High school football rankings: St. Frances Academy headlines Maryland/D.C. Preseason MaxPreps Top 25

Panthers begin 2021 season ranked eighth in the MaxPreps Top 25 national rankings.

By Staff Report

Aug 25, 2021, 11:00am

Zack Poff joins Jeremy St. Louis on CBS HQ to break down one of the biggest high school football games of the year between No. 6 St. Thomas Aquinas (FL) and No. 8 St. Frances Academy (MD).

No. 6 St. Thomas Aquinas (FL) opens season vs. No. 8 St. Frances Academy (MD) 6,953 views 1:30

The 2021 high school football season in Maryland and the District of Columbia kicks off this week and MaxPreps has your look at the top teams. St. Frances Academy (Baltimore) owns the top spot and checks in at No. 8 in the MaxPreps Top 25 national rankings.

The Panthers open with a huge game Saturday on the road against No. 6 St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.). The game will be televised on ESPN at noon ET. Messay Hailemariam takes over as head coach at St. Frances Academy after Biff Poggi left for Michigan. The program didn't get the opportunity to play last fall and were limited to two exhibition games in the spring.

St. Frances Academy is led by four-star linebacker Jaishawn Barham and 2022 Oklahoma commit Derrick Moore.

The Washington Catholic Athletic Conference is one of the most competitive leagues in the country with four teams ranked in the MaxPreps Top 100 – Gonzaga (31), DeMatha (33), St. John's (37) and Good Counsel (40).

Gonzaga went 5-0 last spring and had notable wins over DeMatha, Good Counsel and St. John's.

See the complete list below.

Maryland Preseason MaxPreps Top 25

1. St. Frances Academy (Baltimore)

2. Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.)

3. DeMatha (Hyattsville)

4. St. John's (Washington, D.C.)

5. Our Lady of Good Counsel (Olney)

6. McDonogh (Owings Mills)

7. Archbishop Spalding (Severn)

8. Mount St. Joseph (Baltimore)

9. St. Mary's Ryken (Leonardtown)