Florida High School Football Rankings: Top 25 Teams - September 9
The Florida high school football rankings have been shaken up after an exciting week three that featured a pair of top-10 matchups.
No. 1 IMG Academy beat top-5 Cocoa while Lakeland won its top-10 showdown with Lake Mary.
Below is the updated Florida On3 Massey Ratings top 25, as of Sept. 9.
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 2-1 on the season with a dominating 34-13 win over top-5 Cocoa on Friday. The Crusaders have 17 blue-chip prospects between the junior and senior classes. The Sunshine State’s No. 1 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. Hawks was 13-of-16 passing with 145 yards and three touchdowns against the Tigers. The Ascenders will play Mt. Zion Prep (Md.) at home on Thursday.
2. Venice
Previous Ranking: No. 2
Venice remained perfect in 2024 with a 71-56 shootout victory over previously ranked Bishop Verot over the weekend. Four-star wide receiver Winston Watkins Jr. has 12 touches for 74 yards and a touchdown. Next up is a Friday road matchup with Port Charlotte as the Indians continue their campaign to return to the state championship game.
3. St. Thomas Aquinas
Previous Ranking: No. 3
The defending 3M state champions dominated previously ranked Columbus 42-6 on Friday as St. Thomas Aquinas improved to 2-1 on the season. The Raiders’ lone loss came to nationally-ranked Bishop Gorman (Nev.) in week one. The Raiders’ 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. STA will play at Western on Friday.
4. Lakeland
Previous Ranking: No. 5 (+1)
Lakeland remained undefeated on the year as the Dreadnaughts defeated top-10 Lake Mary 35-34 in overtime. A pair of blue-chip prospects headline the No. 15 defense in Florida in Ole Miss safety commit Keon Young and junior four-star linebacker Malik Morris. Next up in the Dreadnaughts’ title defense is a road test at Winter Haven.
5. Cocoa
Previous Ranking: No. 4 (-1)
Cocoa dropped its first game of the season with a 34-13 loss at IMG Academy. The Tigers will look to rebound against Heritage as they hope to work their way back to another state title. Cocoa’s top-5 defense is led by elite EDGE Javion Hilson, who decommitted from Florida State on Sunday. Also featuring for Cocoa Mizzou four-star wide receiver pledge Jayvan Boggs and Michigan quarterback commit Brady Hart.
6. Chaminade-Madonna Prep
Previous Ranking: No. 10 (+4)
The Lions bounced back from a shocking 35-34 loss to Blanche Ely by beating then-No. 11 American Heritage 48-45 for Chaminade-Madonna’s first win of 2024. 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. Next up for the Lions is 2-1 Edison on Thursday.
7. Miami Central
Previous Ranking: No. 7
After falling to Lakeland in week one, Miami Central has followed up that loss with consecutive blowout wins against Edison and Booker T. Washington. Central features blue-chip wide receiver Naeshaun Montgomery, Miami four-star safety pledge Amari Wallace, Oklahoma DL commit Floyd Boucard, Penn State DL commit Randy Adirika, Miami linebacker pledge Ezekiel Marcelin and Penn State QB commit Bekkem Kritza, among others. The Rockets will play at Pompano Beach on Thursday.
8. F. W. Buchholz
Previous Ranking: No. 6 (-2)
Buchholz is still perfect on the season after a 35-7 win against Eastside last week. Its Florida top-10 defense is led by Wisconsin EDGE commit Nicolas Clayton. The Bobcats will play their first home game of 2024 this Friday against Manatee.
9. Armwood
Previous Ranking: No. 12 (+3)
Armwood is still 3-0 on the season after a tight contest Friday night. After beating Gaither and Sumner to open the year, the Hawks downed Tampa Bay Tech 31-27 in a narrow victory over the weekend. 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. The Hawks will play Durant at home on Friday.
10. Norland
Previous Ranking: No. 8 (-2)
Miami Norland is looking to get over the hump this season and avenge its 2M state championship loss to Tampa Berkeley Prep. A 36-10 win over Miami Carol City to move to 2-0 will certainly help. A huge showdown is on deck as the Vikings are set to host No. 16 Miami Northwestern on Friday.
Teams 11-25 in latest Florida High School Football Rankings
11. American Heritage
12. Niceville (+3)
13. Choctawhatchee (+4)
14. Clearwater Central Catholic (+8)
15. Mandarin (-1)
16. Northwestern (+2)
17. Sanford Seminole (-4)
18. Lake Mary (-9)
19. Cardinal Newman (NR)
20. Naples (+1)
21. Lincoln (+3)
22. St. Augustine (-3)
23. Raines (NR)
24. Bradford (NR)
25. Bartram Trail (NR)
Dropped from rankings: Bishop Verot, Jones, Columbus, Tampa Bay Tech