High school football rankings: IMG Academy opens fall at No. 1 in MaxPreps Top 25 national poll

Florida, Texas claim 12 of 25 spots as we put the focus on teams taking the field this fall.

Thumbnail image of this articles writer: Zack Poff
By
Aug 19, 2020, 3:00pm
The high school football season picks up steam this week with several states opening play. We run down the nation's elite with a revamped MaxPreps Top 25 high school football rankings, featuring only schools that will take the field this fall. Two-time defending Utah state champion Corner Canyon (Draper) already owns a victory, extending its win streak to 27 games last Friday with a 49-20 win over Farmington.

Amid the pandemic, changes are a given and the rankings will reflect those changes in the coming months. St. Joseph's Prep (Philadelphia) will begin the year ranked No. 4 but the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association is scheduled to make an announcement Friday regarding its intentions for the fall season.

The Florida High School Athletic Association elected to move forward this fall with games starting as early as Sept. 4. Teams from Broward and Miami-Dade counties ranked in the MaxPreps Top 25 — St. Thomas Aquinas, Northwestern, Central and American Heritage — could open later due to the high number of COVID-19 cases in that part of the state. 

HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS RE-START: Updates from all 50 states

California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Vermont, Virginia and Washington along with the District of Columbia have all officially moved their seasons to 2021 as of Aug. 19.

Ten schools from our initial MaxPreps Top 25 rankings, released on June 15, aren't playing this fall. Thirty-two squads from our expanded look at the top 100 also made the move to 2021.
Graphic by Ryan Escobar
MaxPreps Top 25 High School Football Rankings

1. (2019 final rank No. 8) IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.)
Season opener: Sept. 4 vs. Venice

Season opener: Sept. 25 vs. No. 16 Shadow Creek (Pearland)

Season opener: TBD

Season opener: Oct. 3 vs. La Salle College (Wyndmoor)

Season opener: Sept. 4 vs. Creekside (Fairburn)

Season opener: Sept. 24 vs. Nolan Catholic (Fort Worth)

Season opener: Oct. 2 vs. Higley (Gilbert)

8. (15) Katy (Texas)
Season opener: Sept. 25 vs. Clear Springs (League City)

Season opener: Sept. 5 vs. Archer (Lawrenceville)

Season opener: TBD

Season opener: Oct. 2 vs. Rockwall-Heath (Rockwall)

Season opener: Sept. 11 vs. Christian Brothers (St. Louis)

Season opener: TBD

Season opener: beat Farmington 49-20 on Aug. 14

Season opener: Sept. 18 vs. Male (Louisville)

Season opener: Sept. 25 vs. No. 2 North Shore (Houston)

Season opener: Oct. 2 vs. West Orange

Season opener: Sept. 25 vs. White Knoll (Lexington)

Season opener: Sept. 24 vs. Martin (Arlington)

Season opener: Aug. 22 vs. Oxford

Season opener: TBD

Season opener: TBD

Season opener: Aug. 30 vs. Pickerington North (Pickerington)

24. (NR) Allen (Texas)
Season opener: Sept. 25 vs. Plano East (Plano)

Season opener: Oct. 2 vs. St. Joseph Regional (Montvale)

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