Buford brings a national championship home to Georgia with the first title in school history
The Sporting News 2025 High School Football Top 25 — Week 20 (Final Rankings): December 22 originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
As previously announced, the Buford [GA] Wolves are the 2025 Sporting News High School Football National Champions.
But that means there are still 24 positions to be resolved in the final edition of The Sporting News High School Football Top 25, and it was a banner year for the Peach State as two more Georgia Class 6A programs land in the final Top 25.
Florida also had a good showing with two Sunshine State teams among the nation's final top four. The other two "Big 4" states in national high school football underperformed in 2025, and that is reflected here in the final rankings as California had only one team ranked in the final Top 10 while Texas was shut out completely.
Beyond the 'Big 4,' Maryland was the only state to have two top teams in the final Top 25 with both of them ranked among the nine best teams in the country.
Understanding the SN Top 25 through transparency
Like any set of rankings, things may not always make sense at first glance, and there are as many approaches to ranking teams as there are selectors. Some rankings are simply a reflection of what has happened to date, and many of these are algorithm-based, subject to wild weekly swings like the Massey Ratings that are part of The Sporting News Composite Rankings released on Wednesdays.
Other rankings are more predictive – an attempt to account for what has happened, while attempting to line up teams in a way that will reflect potential future results. SN's approach falls somewhere in line with this way of thinking, and each week we first attempt to rank the teams by resume before considering wins and losses and head-to-head results. No system is perfect, but at least understanding our approach can help understand why we have the teams where we do.
The Sporting News High School Football Top 25
SN No. 1 Buford [GA] Wolves
2025 Record: 15-0
Last Week: SN No. 1
Next Game: Season has concluded
Last Game: 12/16/2025 — Buford 28, No. 3/SN No. 2 Carrollton [GA] Trojans 21 (14-1)
W/L Streak: 15 wins
In the end, there was no question about it. Buford wrapped up an undefeated season that saw the Wolves win Georgia's GHSA Class 6A state championship last Tuesday night over the SN No. 2 Carrollton Trojans. And with all the frontrunners in California and Texas dropping out of contention during the postseason, it came down to Georgia and Florida to decide the national championship. IMG Academy's decision to back out of its final regular season game against the eventual No. 2 St. Frances Academy Panthers, followed by the latter's decision to play in the Overtime Nationals championship game against Utah's UHSAA Class 6A champion Corner Canyon [Draper, UT] Chargers, ultimately left IMG lacking a marquee win to hold onto the top position. And with Buford ultimately winning out in what was a great year for Georgia football (consider the GHSA Class 4A champion Creekside Seminoles' 70-28 win over the eventual Texas UIL Class 6A Division II champion DeSoto Eagles), there really was no question for those of us here at The Sporting News – the Buford Wolves are worthy of the title of national champions.
SN No. 2 St. Frances Academy [Baltimore, MD] Panthers
2025 Record: 9-1
Last Week: SN No. 3
Next Game: Season has concluded
Last Game: 12/10/2025 — St. Frances Academy 37, NR Corner Canyon [Draper, UT] Chargers 20 (12-2)
W/L Streak: 8 wins
Credit St. Frances Academy for not resting on its laurels and taking on the Corner Canyon [Draper, UT] Chargers in the Overtime Nationals Championship. The Panthers won comfortably in a game that was billed as a national championship game.
SN No. 3 IMG Academy [Bradenton, FL] Ascenders
2025 Record: 9-0
Last Week: SN No. 4
Next Game: Season has concluded
Last Game: 11/1/2025 — IMG Academy 31, NR Hun [Princeton, NJ] Raiders 13 (7-4)
W/L Streak: 10 wins
The Ascenders' decision to cancel their regular-season finale vs. the current No. 3 St. Frances Academy cost them their only realistic chance at a share of the national championship. Instead, they finish here just behind the Panthers.
SN No. 4 St. Thomas Aquinas [Fort Lauderdale, FL] Raiders
2025 Record: 14-1
Last Week: SN No. 6
Next Game: Season has concluded
Last Game: 12/11/2025 — St. Thomas Aquinas 29, NR Lakeland [FL] Dreadnaughts 0 (12-3)
W/L Streak: 14 wins
For the second straight season, the Raiders concluded their season with a shutout win over the Lakeland Dreadnaughts for Florida's FHSAA Class 5A state championship. It marks the Raiders' seventh consecutive Florida state title.
SN No. 5 Bishop Gorman [Las Vegas, NV] Gaels
2025 Record: 11-1
Last Week: SN No. 8
Next Game: Season has concluded
Last Game: 11/25/2025 — Bishop Gorman 44, NR Arbor View [Las Vegas, NV] Aggies 7 (9-3)
W/L Streak: 7 wins
Bishop Gorman throttled the Arbor View Aggies in Nevada's Open Division state championship game. It wasn't enough to lift them into the national title conversation, but the Gaels will be back next year for another run at national glory.
SN No. 6 Santa Margarita [Rancho Santa Margarita, CA] Eagles
2025 Record: 11-3
Last Week: No. 9
Next Game: Season has concluded
Last Game: 12/13/2025 — Santa Margarita 47, NR De La Salle [Concord, CA] Spartans 13 (12-1)
W/L Streak: 6 wins
Santa Margarita ran roughshod over the previously undefeated De La Salle Spartans, illustrating again just how wide the gap remains between California's top Southern Section schools and the kings of Northern California. The title comes in the first year under Eagles' alum Carson Palmer, a Heisman Trophy winner and former NFL All-Pro quarterback. It marks the first time Santa Margarita has won a state championship in 14 years, dating back to 2011.
SN No. 7 Carrollton [GA] Trojans
2025 Record: 14-1
Last Week: SN No. 2
Next Game: Season has concluded
Last Game: 12/16/2025 — No. 1/SN No. 1 Buford [GA] Wolves 28 (15-0), Carrollton 21 (14-1)
W/L Streak: 1 loss
Carrollton made an incredible late run up the rankings to earn a shot at the national title against Buford. In the end, the Trojans came up a touchdown short, but hanging tough against the national champs earns them a well-deserved spot here in the final Top 10.
SN No. 8 Grayson [Loganville, GA] Rams
2025 Record: 13-1
Last Week: SN No. 7
Next Game: Season has concluded
Last Game: 11/28/2025 — SN No. 10 Carrollton [GA] Trojans 34 (13-0), Grayson 14
W/L Streak: 1 loss
It was an admirable run for Grayson. After losing their 5-star QB Travis Burgess for the season back in August, they turned the reins over to Deuce Smith who guided the Rams all the way to Georgia's Class 6A quarterfinals. It ended there, and with it, Grayson lost its best chance yet to capture an elusive national title. The good news for the Rams is they'll probably be right back in the thick of it again next year. But that's little consolation right now for a team that had a title within reach.
SN No. 9 DeMatha [Hyattsville, MD] Stags
2025 Record: 11-0
Last Week: SN No. 10
Next Game: Season has concluded
Last Game: 11/23/2025 — DeMatha 20, NR Gonzaga [Washington, DC] Eagles 13 (7-5)
W/L Streak: 21 wins
DeMatha captured the WCAC championship in a hard-fought win over the Gonzaga Eagles. It should be enough to keep them here in the national Top 10 when the dust settles on the playoffs around the rest of the country.
SN No. 10 Edna Karr [New Orleans, LA] Cougars
2025 Record: 14-0
Last Week: SN No. 11
Next Game: 12/5/2025 — Edna Karr 17, NR Catholic [Baton Rouge, LA] Bears 10 (10-3)
Last Game: 12/13/2025 — vs. NR St. Augustine [New Orleans, LA] Purple Knights (12-1)
W/L Streak: 28 wins
After Edna Karr's hard-fought 17-10 win over the Catholic [Baton Rouge, LA] Bears in Louisiana's LHSAA semifinals, their blowout win in the state championship game over St. Augustine felt anticlimactic – more like the after party following the main event with the Purple Knights being unwelcome guests who were asked to leave. The Cougars will enter 2026 having gone wire to wire in back-to-back years, adding up to a 28-game win streak in Louisiana's top division.
SN No. 11 Creekside [Fairburn, GA] Seminoles
2025 Record: 15-0
Last Week: SN No. 13
Next Game: Season has concluded
Last Game: 12/15/2025 — Creekside 42, NR Benedictine [Savannah, GA] Cadets 39 (11-43)
W/L Streak: 15 wins
Creekside wrapped up one of the most successful seasons in Georgia prep football history, setting a new record for points scored in a season with 845 while claiming Georgia's GHSA Class 4A title in a wild 42-39 win over Benedictine in the finale.
SN No. 12 Grimsley [Greensboro, NC] Whirlies
2025 Record: 15-0
Last Week: SN No. 14
Next Game: Season has concluded
Last Game: 12/12/2025 — Grimsley 24, NR Clayton [NC] Comets 14 (12-3)
W/L Streak: 31 wins
Grimsley finished consecutive unbeaten seasons in a 24-14 win over Clayton to capture North Carolina's NCHSAA Class 7A state championship.
SN No. 13 North Shore [Houston, TX] Mustangs
2025 Record: 14-2
Last Week: SN No. 25
Next Game: Season has concluded
Las Game: 12/20/2025 — North Shore 10, SN No. 5 Duncanville [TX] Panthers 7 (12-2)
W/L Streak: 6 wins
North Shore wasn't even ranked here in the Top 25 until our penultimate list was published on December 16. One week later, they conclude the 2025 season as the top-ranked team in Texas after their improbable 10-7 win over the Duncanville Panthers to win the Texas UIL Class 6A Division I state championship.
SN No. 14 Centennial [Corona, CA] Huskies
2025 Record: 11-2
Last Week: SN No. 15
Next Game: Season has concluded
Last Game: 11/28/2025 — SN No. 25 Santa Margarita [Rancho Santa Margarita, CA] Eagles (10-3) 42, Centennial 7
W/L Streak: 1 loss
There was only one team Centennial couldn't beat in 2025, and unfortunately, they had to face them twice. In a season when the Huskies finally beat their nemesis Mater Dei twice, they also suffered two losses of their own to one team as Santa Margarita beat them, 33-27, in overtime on August 28 before blowing them out, 42-7, last in the Southern Section championship at the Rose Bowl. That second loss ended the Huskies' season, unfortunately, and they'll spend the offseason ruing their inability to avenge that earlier loss to Santa Margarita.
SN No. 15 Duncanville [TX] Panthers
2025 Record: 12-2
Last Week: SN No. 5
Next Game: Season has concluded
Last Game: 12/20/2025 — SN No. 25 North Shore [Houston, TX] Mustangs 10 (14-2), Duncanville 7 (12-2)
W/L Streak: 1 loss
Duncanville became the latest frontrunner in Texas to take a spill, and for the Panthers, the loss cost them a state championship in a 10-7 setback to the North Shore Mustangs.
SN No. 16 Mater Dei [Santa Ana, CA] Monarchs
2025 Record: 8-3
Last Week: SN No. 16
Next Game: Season has concluded
Last Game: 11/21/2025 — SN No. 3 Centennial [Corona, CA] Huskies (11-1) 28, Mater Dei 27
W/L Streak: 1 loss
The Monarchs have finally, officially, abdicated their throne, and it came much earlier than anybody could have expected for a program that entered the season as the unanimous No. 1 team in the country. Mater Dei's loss to Centennial ended their back-to-back run of national titles, but ultimately, the Monarchs will be fine in the long run. They have the best talent in the country in any given year, and they've got a lot of young prospects who should be able to right the ship pretty quickly.
SN No. 17 South Oak Cliff [Dallas, TX] Bears
2025 Record: 15-1
Last Week: SN No. 18
Next Game: Season has concluded
Last Game: 12/20/2025 — South Oak Cliff 35, SN No. 12 Randle [Richmond, TX] Lions 19 (15-1)
W/L Streak: 14 wins
South Oak Cliff got the rematch they wanted, and in the end, they made the most of it. After losing in last year's Texas UIL Class 5A Division II state championship game to Randle, the Bears avenged that loss by shutting down the Lions' high-powered attack led by The Sporting News Offensive Player of the Year Landen Williams-Callis. They enter the off-season having cemented their five-year dynasty, bookending their fifth straight title game appearance with a state championship to go along with titles they won in 2021 and 2022.
SN No. 18 St. John Bosco [Bellflower, CA] Braves
2025 Record: 9-2
Last Week: SN No. 17
Next Game: Season has concluded
Last Game: 11/14/2025 — NR Orange [CA] Lutheran Lancers 20 (3-8), St. John Bosco 19
W/L Streak: 2 losses
After a flashy 9-0 start that carried them into the No. 1 position in the SN Top 25, the Braves' season only lasted two more games. First, there was the loss to archrival Mater Dei in the regular-season finale. Then on a rainy Friday night in Southern California, the Braves were ousted from California's Southern Section playoffs in one of the most shocking postseason results in Golden State history. A season that once appeared destined to end in another national championship for St. John Bosco terminated instead in the opening round of California's postseason, and the Braves will spend the offseason assessing how it all unraveled so quickly.
SN No. 19 Bixby [OK] Spartans
2025 Record: 13-0
Last Week: SN No. 19
Next Game: Season has concluded
Last Game: 12/6/2025 — Bixby 31, NR Owasso [OK] Rams 17 (10-3)
W/L Streak: 16 wins
Bixby got a little bit of a fight from Owasso last Saturday, but it takes more than that to take down this group of Spartans who are now Oklahoma's OSSAA Class 6A Division I champions.
SN No. 20 Baylor [Chattanooga, TN] Red Raiders
2025 Record: 12-0
Last Week: SN No. 20
Next Game: Season has concluded
Last Game: 12/4/2025 — Baylor 28, NR Brentwood [TN] Academy Eagles 24 (11-1)
W/L Streak: 12 wins
Baylor and Brentwood Academy put on quite a show in the rain, but in the end, it was the Red Raiders' night in what was the Red Raiders' season. They are your Tennessee TSSAA Division II-AAA state champions.
SN No. 21 Clay-Chalkville [Pinson, AL] Cougars
2025 Record: 15-0
Last Week: SN No. 24
Next Game: Season has concluded
Last Game: 12/5/2025 — Clay-Chalkville 38, NR Saraland [AL] Spartans 21 (13-1)
W/L Streak: 15 wins
Clay-Chalkville finished off a perfect season last Friday night in a 38-21 win over Saraland, and they conclude the 2025 season as the top-ranked team in Alabama as the AHSAA Class 6A champions.
SN No. 22 DeSoto [TX] Eagles
2025 Record: 13-3
Last Week: Unranked
Next Game: Season has concluded
Last Game: 12/20/2025 — DeSoto 55, NR King [Houston, TX] Panthers 27 (13-3)
W/L Streak: 10 wins
Did DeSoto really just win a state title at the second-highest level in the Texas UIL Class 6A Division II playoffs? Prior to the season, it wouldn't have been surprising at all as DeSoto also won the title in 2022 and 2023. But it's easy to forget now that DeSoto started the season 0-2, including a 70-28 loss to the eventual Georgia GHSA Class 4A champion Creekside Seminoles in the season opener on August 30. DeSoto was just 3-3 headed into mid-October, coming off a 48-28 loss to the Duncanville Panthers, and they looked like anything but an eventual state champion. But things started to click after that, and the Eagles entered last Saturday's championship game on a nine-game win streak against the King Panthers who had two losses of their own. It wasn't the marquee matchup some may have dreamed of, but in the end, DeSoto cemented a four-year dynasty with their third state championship in that span. And they restored their reputation in the process after that early blowout loss in Georgia.
SN No. 23 Southlake [TX] Carroll Dragons
2025 Record: 14-1
Last Week: SN No. 24
Next Game: Season has concluded
Last Game: 12/13/2025 — No. 31 DeSoto [TX] Eagles 57 (12-3), Southlake Carroll 44
W/L Streak: 1 loss
The Dragons had spent the entire season climbing their way from the preseason SN No. 24 position all the way to the SN No. 3 position with a potential shot at a national title. That all fell apart last week in a 57-44 loss to DeSoto sending the Dragons plunging all the way back to ... that same No. 24 position they occupied at the start of the season.
SN No. 24 Thomas County Central [Thomasville, GA] Yellow Jackets
2025 Record: 15-0
Last Week: Unranked
Next Game: Season has concluded
Last Game: 12/17/2025 — Thomas County Central 62, Gainesville [GA] Red Elephants 21 (12-3)
W/L Streak: 15 wins
It's never too late to join the party, and Georgia's GHSA Class 5A champions earned their way into the final listing here with an emphatic 62-21 win over the Gainesville Red Elephants.
SN No. 25 Brownsburg [IN] Bulldogs
2025 Record: 14-0
Last Week: Unranked
Next Game: Season has concluded
Last Game: 11/29/2025 — Brownsburg 38, Westfield [IN] Shamrocks (11-3)
W/L Streak: 19 wins
Arguably the top team in the Midwest this season, the Brownsburg Bulldogs make their debut here in The SN Top 25 as Indiana's back-to-back IHSAA Class 6A state champions.
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