National Prep Poll
August 31, 2009
National Prep Football Poll - Week 3
By Jamie DeMoney

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URBANDALE, Iowa -- Defending Ohio Division I champ St. Ignatius (Cleveland) is back in the weekly Top 25 rankings.

The Wildcats, who have 10 state championships and two National Prep Poll titles, are ranked No. 11 after clawing their way to an upset of previous No. 5-ranked intra-city rival Glenville, 14-13, on Saturday.

No. 16 Grayson (Loganville, Ga.) leads a trio of teams also making their season debut in the national poll. The Rams looked strong in a season-opening 14-10 defeat of defending 5A champion Camden County (Kingsland).

Representing Southern California's ultra competitive Pac-5 Division, Servite (Anaheim, Calif.) is in at No. 20 this week. Wheaton Warrenville South (Wheaton, Ill.), the top-ranked team in the Chicago area, debuts at No. 25.

View the PrepNation 101 Preseason Rankings and 101 Teams to Watch in 2009

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 and regional Top 10's follow with won-loss-tie records:

# School Record Note LW
1. Fort Lauderdale, Fla., St. Thomas Aquinas 1-0 routed Upper Arlington, Ohio, 52-7, on ESPN
2. Duncan, S.C., Byrnes 1-0 beat Ga. foe Central Gwinnett, 43-7
3. Miami, Fla., Northwestern 0-0 scored 31 first-half points in preseason game
4. Katy, Texas 1-0 ended North Shore's 78-game regular season win streak
5. Valdosta, Ga., Lowndes 1-0 opened with 75-14 laugher 11 
6. Chesapeake, Va., Oscar Smith 1-0 topped Venice, Fla., 27-13, on ESPNU
7. Cincinnati, Ohio, Elder 1-0 beat regionally ranked East St. Louis, 49-28 12 
8. Bellevue, Wash. 0-0 plays at No. 4 Katy Sept. 12
9. Sammamish, Wash., Skyline 0-0 faces Ore. power Jesuit Saturday
10. Cedar Hill, Texas 1-0 outgunned DeSoto, 44-41, on ESPN 10 
11. Cleveland, Ohio, St. Ignatius 1-0 defeated then-No. 5 Glenville, 14-13 NR 
12. Ramsey, N.J., Don Bosco Prep 0-0 hosts No. 15 De La Salle Sept. 12 13 
13. Westlake Village, Calif., Oaks Christian 0-0 six seniors have Division I offers 14 
14. Lakeland, Fla. 0-0 QB Jarred Haggins headed to Florida St. 16 
15. Concord, Calif., De La Salle 0-0 30-year coach Bob Ladouceur has won 93 percent of his games 17 
16. Loganville, Ga., Grayson 1-0 beat defending 5A champ Camden County in opener NR 
17. Bethlehem, Pa., Liberty 0-0 reigning 4A titlist 19 
18. Peoria, Ariz., Centennial 1-0 three-time defending 5A/II champ 20 
19. Dallas, Texas, Skyline 0-0 nine seniors are Division I commits 21 
20. Anaheim, Calif., Servite 0-0 OT Matt Jakubiec is Arizona-bound NR 
21. Jenks, Okla. 0-0 six state titles this decade 22 
22. Hyattsville, Md., DeMatha 0-0 RB Marcus Coker headed to Iowa 23 
23. River Ridge, La., John Curtis 0-0 23 state crowns in 34 years 24 
24. Charlotte, N.C., Independence 2-0 plays regionally ranked South Pointe Friday 25 
25. Wheaton, Ill., Wheaton-Warrenville South 1-0 beat state-ranked Hinsdale Central, 34-26 NR 

Northeast Region
1. Ramsey, N.J., Don Bosco Prep (0-0) (1)
2. Bethlehem, Pa., Liberty (0-0) (2)
3. Harrisburg, Pa., Bishop McDevitt (0-0) (3)
4. Montvale, N.J., St. Joseph Regional (0-0) (4)
5. Oradell, N.J., Bergen Catholic (0-0) (5)
6. State College, Pa. (0-0) (6)
7. McKeesport, Pa. (0-0) (7)
8. Wayne, N.J., Wayne Hills (0-0) (8)
9. Lansdale, Pa., North Penn (0-0) (9)
10. Central Valley, N.Y., Monroe-Woodbury (0-0) (10)

East Coast Region
1. Duncan, S.C., Byrnes (1-0) (1)
2. Chesapeake, Va., Oscar Smith (1-0) (2)
3. Hyattsville, Md., DeMatha (0-0) (3)
4. Charlotte, N.C., Independence (2-0) (4)
5. Matthews, N.C., Butler (1-0) (5)
6. Olney, Md., Good Counsel (0-0) (6)
7. Rock Hill, S.C., South Pointe (1-0) (7)
8. Hampton, Va., Phoebus (0-0) (8)
9. Rock Hill, S.C. (1-0) --
10. Chantilly, Va., Westfield (0-0) (10)

Southeast Region
1. Fort Lauderdale, Fla., St. Thomas Aquinas (1-0) (1)
2. Miami, Fla., Northwestern (0-0) (2)
3. Valdosta, Ga., Lowndes (1-0) (3)
4. Lakeland, Fla. (0-0) (4)
5. Loganville, Ga., Grayson (1-0) --
6. River Ridge, La., John Curtis (0-0) (6)
7. Miami, Fla., Central (0-0) (7)
8. Tampa, Fla., Plant (0-0) (8)
9. Madison, Miss., Madison Central (2-0) (9)
10. Memphis, Tenn., Memphis University (2-0) (10)

Midwest Region
1. Cincinnati, Ohio, Elder (1-0) (2)
2. Cleveland, Ohio, St. Ignatius (1-0) (3)
3. Wheaton, Ill., Wheaton-Warrenville South (1-0) (7)
4. Cincinnati, Ohio, St. Xavier (1-0) --
5. Cleveland, Ohio, Glenville (0-1) (1)
6. Cincinnati, Ohio, Moeller (1-0) (6)
7. East St. Louis, Ill. (0-1) (5)
8. Louisville, Ky., St. Xavier (1-0) (10)
9. Indianapolis, Ind., Cathedral (2-0) --
10. Chicago, Ill., Mount Carmel (1-0) (8)

Midlands Region
1. Denver, Colo., Mullen (1-0) (1)
2. South Jordan, Utah, Bingham (2-0) (8)
3. Blue Springs, Mo. (1-0) (4)
4. Sandy, Utah, Alta (1-1) (3)
5. Hutchinson, Kan. (0-0) (5)
6. Eden Prairie, Minn. (0-0) (6)
7. Plymouth, Minn., Wayzata (0-0) (7)
8. Florissant, Mo., Hazelwood Central (1-0) (2)
9. Littleton, Colo., Columbine (0-0) (9)
10. Iowa City, Iowa, City High (1-0) (10)

Southwest Region
1. Katy, Texas (1-0) (1)
2. Cedar Hill, Texas (1-0) (2)
3. Peoria, Ariz., Centennial (1-0) (4)
4. Dallas, Texas, Skyline (0-0) (5)
5. Jenks, Okla. (0-0) (6)
6. Tulsa, Okla., Union (0-0) (7)
7. Round Rock, Texas, Stony Point (1-0) (8)
8. Garland, Texas (1-0) (9)
9. Longview, Texas (1-0) (10)
10. Springdale, Ark., Shiloh Christian (0-0) --

West Coast Region
1. Bellevue, Wash. (0-0) (2)
2. Sammamish, Wash., Skyline (0-0) (3)
3. Westlake Village, Calif., Oaks Christian (0-0) (4)
4. Concord, Calif., De La Salle (0-0) (5)
5. Anaheim, Calif., Servite (0-0) (6)
6. Long Beach, Calif., Poly (0-0) (8)
7. Lakewood, Calif. (0-0) (1)
8. Mission Viejo, Calif. (0-0) (7)
9. Sherman Oaks, Calif., Notre Dame (0-0) (9)
10. Huntington Beach, Calif., Edison (0-0) (10)

Dropped out: No. 15 Allen, Texas (0-1); No. 18 Prattville, Ala. (0-1). East Coast: No. 9 Sumter, S.C. (0-1). Midwest: No. 4 Cincinnati, Colerain (0-1); No. 9 Sterling Heights, Mich., Stevenson (0-0).

FEATS OF THE WEEK: Defending Prep Poll champion Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Aquinas picked up where it left off last season. The top-ranked Raiders scored 28 first-quarter points and cruised to a 52-7 blowout of Upper Arlington, Ohio, in the Kirk Herbstreit Varsity Football Series at Ohio Stadium. The game was televised by ESPN. Blue chip running back Giovanni Bernard (uncommitted) ran for 118 yards and two touchdowns on only 12 carries . . . More than 12,000 fans watched No. 4 Katy, Texas, open the year with a defense-dominated 9-7 victory against Houston, North Shore. In the process, the Tigers ended North Shore's state-record 78-game regular season winning streak . . . The only quarterback making more headlines lately than Brett Favre might be his record-setting nephew Dylan. The Bay St. Louis, Miss., St. Stanislaus senior passed for a state-record 549 yards in a 50-7 blowout of Mendenhall. As a junior, Favre (uncommitted) had a state-record 45 touchdown passes . . . It took three overtime periods, but at the end of Charlotte, N.C., Catholic's 48-47 defeat of Providence, veteran coach Jim Oddo had his 300th career victory. Oddo, 73, is in his 36th season as Catholic's head coach.

Copyright 2009 World Features Syndicate, Inc...endit

This is Jamie DeMoney's 10th year compiling the World Features Syndicate/Associated Press National Prep Poll. He has covered high school sports and recruiting for more than 15 years and compiled the National Prep Poll since 1999. DeMoney has also compiled high school football and basketball rankings for Sporting News, School Sports, and RISE. DeMoney was managing editor of American Football Monthly and assistant national editor of All-Stater Sports/Highwired Sports. DeMoney is a graduate of the University of Iowa School of Journalism, and a member of the Football Writers Association of America and the United States Basketball Writers Association.

About the National Prep Poll: Compiled weekly weekly since 1987 and distributed by World Features Syndicate and the Associated Press, the National Prep Poll is the nation's second oldest weekly high school sports rankings. Doug Huff of ESPN RISE compiled the rankings from 1987 until 1999. Jamie DeMoney has compiled the poll since the start of the 1999 basketball season. The National Prep Poll is the only high school poll 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.

Have something to say about the Week 3 National Prep Poll? Leave your comments and interact with poll editor Jamie DeMoney and other readers by clicking here.