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National Prep Poll: The FIRST national rankings released in the preseason and each week during the regular season.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Week 16 National Prep Poll's Top 25, released Monday morning, featured the return of two teams that started the season nationally ranked.

Long Beach (Calif.) Poly, which began the year ranked No. 5, is back in the national poll at No. 17. The Jackrabbits have won 10 straight since losing to No. 16 Birmingham (Lake Balboa) in Week 2.

Pittsburgh Central Catholic, the preseason No. 15 team, re-entered the national rankings at No. 23 after defeating regionally ranked Gateway (Monroeville) for its third Class 4A WPIAL title in five seasons.

A third new entry in the Top 25 this week was Bastrop (La.) at No. 22. The Rams have won 42 consecutive games and appear to be steamrolling toward a third consecutive 4A title.

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The National Prep Football Poll is compiled by high school sports journalist Jamie DeMoney with input from sportswriters, experts, and coaches. The national Top 25 with regional Top 10's follow with won-loss-tie records:

Northeast Region
1. Ramsey, N.J., Don Bosco Prep (11-0-0) (1)
2. Pittsburgh, Pa., Central Catholic (13-0-0) (2)
3. Everett, Mass. (11-0-0) (3)
4. Jersey City, N.J., St. Peter's (11-0-0) (5)
5. Folsom, Pa., Ridley (12-0-0) (8)
6. Allentown, Pa., Parkland (13-0-0) (6)
7. Monroeville, Pa., Gateway (11-2-0) (4)
8. Wayne, N.J., Wayne Hills (11-0-0) (9)
9. Jefferson Hills, Pa., Jefferson (13-0-0) --
10. Harrisburg, Pa. (11-1-0) (10)

East Coast Region
1. Chantilly, Va., Westfield (13-0-0) (1)
2. Duncan, S.C., Byrnes (14-0-0) (2)
3. Gaithersburg, Md., Quince Orchard (12-0-0) (4)
4. Chesapeake, Va., Oscar Smith (13-0-0) (3)
5. Hampton, Va., Phoebus (13-0-0) (5)
6. Summerville, S.C. (13-1-0) (7)
7. Charlotte, N.C., West Charlotte (13-1-0) (8)
8. Hyattsville, Md., DeMatha (10-2-0) (9)
9. Charlotte, N.C., Independence (12-2-0) (10)
10. Forestville, Md., Suitland (12-0-0) --

Southeast Region
1. Miami, Fla., Northwestern (12-0-0) (1)
2. Batesville, Miss., South Panola (13-0-0) (2)
3. Prattville, Ala. (13-0-0) (3)
4. Pahokee, Fla. (12-0-0) (4)
5. Miami, Fla., Booker T. Washington (11-0-0) (5)
6. Maryville, Tenn. (13-0-0) (7)
7. Bastrop, La. (13-0-0) (8)
8. Warner Robins, Ga., Northside (12-0-0) (6)
9. Kissimmee, Fla., Osceola (12-0-0) (9)
10. Seffner, Fla., Armwood (12-0-0) --

Midwest Region
1. Cincinnati, Ohio, St. Xavier (14-0-0) (1)
2. Youngstown, Ohio, Mooney (14-0-0) (2)
3. Louisville, Ky., St. Xavier (13-0-0) (4)
4. Louisville, Ky., Trinity (11-2-0) (6)
5. Mentor, Ohio (11-2-0) (7)
6. Naperville, Ill., North (13-1-0) (9)
7. Hartland, Wis., Arrowhead (14-0-0) (8)
8. Detroit, Mich., King (14-0-0) (10)
9. Macomb, Mich., Dakota (14-0-0) --
10. Joliet, Ill., Joliet Catholic (13-1-0) --

Midlands Region
1. Eden Prairie, Minn. (14-0-0) (2)
2. Kansas City, Mo., Rockhurst (13-0-0) (3)
3. Hutchinson, Kan. (13-0-0) (6)
4. Blue Springs, Mo., South (9-1-0) (5)
5. Sandy, Utah, Alta (13-1-0) (7)
6. Bettendorf, Iowa (13-0-0) (8)
7. Omaha, Neb., Central (11-2-0) (9)
8. Aurora, Colo., Grandview (11-2-0) --
9. Castle Rock, Colo., Douglas County (11-2-0) --
10. Meridian, Idaho (12-0-0) (10)

Southwest Region
1. Katy, Texas (12-0-0) (1)
2. Southlake, Texas, Carroll (11-1-0) (2)
3. Tulsa, Okla., Union (13-0-0) (3)
4. Odessa, Texas, Permian (12-0-0) (4)
5. Chandler, Ariz., Hamilton (12-0-0) (5)
6. Jenks, Okla. (12-1-0) (6)
7. Euless, Texas, Trinity (11-1-0) (7)
8. Plano, Texas (11-1-0) (8)
9. Las Vegas, Nev., Bishop Gorman (13-0-0) (9)
10. Spring Branch, Texas, Smithson Valley (11-1-0) (10)

West Coast Region
1. Concord, Calif., De La Salle (11-0-0) (1)
2. Lake Balboa, Calif., Birmingham (11-1-0) (3)
3. Long Beach, Calif., Poly (11-1-0) (4)
4. Orange, Calif., Lutheran (10-1-0) (5)
5. Corona, Calif., Centennial (11-1-0) (6)
6. Anaheim, Calif., Servite (9-2-0) (7)
7. Encino, Calif., Crespi (10-2-0) (8)
8. Honolulu, Hawaii, St. Louis (11-0-0) (9)
9. Santa Ana, Calif., Mater Dei (9-2-0) (2)
10. Redlands, Calif., Redlands East Valley (12-0-0) --

Dropped out: Top 25: No. 16 Denver, Mullen (12-1-0), No. 19 Wheaton, Ill., Wheaton-Warrenville South (12-1-0). Northeast: No. 7 Langhorne, Pa., Neshaminy (11-2-0). East Coast: No. 6 Virginia Beach, Va., Salem (12-1-0). Southeast: No. 10 Thomasville, Ga., Thomas County (12-0-0). Midwest: No. 5 Cincinnati, Colerain (12-1-0). Midlands: No. 4 St. Paul, Minn., Cretin-Derham Hall (13-1-0). West Coast: No. 10 Lake Oswego, Ore. (11-1-0).

FEATS OF THE WEEK: No. 20 Eden Prairie, Minn., won its sixth 5A state title in 12 seasons. The Eagles had a finals-record 520 yards of offense, including 391 on the ground. They were not forced to punt in a 50-21 rout of then-regionally ranked and unbeaten St. Paul, Cretin-Derham Hall at the Metrodome . . . One week after Detroit, King became the first Public School League team to reach a state championship game, the regionally ranked Crusaders went one step farther. King won the first state football title in PSL history, scoring 40 unanswered points in a 47-21 defeat of Midland at Ford Field . . . Regionally ranked Hutchinson, Kan., whipped Olathe, South, 37-14, for its fourth consecutive 6A state title. It was the Salt Hawks' 37th straight win . . . Also in Kansas, Smith Center capped a dominant undefeated season with a 40-7 blowout of Pittsburg, St. Mary's-Colgan. It was the 54th consecutive win and fourth straight Class 2-1A championship for the Redmen (13-0-0), who outscored foes by an amazing 844-13 this season. . . . Regionally ranked Joliet, Ill., Catholic captured its record 13th state championship. The Hilltoppers thumped Lemont, 48-7, at the University of Illinois' Memorial Stadium for the 6A crown.

Copyright 2007 World Features Syndicate, Inc...endit

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About the National Prep Poll: Compiled weekly since 1987 and a property of World Features Syndicate, the National Prep Poll is the nation's second oldest weekly high school sports rankings and are the only high school rankings distributed to newspapers and Web sites around the United States by the Associated Press national wire service. The National Prep Poll is the first high school football and boys basketball poll to released in the preseason and during each week of the regular season. Criteria considered for the National Prep Poll rankings are strength of schedule, the ability to accomplish the ultimate goal on a team's schedule (i.e. winning a championship), impact players and performers, a team's coaching and recent tradition.

Jamie DeMoney has covered high school sports and been involved with prep recruiting and evaluation for nearly 15 years. He has compiled the National Prep Poll for World Features Syndicate and the Associated Press since 1999. He is former managing editor of American Football Monthly, the premier trade publication in America for football coaches. DeMoney is also a full-time staff member of Forbes Recruit Evaluation, a football scouting service subscribed to by more than 300 college coaching staffs. Each football season, DeMoney evaluates thousands of high school football players and teams in person and on tape. DeMoney maintains a library of more than 3,000 high school game tapes from the last three seasons. It isn't likely that any other national high school rankings compiler watches even 10 percent as much game tape of the teams he considers for rankings as DeMoney does. DeMoney's other credits include serving on the selection panel for the Old Spice Red Zone Player of the Year, as editor of Gridiron Greats recruiting yearbook (1995-99), Associate Editor of Hawkeye Nation magazine, contributor to NFLHS.com and doing play-by-play high school sports for KCJJ-AM in Iowa City, Iowa, during the mid-90s. DeMoney is a 1994 graduate of the University of Iowa School of Journalism, a member of the Football Writers Association of America and the United States Basketball Writers Association.