The toughest high school football leagues in the nation

With three teams clustered among the Top 15 in the country, it's no wonder that the Big North-United League in New Jersey has emerged as the No.1 toughest league in the country, according to ratings produced by MaxPreps.

Using the computer ratings that power the MaxPreps Freeman Ratings, the strength of each league in the country can be determined. With the top three teams in the state of New Jersey and three of the Top 13 in the nation, the Big North-United has replaced the Greater Catholic South League in Ohio as the nation's best.

Don Bosco Prep (No. 13 nationally), St. Joseph Regional (7) and Bergen Catholic (9) have long been the powerhouses in the league. When MaxPreps first compiled the nation's toughest leagues, Don Bosco Prep was No. 2 in the nation but Bergen Catholic was only No. 39 and St. Joseph Regional was No. 142. Additionally, Paramus Catholic wasn't even in the top 3,000.

That has changed this year. Besides St. Joseph Regional, Bergen Catholic and Don Bosco Prep ranking 1-2-3 (in that order) in the state, Paramus Catholic is ranked No. 5 and is 173rd in the nation.

The improvement of the lower teams in the league has allowed the Big North-United to leapfrog into the No. 1 spot, passing an always-tough Trinity League in Southern California. This season is even better than usual for the Orange County-based league that has all six of its members ranked among the top 70 in the state, including three in the Top 7.

Meanwhile, the Greater Catholic League South, ranked No. 1 in 2010, drops a few notches to No. 3. California, meanwhile, has three leagues in the Top 10 with the Serra and South Coast leagues joining the Trinity League.

America's Top 10 Toughest Football Leagues

1. Big North – United
St. Joseph Regional (Montvale, N.J.) – 3-1, No. 1 in state, 7 nationally
Bergen Catholic (Oradell, N.J.) – 3-1, No. 2 in state, 9 nationally
Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, N.J.) – 3-1, No. 3 in state, 13 nationally
Paramus Catholic (Paramus, N.J.) – 4-0, No. 5 in state, 173 nationally
DePaul (Wayne, N.J.) – 1-3, No. 22 in state, 1,172 nationally

Notes: The league is a New Jersey juggernaut with the top three teams in the state and four of the top five. You'll also find three of the top 13 teams in the country in the Big North United, which moves up from the No.5 spot it held in 2010, when it was known as Big North I.

2. Trinity League
Santa Margarita (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.) – 5-0, No. 1 in state, 3 nationally
St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.) – 1-4, No. 3 in state, 15 nationally
Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) – 4-1, No. 7 in state, 40 nationally
Servite (Anaheim, Calif.) – 2-3, No. 29 in state, 171 nationally
Orange Lutheran (Orange, Calif.) – 5-0, No. 50 in state, 343 nationally
JSerra Catholic (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) – 5-0, No. 70 in state, 609 nationally

Notes: Consider that the lowest-ranked team in the league, JSerra Catholic, is undefeated at 5-0. Also consider that the team with the worst record, St. John Bosco (1-4 with four forfeit losses) is ranked No. 15 in the nation. Three of California's top seven teams are in the league.

3. Greater Catholic League South
Archbishop Moeller (Cincinnati) – 5-1, No. 3 in state, 22 nationally
St. Xavier (Cincinnati) – 4-2, No. 4 in state, 30 nationally
Elder (Cincinnati) – 3-3, No. 16 in state, 157 nationally
La Salle (Cincinnati) – 4-2, No. 24 in state, 349 nationally

Notes: The Greater Catholic South drops from its No. 1 perch from 2010 when it had every team in the league ranked among the Top 20 in the state. It still has an impressive resume with two of Ohio's top four teams.

4. Serra League
Bishop Amat (La Puente, Calif.) – 5-0-1, No. 11 in state, 48 nationally
Crespi (Encino, Calif.) – 6-0, No. 12 in state, 52 nationally
Alemany (Mission Hills, Calif.) – 5-1, No. 22 in state, 132 nationally
Loyola (Los Angeles) – 6-0, No. 23 in state, 148 nationally
Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks, Calif.) – 4-2, No. 36 in state, 220 nationally

Notes: The No. 9 league in 2010, the Serra League has just three losses among its five teams and has all five of its members ranked in the Top 36 in California.

5. South Coast League
Mission Viejo (Calif.) – 6-0, No. 8 in state, 41 nationally
Tesoro (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.) – 5-0, No. 9 in state, 42 nationally
El Toro (Lake Forest, Calif.) – 6-0, No. 16 in state, 85 nationally
Trabuco Hills (Mission Viejo, Calif.) – 4-2, No. 83 in state, 710 nationally
San Clemente (San Clemente, Calif.) – 4-2, No. 101 in state, 851 nationally

Notes: This five-team league has only four losses on the season with three unbeatens. Two of the teams rank among the Top 10 in the state.

6. Philadelphia Catholic AAAA
St. Joseph's Prep (Philadelphia) – 4-0, No. 1 in state, 17 nationally
La Salle College (Wyndmoor, Pa.) – 5-0, No. 4 in state, 62 nationally
Roman Catholic (Philadelphia) – 2-2, No. 29 in state, 630 nationally
Archbishop Ryan (Philadelphia) – 3-2, No. 51 in state, 1,197 nationally
Father Judge (Philadelphia) – 2-2, No. 119 in state, 2,692 nationally

Notes: Unranked in 2010, the Philadelphia Catholic AAAA moves in thanks to the presence of St. Joseph's Prep, the No. 1 team in the state and No. 17 nationally.

7. 6A District 4
Trinity (Louisville, Ky.) – 6-0, No. 1 in state, 1 nationally
St. Xavier (Louisville, Ky.) – 4-3, No. 6 in state, 348 nationally
Male (Louisville, Ky.) – 4-2, No. 18 in state, 1,177 nationally
DuPont Manual (Louisville, Ky.) – 2-4, No. 68 in state, 4,429 nationally

Notes: Known as 6A District 5 in 2010, this district moves up three spots from No. 10. It boasts the nation's No. 1 team in the MaxPreps Freeman Rankings in Trinity.

8. Metropolitan (Indiana)
Carmel (Ind.) – 5-0, No. 2 in state, 60 nationally
Ben Davis (Indianapolis) – 6-1, No. 3 in state, 66 nationally
Center Grove (Greenwood, Ind.) – 6-1, No. 4 in state, 77 nationally
Warren Central (Indianapolis) – 3-4, No. 13 in state, 432 nationally
North Vigo (Terre Haute, Ind.) – 4-3, No. 16 in state, 482 nationally
North Central (Indianapolis) – 2-5, No. 25 in state, 1,002 nationally
South Vigo (Terre Haute, Ind.) – 2-5, No. 39 in state, 1,566 nationally
Lawrence North (Indianapolis) – 0-7, No. 114 in state, 4,959 nationally

Notes: Three of the top four teams in the state are in this league and six of the Top 25. This league was not among the Top 10 posted by MaxPreps in 2010.

9. Catholic Central
St. Mary Prep (Orchard Lake, Mich.) – 5-1, No. 2 in state, 98 nationally
Catholic Central (Novi, Mich.) – 4-2, No. 6 in state, 283 nationally
Brother Rice (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) – 4-2, No. 8 in state, 306 nationally
De La Salle Collegiate (Warren, Mich.) – 3-3, No. 10 in state, 499 nationally
University of Detroit Jesuit (Detroit) – 2-4, No. 110 in state, 3,176 nationally

Notes: Four of the top 10 teams in the state are in this league. The Catholic Central Conference drops from No. 6, where it resided in 2010. At that time, Catholic Central and St. Mary Prep were ranked 1-2 in the state.

10. 5A District 7
DeSoto (Texas) – 5-0, No. 1 in state, 10 nationally
Cedar Hill (Texas) – 2-3, No. 18 in state, 129 nationally
Midlothian (Texas) – 5-0, No. 23 in state, 169 nationally
Duncanville (Texas) – 1-4, No. 95 in state, 719 nationally
Mansfield Timberview (Arlington, Texas) – 3-2, No. 104 in state, 775 nationally
South Grand Prairie (Grand Prairie, Texas) – 2-3, No. 115 in state, 858 nationally
Mansfield (Texas) – 2-3, No. 134 in state, 1,043 nationally
Grand Prairie (Texas) – 2-3, No. 504 in state, 5,028 nationally

Notes: The strength of this district is bolstered by having the No. 1 team in the state in DeSoto. Cedar Hill is a good example of the respect this district gets. Despite a 2-3 overall record, Cedar Hill is ranked No. 18 in the state.