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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. -- There were five new teams in the Top 25 but no change at the top of this week's National Prep Football Poll, released Monday morning.

Despite surviving arguably the nation's toughest schedule unscathed and winning its second Division I state title in three seasons, preseason No. 1 St. Xavier (Cincinnati) remained ranked just behind top-ranked Miami Northwestern again this week. If there were a weekly points tabulation for poll standings, this week's margin between Northwestern and St. Xavier would be razor thin.

But St. Xavier and its fans are not alone in making a legitimate claim for the top spot, should Northwestern lose or play badly enough to drop from No. 1.

No. 3 De La Salle (Concord, Calif.) is dominating opponents in a fashion reminiscent of the Spartans teams that won six Prep Poll titles between 1994-2003. And unlike those years, should it win this week, De La Salle will play in a legitimate state championship game this season against the top large-school team from Southern California.

Then there's No. 4 Katy (Texas). The Tigers, who have unmatched tradition in the Lone Star State, have reached the 5A state quarterfinals for the 10th time in 11 seasons and appear likely to claim their fourth state title since 1997.

No. 5 South Panola (Batesville, Miss.) certainly has a strong case of its own for the No. 1 spot again this season. The Tigers are closing in on a fifth consecutive 5A state championship and 75 straight wins.

With all that on the record, Miami Northwestern has done enough to keep the No. 1 ranking, in our view. The Bulls grade out highest when applying the four major criteria to which the National Prep Poll gives most weight when ranking teams: schedule strength, accomplishing the ultimate goals of being a dominant team and winning championships, fielding a team with impact/memorable players, and coaching/recent tradition.

Some other teams appear to grade out better in any one individual category than the Bulls. But, overall, Northwestern appears to us to be the best team in America.

At least for now.

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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. Pittsburgh, Pa., Central Catholic (14-0-0) (2)
2. Ramsey, N.J., Don Bosco Prep (12-0-0) (1)
3. Everett, Mass. (13-0-0) (3)
4. Folsom, Pa., Ridley (13-0-0) (5)
5. Allentown, Pa., Parkland (13-0-0) (6)
6. Wayne, N.J., Wayne Hills (12-0-0) (8)
7. Monroeville, Pa., Gateway (11-2-0) (7)
8. Jefferson Hills, Pa., Jefferson (14-0-0) (9)
9. Mastic Beach, N.Y., Floyd (11-0-0) --
10. Harrisburg, Pa. (12-1-0) (10)

East Coast Region
1. Chantilly, Va., Westfield (14-0-0) (1)
2. Duncan, S.C., Byrnes (15-0-0) (2)
3. Gaithersburg, Md., Quince Orchard (13-0-0) (3)
4. Chesapeake, Va., Oscar Smith (13-1-0) (4)
5. Dumfries, Va., Potomac (14-0-0) --
6. Charlotte, N.C., Independence (13-2-0) (9)
7. Hyattsville, Md., DeMatha (10-2-0) (8)
8. Parkersburg, W.Va. (13-1-0) --
9. Charlotte, N.C., West Charlotte (13-2-0) (7)
10. Middletown, Del. (11-1-0) --

Southeast Region
1. Miami, Fla., Northwestern (13-0-0) (1)
2. Batesville, Miss., South Panola (14-0-0) (2)
3. Prattville, Ala. (14-0-0) (3)
4. Pahokee, Fla. (13-0-0) (4)
5. Miami, Fla., Booker T. Washington (12-0-0) (5)
6. Seffner, Fla., Armwood (13-0-0) (10)
7. Bastrop, La. (14-0-0) (7)
8. Maryville, Tenn. (14-0-0) (6)
9. Warner Robins, Ga., Northside (13-0-0) (8)
10. Kissimmee, Fla., Osceola (13-0-0) (9)

Midwest Region
1. Cincinnati, Ohio, St. Xavier (15-0-0) (1)
2. Louisville, Ky., St. Xavier (14-0-0) (3)
3. Louisville, Ky., Trinity (12-2-0) (4)
4. Naperville, Ill., North (13-1-0) (6)
5. Dublin, Ohio, Coffman (13-1-0) --
6. Maria Stein, Ohio, Marion Local (15-0-0) --
7. Hartland, Wis., Arrowhead (14-0-0) (7)
8. Detroit, Mich., King (14-0-0) (8)
9. Macomb, Mich., Dakota (14-0-0) (9)
10. Joliet, Ill., Joliet Catholic (13-1-0) (10)

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

Southwest Region
1. Katy, Texas (13-0-0) (1)
2. Jenks, Okla. (13-1-0) (6)
3. Euless, Texas, Trinity (12-1-0) (7)
4. Plano, Texas (12-1-0) (8)
5. Odessa, Texas, Permian (12-1-0) (4)
6. Abilene, Texas (12-1-0) --
7. Southlake, Texas, Carroll (11-2-0) (2)
8. Las Vegas, Nev., Bishop Gorman (14-0-0) (9)
9. Phoenix, Ariz., Brophy (11-2-0) --
10. Fayetteville, Ark. (9-3-1) --

West Coast Region
1. Concord, Calif., De La Salle (11-0-0) (1)
2. Corona, Calif., Centennial (12-1-0) (5)
3. Long Beach, Calif., Poly (12-1-0) (3)
4. Encino, Calif., Crespi (11-2-0) (7)
5. Lake Balboa, Calif., Birmingham (12-1-0) (2)
6. Orange, Calif., Lutheran (10-2-0) (4)
7. Anaheim, Calif., Servite (9-3-0) (6)
8. Santa Ana, Calif., Mater Dei (9-2-0) (9)
9. Sammamish, Wash., Skyline (14-0-0) --
10. Newhall, Calif., Hart (12-0-1) --

Dropped out: Top 25: Youngstown, Ohio, Mooney (14-1-0), No. 10 Tulsa, Okla., Union (13-1-0), No. 14 Chandler, Ariz., Hamilton (12-1-0). Northeast: No. 4 Jersey City, N.J., St. Peter's (11-1-0). East Coast: No. 5 Hampton, Va., Phoebus (13-1-0), No. 6 Summerville, S.C. (13-2-0), No. 10 Forestville, Md., Suitland (12-1-0). Midwest: No. 5 Mentor, Ohio (11-3-0). Midlands: No. 9 Castle Rock, Colo., Douglas County (11-3-0). Southwest: No. 10 Spring Branch, Texas, Smithson Valley (12-1-0). West Coast: No. 8 Honolulu, St. Louis (11-1-0), No. 10 Redlands, Calif., Redlands East Valley (12-1-0).

FEATS OF THE WEEK: No. 2 Cincinnati, St. Xavier capped its second undefeated state championship season in three years, shutting out Mentor, 27-0, before 12,442 snow-swept fans at Canton's Fawcett Stadium. Louisville-bound running back Darius Ashley ran 36 times for a game-record 271 yards and two touchdowns. It was only the second shutout in Ohio Division I championship game history, dating back to 1972 . . . No. 8 Chantilly, Va., Westfield advanced to the Division 6 final, overcoming a record-setting aerial assault from regionally ranked Chesapeake, Oscar Smith. Westfield won the game, 24-21, in Chesapeake despite allowing 15 catches for a playoffs-record 349 yards and three touchdowns to Oscar Smith receiver Todd Harrelson (North Carolina). Oscar Smith sophomore quarterback Phillip Sims also set playoff records with 470 passing yards and 26 completions . . . A crowd of 16,723 at Tulsa's Chapman Stadium watched No. 12 Jenks, Okla., avenge its only loss and capture the 6A state title for the ninth time in 12 seasons. Running back Chris Adkins ran 29 times for 226 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Trojans past archrival and then-No. 10 Tulsa, Union, 42-24. Union beat Jenks, 43-42, in overtime earlier this season.

Copyright 2007 World Features Syndicate, Inc...endit

Have something to say about this week's rankings? Leave your comments and interact with other readers by clicking here.

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.