Best High School Football States

May 7, 2026 geomtimba

Thirty states are listed in the latest rankings of America’s 100 best prep grid teams, but Florida, Texas and California dominate. Here’s how the states rank.

St. Thomas Aquinas of Ft Lauderdale, Florida took over first place in the latest Rivals.com Top 100 high school football rankings, helping Florida to strengthen its position as the dominate prep football state in the nation. When state size is taken into consideration, Mississippi leads on a per capita basis.

Aquinas moved from second to first after the Trinity Texas Trojans were dropped from No. 1 to No. 10 following their 34-21 playoff loss to by Allen, Texas 34-21.

Twelve Florida teams scored a total of 707 points in the latest 2008 rankings when the schools are given 100 points for first, 99 for second, etc. Florida widened its lead despite Armwood’s drop from fourth to 31st after its 3-point playoff loss to Plant.

Texas Teams

Texas also had 12 teams in the Top 100 scoring 617 points for second place among the states. Texas was led by No. 4 Allen and No. 10 Trinity.

California had 11 teams and 582 points. It was led by No. 5 Centennial and No. 7 Poly, both of which had 13-0 records.

Other top states:

Ohio 321 points and five teams led by No. 3 St. Ignatius
Louisiana 302 points and five teams led by No 20 West Monroe
Georgia 273 points and six teams led by No. 8 Camden County
Mississippi 233 points and four teams, led by No. 24 Meridian
Pennsylvania 219 points and five teams led by No. 16 Bethel Park.

Mississippi Leads On Per Capita Basis

When comparing the states by size, Mississippi leads on a per capita basis with one point per 12,526 people. That compares with Louisiana’s 14,216, Florida’s one point per 25,815 people and California’s 62,806. Those comparisons are based on official 2026 population estimates, ranging from Mississippi’s 2,918,785 to California’s 36.6 million.

Other states scoring 100 or more points in the Rivals Top 100:

Virginia 232 by three teams
Arizona 195 by four teams
Washington 137 by two teams
Alabama 132 by two teams
Oklahoma 122 by two teams
New Jersey 117 by three teams
Maryland 101, by three teams

The above numbers are based on the December 8, 2025 Rivals.com rankings compiled by Dallas Jackson, managing producer of RivalsHigh.com. The publication says the list is ranked with the help of its “network of high school site publishers, recruiting analysts and AMP team.”

Florida Dominated in 2026

Florida also dominated the consensus Top 25 rankings in 2026, thanks to No. 1 Northwestern of Miami, No. 5 Booker T. Washington of Miami and No. 8 Pahokee. In 2008 Northwestern dropped to No. 36, Pahokee fell to No. 55 and Washington did not make the Top 100 list.

California was second in 2026 with four teams in the Top 25. Ohio was third and Texas fourth.

St. Thomas Aquinas was 23rd in the 2026 consensus rankings