The 16th and final set of Rivals National High School Football Composite Rankings of the 2025 season displays an overall look from a combination of rankings and if anything was conclusive from this, it was that that the margin of the top three teams was tight. In the end, it would be the Buford Wolves taking the […]
The 16th and final set of Rivals National High School Football Composite Rankings of the 2025 season displays an overall look from a combination of rankings and if anything was conclusive from this, it was that that the margin of the top three teams was tight. In the end, it would be the Buford Wolves taking the mythical national crown.
Buford defeated Carrollton for Georgia’s Class 6A state championship last week, locking the No. 1 spot over St. Frances Academy, which had defeated Corner Canyon decisively the week before. Which teams made a final push into this week’s final set of Top 25 composite rankings?
Below are the top-25 teams in the Rivals National High School Football Composite Rankings, a proprietary algorithm that compiles rankings listed in the public domain by respected media and data companies. It includes Massey, MaxPreps, ESPN and SI, creating the industry’s most comprehensive and geographically balanced ranking.
1. Buford Wolves (Ga.)
Buford (15-0) head coach Bryant Appling might’ve downplayed what winning a national championship could be for the program, but in fairness, he was living in the moment after defeating Carrollton for the GHSA Class 6A state championship game.
Now, the Appling and the Wolves can really stake the claim by a culmination of the top high school football rankings, that they’re the best in the land. Beating the Trojans in front of what was over 10,000 on hand, was a back and forth duel, ending in a 28-21 win for the Wolves.
The Wolves received a monster performance on the ground from safety Tyriq Green (Georgia signee), who went for over 160 yards rushing and multiple touchdowns. If you needed any further validation on why this team might be the country’s best, they answered those throughout the 2025 season.
We can’t unfortunately see Buford and St. Frances Academy clash, but what a defensive battle that might’ve been between the two squads.
First victory to start the 2025 season was a meeting with No. 18 Milton, with the Wolves coming away with a 20-13 victory on national television. The Wolves then the following week hit the road to Savannah to face a very good Benedictine Military School squad and won by multiple scores. All of the impressive wins littered along the Wolves’ schedule left many wondering if Buford could be the team to beat for Georgia’s Class 6A state championship and if you were someone who thought so, you were validated last week and once more this morning.
2. St. Frances Academy Panthers (Md.)
St. Frances Academy (8-1) got the chance after all to show the country that they’re the No. 1 team in the country when they took on Corner Canyon in Baltimore for the first-ever Overtime Nationals high school football championship.
All St. Frances Academy did was cruise to a 37-20 thrashing of Corner Canyon, which proved to not be enough to vault the Panthers ahead of Buford for the No. 1 spot of the final composite rankings. It was mere percentage points that separated themselves, Buford and IMG Academy. Oh what a ‘High School Football Playoff’ might’ve looked like if there was such a thing.
The Panthers’ most impressive win of the season was the opener when they cruised to a 42-13 thrashing of Chaminade-Madonna Prep (Fla) at the Broward County Classic. The Panthers’ lone loss the past season was when they traveled across the country to take on No. 1 St. John Bosco and narrowly lost in a 21-14 decision.
3. IMG Academy Ascenders (Fla.)
The IMG Academy Ascenders (9-0) season has been effectively over for quite some time as they had announced back in November that their rivalry game with No. 2 ranked St. Frances Academy (Md.) would not be rescheduled. What looked like a potential de facto national championship game goes to the way side as high school football fans won’t get to see what could’ve been between the two teams.
Their last game on the gridiron of the season, the Ascenders went back up to New Jersey for the second time this season and defeated Hun School, 31-13. IMG Academy because of the lack of convincing victory over one of the nation’s elite programs, continued to drop in the rankings across the board.
4. Edna Karr Cougars (La.)
The Edna Karr Cougars (14-0) face St. Augustine, a team they beat earlier in the season, 42-21, for the LHSAA Division I Select state championship and won in dominant fashion.
Edna Karr cruised to a 49-14 beatdown of St. Augustine, solidifying themselves as one of the Southeast’s top high school football programs and nationally as well. The Cougars this season also own impressive wins over Florida’s American Heritage, 24-17, from earlier in the season when they met in New Orleans and versus New Orleans Jesuit, a 41-0 decision.
There’s not many defenses that featured the kind of star power the Cougars do across the board. Edna Karr’s front seven was led by LSU four-star defensive tackle commit Richard Anderson and the secondary is stacked with Division I talent.
5. Bishop Gorman Gaels (Nev.)
Ever since losing to No. 13 ranked Mater Dei back on Sep. 19, the Bishop Gorman Gaels (12-1) have won and shut out every team in their path except for two. The Gaels capped their 2025 season last week in the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association (NIAA) Open Division championship, handily defeating Arbor View, 44-7.
The Gaels a few weeks ago was able to come away with a 14-0 win over the Santa Margarita Eagles, bouncing back from their lone loss of the season against Mater Dei (Calif.). Hawaii commitment Maika Eugenio ended his season with one of the top seasons for any passer in the state of Nevada, throwing for 2,760 yards and 37 touchdowns.
It was a forgone conclusion that the Gaels were destined to win another Nevada state championship, but that’s not the ultimate goal for this program as they always continue to remain in the national title picture.
6. Carrollton Trojans (Ga.)
Carrollton (14-1) had owned the top spot in these rankings, but with the loss to No. 1 Buford last week at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta for the GHSA Class 6A state championship closed the door on the Trojans hopes of being crowned the best in the country.
Had Carrollton defeated Buford, we’d easily be talking about how the Trojans are the nation’s top program as they dropped a few spots due to the loss.
Playing some of the best ball out of any running back in the entire country is senior Cameron Wood, who has rushed for 1,578 on 199 carries and scoring 34 touchdowns. Freshman signal caller Christian Cypher, who was named a Rivals Freshmen All-American, finished the season throwing for 2,178 yards and 26 touchdowns.
The bright spot here for Joey King and crew is they bring back many of the same faces from this year’s crew to 2026, including Cypher so they’ll be right back in the conversation.
7. Santa Margarita Catholic Eagles (Calif.)
The Santa Margarita Catholic Eagles (11-3) slammed the door emphatically on the 2025 high school football season and deservingly so, gave pause to wondering how much consideration should this team get when it comes to the mythical national championship conversation.
The Eagles dominated De La Salle, 47-13, in the CIF Open Division state championship and proved to all that this team has little to prove in if they can compete with anyone across the country.
In Carson Palmer‘s first year at the helm of his alma mater, the former NFL quarterback returned to where he started his journey as a footballer and helped lift Santa Margarita Catholic into national prominence.
Leading his club to a 42-7 thrashing of No. 10 Centennial in the CIF Southern Section Division I title game was one of the primary pieces of evidence one may need in wondering could this team quite possibly be the best three-loss high school football team we’ve seen in recent memory?
8. St. John Bosco Braves (Calif.)
St. John Bosco (9-2) had dropped out of the top 10 of the Rivals National High School Football Composite Rankings after finishing the season with losses to rival Mater Dei and Orange Lutheran, respectively.
Despite the back-to-back losses, the Braves had otherwise been nothing less than impressive throughout the regular season, with impressive victories along the way over St. Frances Academy (Md.) and St. Louis (HI), respectively. Texas A&M commit Madden Williams was terrific for St. John Bosco throughout the 2025 season, catching 41 passes for 804 yards and 10 touchdowns. Another player that’s had a huge fall is sophomore quarterback Koa Malau’ulu, who has thrown for 2,361 yards and 33 scores.
9. St. Thomas Aquinas (Fla.)
For the first time since the very beginning of the 2025 high school football season we see the St. Thomas Aquinas (14-1) inside of the country’s Top 10 in the composite rankings. It should be no surprise as the Raiders since their season opening loss to Mater Dei at the Broward County Classic won 14 straight games.
St. Thomas Aquinas’ last win was a dominating 29-0 victory over Lakeland for Florida’s Class 5A state championship, the seventh title in a row and No. 17 in program history. It’s obvious this is a dynasty and really one has to wonder will the good times ever end for the Raiders with the way things are going in the last decade?
The end of the season always seems to culminate with celebrity alum Michael Irvin celebrating with the team as they raise the state title trophy high up in the air. Some things just never change.
10. Centennial Huskies (Calif.)
The Centennial Huskies (11-2) came up short of their goal to win the CIF Southern Section Division I championship game, falling to No. 8 ranked Santa Margarita Catholic at the Rose Bowl.
Despite the loss, Matt Logan and the Huskies come away with plenty of positives from a season that saw the program reach the Southern Section final for the first time since 2015.
Centennial’s defense proved throughout the season to be one of the country’s best, behind the play of senior three-star linebacker Jonathan McKinley (Cal commit) and junior defensive lineman Miles Schirmer, who has overtures from programs like Notre Dame, Texas, Washington and USC, lead a very talented defensive front. On offense, quarterback Dominick Catalano led a potent offensive attack, finishing throwing for 2,187 yards and 19 touchdowns this fall.
Composite High School Football Rankings Nos. 11-25
11. DeMatha Catholic (Md.) (11-0)
12. Grayson (Ga.) (12-1)
13. Grimsley (N.C.) (15-0)
14. De La Salle (Calif.) (13-1)
15. Bixby (OK) (12-0)
16. Thomas County Central (Ga.) (15-0)
17. Brownsburg (IN) (14-0)
18. Mater Dei (Calif.) (10-3)
19. Southlake Carroll(TX) (14-1)
20. Duncanville (TX) (12-2)
21. North Shore(TX) (14-2)
22. Creekside(Ga.) (15-0)
23. Basha (Ariz.) (12-1)
24. Raines(Fla.) (14-0)
25. Baylor School(Tenn.) (12-0)
How to Follow National High School Football
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