Alabama 4-star IOL commit Michael Carroll, Missouri 4-star WR commit Donovan Olugbode and SMU 4-star QB commit Ty Hawkins. Next up is a home showdown with Mandarin, which dropped from the top 25 over the weekend.
2. Venice
Previous Ranking: No. 2
Port Charlotte put up one heck of a fight against the Indians on Friday, but Venice ultimately pulled out the 49-41 win. Venice features a pair of speedy athletes in senior four-star receiver Winston Watkins Jr. and junior four-star athlete Asharri Charles. Venice’s upcoming game might be the showcase of the week in Florida as the Indians host No. 6 Cocoa in a top-10 battle.
3. St. Thomas Aquinas
Previous Ranking: No. 3
St. Thomas Aquinas snuck out of Western with a 23-15 win, moving the defending 3M state champions to 3-1 on the season. The Raiders’ lone loss came to nationally-ranked Bishop Gorman (Nev.) in week one. Thomas Aquinas’ group of seniors includes three Power 4 commits: Illinois three-star running back commit Cedric Wyche, Maryland three-star safety pledge Travares Daniels and Pitt three-star EDGE commit Trevor Sommers. On deck is McArthur, and the Raiders are big favorites.
4. Lakeland
Previous Ranking: No. 4
Lakeland remained undefeated on the year as the Dreadnaughts defeated Winter Haven 44-0. The Dreadnaughts secured two major wins to start the year over Miami Central and Lake Mary, and now are continuing to roll through the Sunshine State. Lakeland has the No. 11 defense in Florida after three weeks, headlined by Ole Miss safety commit Keon Young and four-star junior linebacker Malik Morris. A talented Booker T. Washington squad is up next.
5. Chaminade-Madonna Prep
Previous Ranking: No. 6 (+1)
Chaminade-Madonna has put together two bounce-back wins since its upset loss to Blanche Ely two weeks ago. The Lions beat Edison 56-19 last Friday, improving to 2-2. This year’s senior class features a pair of blue-chip prospects in Miami four-star cornerback commit Chris Ewald and Penn State four-star wide receiver commit Koby Howard. Junior athlete Derrek Cooper is the top player in the state of Florida for the 2026 class and the No. 14 overall recruit in the country. Thursday night is yet another major matchup in Florida as Chaminade will host No. 7 Norland.
6. Cocoa
Previous Ranking: No. 5 (-1)
After dropping its first game of the season to IMG Academy the week before, Cocoa rebounded last weekend with a 39-13 win over Heritage. Cocoa’s top-5 defense is led by elite EDGE Javion Hilson, who decommitted from Florida State earlier this month. Also featuring for Cocoa are Mizzou four-star wide receiver pledge Jayvan Boggs and Michigan quarterback commit Brady Hart. The Tigers will play Venice in a top-10 showdown this week.
7. Norland
Previous Ranking: No. 10 (+3)
Norland got the huge crosstown win over Northwestern in a 21-17 thriller to remain undefeated on the season. The Vikings have a slew of prospects planning to stay in the Sunshine State, including UCF commits Darryll Desir and Mandrell Desir, and FAU pledges Jade Card and Adrian Farrow. Norland will play Chaminade-Madonna on Thursday.
8. Miami Central
Previous Ranking: No. 7 (-1)
Miami Central improved to 3-1 with a whopping 60-0 shutout win over Pompano Beach. The Rockets’ lone loss on the year came to No. 4 Lakeland in week one. They are stacked with Power 4 talent with the likes of Naeshaun Montgomery, Amari Wallace, Floyd Boucard, Ezekiel Marcelin, Randy Adirika, Bekkem Kritza, Sekou Smith and Kha’leal Sterling. Central will host No. 12 American Heritage on Friday.
9. Armwood
Previous Ranking: No. 9
Armwood also pulled off a shutout last week, 35-0 over Durant — moving the Hawks to 4-0 on the season. Armwood has a top-20 offense and defense in Florida led by Miami four-star running back commit Girard Pringle, Georgia four-star receiver commit Tyler Williams and Florida DB pledge Jaelen Waters. Armwood will travel to Hillsborough this Friday.
10. Bradford
Previous Ranking: No. 24 (+14)
Bradford saw a bigger leap than anyone in this week’s Florida top 25 after it defeated then-No. 15 Mandarin 18-13 over the weekend. The Tornadoes are undefeated with wins over Dunnellon and South Sumter. Bradford is idle this week and will next play Keystone Heights on Sept. 27.
Teams 11-25 in latest Florida High School Football Rankings
11. Clearwater Central Catholic (+3)
12. American Heritage (-1)
13. Niceville (-1)
14. Jones (NR)
15. Cardinal Newman (+4)
16. Raines (+7)
17. Sanford Seminole
18. Lake Mary
19. St. Augustine (+3)
20. Naples
21. F. W. Buchholz (-13)
22. Bishop Verot (NR)
23. Lincoln (-2)
24. Northwestern (-8)
25. Atlantic (NR)
Dropped from rankings: Choctawhatchee, Mandarin, Bartram Trail