The coach won a milestone victory earlier this month and the team is on track to add to its state championship total. No, that team is not
Carthage (Texas) – No. 1 in this week's Small Town Top 25 high school football rankings – but rather the No. 3 team,
Marion Local (Maria Stein, Ohio).
Head coach Tim Goodwin picked up his 300th career win earlier this month and he became the second coach in the nation to win over 300 games in less than 25 years on the job. Marion Local, meanwhile, enters postseason play with a 10-0 record and are favored to add to its state record of 13 state championships.
Carthage would have been a good guess as well. Head coach Scott Surratt got hit milestone win last year when he went over 200 wins in just his 16th season. Surratt is up to 214 wins and if he continues his average of 13 wins a season, he will be over 300 in just 23 seasons.
Surratt's Bulldogs have held the No. 1 spot in the Small Town Top 25 since the end of the 2022 season. The lead is getting smaller, however.
Louisville (Miss.) has climbed to within three-tenths of a point in the MaxPreps computer ratings while Marion Local is only 1.4 rating points behind.
Columbus (Texas) moves up from No. 24 to No. 4 and is just 1.6 points behind the leader.
A total of 12 new teams enter the rankings this week with Florida's
Hawthorne (No. 8) and
Williston (No. 9) the highest debuting teams.
The Small Town Top 25 is based on the MaxPreps computer ratings and include teams from schools with fewer than 1,000 students from towns with a population of less than 10,000 people.
Marion Local head coach Tim Goodwin celebrates with his team after winning Ohio's Division 6 title in 2016, one of 13 state crowns he has led the program to since 1999. (Photo: Michael Noyes)
1. (Last month No. 1) Carthage (Texas)
Record/rating: 9-0, 53.8
Notes: Through eight games,
Jett Surratt has thrown for 2,366 yards and 27 touchdowns while
Mikel Fields has caught 32 passes for 680 yards and 10 scores.
2. (9) Louisville (Miss.)
Record/rating: 9-0, 53.5
Notes: Xavier Hunt leads the Wildcats with 1,422 yards passing and 17 touchdowns.
Ceidrick Hunt has kicked 11 field goals on the season and is 40 of 41 on extra points.
3. (10) Marion Local (Maria Stein, Ohio)
Record/rating: 10-0, 52.4
Notes: Ethan Heitkamp leads Marion Local in scoring through eight games with 11 touchdowns.
4. (24) Columbus (Texas)
Record/rating: 9-0, 52.2
Notes: The Cardinals avenged their lone regular season loss from last year with a 52-24 win over Hitchcock, handing the Bulldogs their first loss of the season.
5. (11) Wimberley (Texas)
Record/rating: 8-0, 49.3
Notes: Cody Stoever leads the team in passing and rushing with 1,561 passing yards and 24 touchdowns to go with 599 rushing yards with 15 touchdowns.
6. (6) Gunter (Texas)
Record/rating: 8-0, 48.8
Notes: The Tigers are one of the highest scoring teams in the nation, averaging 58.8 points per game including back-to-back wins of 82-0 and 75-0.
7. (16) Winona (Miss.)
Record/rating: 9-0, 48.6
Notes: Chase Richardson leads the Tigers as he has rushed for 858 yards and 10 touchdowns and has thrown for 1,526 yards and 16 touchdowns.
8. (NR) Hawthorne (Fla.)
Record/rating: 9-0, 48.3
Notes: Keenon Johnson has rushed for 902 yards and 12 touchdowns while quarterback
C.J. Ingram has thrown for 1,661 yards and 24 scores.
9. (NR) Williston (Fla.)
Record/rating: 9-0, 48.3
Notes: Jace McDonald has run for 13 touchdowns and
Jamari Williams has run for 10 for the Red Devils.
10. (3) Malakoff (Texas)
Record/rating: 8-0, 44.7
Notes: Sophomore
Jerrion Hall leads the Tigers in scoring with 13 touchdowns.
11. (23) Canadian (Texas)
Record/rating: 8-0, 44.6
Notes: Chris Koetting is closing in on 200 career wins at Canadian, posting a record of 172-25 through the eighth game this season.
12. (NR) Liberty Center (Ohio)
Record/rating: 10-0, 43.6
Notes: Colton Kruse led the Tigers in scoring during the regular season with 20 touchdowns while rushing for 907 yards.
13. (15) Perry (Ohio)
Record/rating: 10-0, 43.0
Notes: With a 47-7 win over Hawken, Perry has eight straight season (not counting the COVID year of 2020) with double-digit wins.
14. (12) Cuero (Texas)
Record/rating: 7-1, 42.9
Notes: Mason Notaro has thrown for 1,426 yards and 19 touchdowns.
15. (NR) Silsbee (Texas)
Record/rating: 7-1, 42.8
Notes: Trei Kibbles has rushed for 1,027 yards and 15 touchdowns while quarterback
Michael Moshier has thrown for 2,043 yards and 24 touchdowns.
16. (NR) Corbin (Ky.)
Record/rating: 9-0, 42.4
Notes: Kade Elam has thrown for 1,142 yards and 11 touchdowns.
17. (NR) Washington (Okla.)
Record/rating: 8-0, 42.4
Notes: The Warriors upped their win streak to 23 games in a row with their eight wins this season.
18. (NR) Columbia (Miss.)
Record/rating: 9-0, 42.2
Notes: In the 14 seasons prior to hiring Chip Bilderback, Columbia had 10 losing seasons. Since his hire, the Wildcats are 64-11
19. (21) Bellville (Texas)
Record/rating: 8-0, 41.7
Notes: The Brahmas have a strong rushing attack led by
D.D. Murray with 18 touchdowns,
Corrian Hood with 15 and
Sam Hranicky with 12.
20. (NR) Rice Lake (Wis.)
Record/rating: 9-1, 40.8
Notes: Jacob Kunz has thrown for 17 touchdown passes for the Warriors.
21. (NR) Van (Texas)
Record/rating: 7-1, 40.4
Notes: Van can throw a real wrench in the Small Town Top 25 if it can get a win over Carthage this week.
22. (2) Timpson (Texas)
Record/rating: 8-0, 40.3
Notes: Through seven games,
J.J. Garner has rushed for 1,033 yards and 17 touchdowns for the Bears.
23. (NR) Winnsboro (Texas)
Record/rating: 8-0, 40.2
Notes: The Raiders have never finished undefeated during the regular season. A win over 1-7 Bonham this week would change that.
24. (NR) Ripley (Miss.)
Record/rating: 9-0, 40.2
Notes: Coach Perry Liles has led a turnaround at Ripley, posting at least nine wins in each of the past three seasons.
25. (NR) Schley County (Ellaville, Ga.)
Record/rating: 8-0, 40.2
Notes: Jay Kanazawa leads the Wildcats prolific passing attack with 1,775 yards passing and 22 touchdowns.
