National Week 18 high school football composite rankings: Buford makes its move to the top as nation's new No. 1

For the second time in three weeks, the IMG Academy [Bradenton, FL] Ascenders  have been knocked out of the top spot in AllSportsPeople Composite Rankings  by the No. 1 team in Georgia.

Two weeks ago, it was the Grayson [Loganville, GA] Rams who nudged the Ascenders out of the way to assume the pole position in the rankings, but in their only week at the top, the Rams were blown out, 34-14, by the current No. 3/SN No. 5 Carrollton [GA] Trojans. IMG moved back into the top spot last week, but now it's the Buford [GA] Wolves knocking Florida's high school football kings off their throne.

Ironically, Buford will line up next against that Carrollton squad that booted Grayson from the playoffs, and that game is Georgia's GHSA Class 6A state championship game set for next Tuesday night. An upset there will knock Buford out of the top spot, and there's no telling what that would mean for the composite rankings moving forward.

Tiebreakers help determine the order in the top 25 of the composite rankings

There were two tiebreakers used to settle the order of the top 25 this week in the composite rankings.

Both the Centennial [Corona, CA] Huskies and the DeMatha [Hyattsville, MD] Stags received 92 points in this week's index. Each of them were also ranked in seven of the eight lists used to calculate rankings, and Centennial was awarded the No. 11 position by virtue of the fact they had the highest ranking – a No. 6 vote from the folks at High School Football America. That left DeMatha to settle into the No. 12 position.

Meanwhile, the St. John Bosco [Bellflower, CA] Braves and the Duncanville [TX] Panthers each accumulated 57 points. The Braves won the tiebreaker for No. 17 by virtue of the fact they are listed by seven of the eight selectors while Duncanville is only ranked in six of the lists.

STREAM: Top national games of the week, live on NFHS Network (Sign up today!)

National Week 18 high school football composite rankings

Every week, we compile the rankings from eight different national selectors to create an all-in-one composite list of the teams in the order of most points accumulated.

The main reason? There is no consensus! For example, there are currently – count 'em – five teams (Buford, Carrollton, St. Francis Academy, St. Thomas Aquinas, and Southlake Carroll) holding down the No. 1 position in at least one of the various rankings that make up AllSportsPeople Composite Rankings. There's also a game between St. Frances Academy and the Corner Canyon [Draper, UT] Chargers Wednesday night being billed as a national championship game on ESPN2, so you can throw Corner Canyon into the mix as well – even though they are only No. 24 here in the composite rankings.

Teams ranked in our composite index include the Top 25 from each of the following rankings:

• SN – AllSportsPeople High School Football Top 25
• BSM – Blue Star Media Elite 25
• ESP – ESPN Top 25
• HFA – High School Football America Top 300
• MAS – Massey Ratings
• MAX – MaxPreps National Football Rankings
• S25 – Sports Illustrated National High School Football Power 25
• USA – USA Today Super 25

A first place vote is worth 25 points, second place worth 24 points, third place worth 23 points... And so forth through 25th place which nets one point. With eight polls in use, a consensus top-ranked team receives up to 200 points. When possible, ties are resolved in order of the team ranked by the most selectors followed by the team receiving the highest ranking from any one or more selectors; if they are still tied, then we will try to resolve the tie by the team receiving the lowest ranking from any one or more selectors. If it is still tied, we will note it as a (tie) in parentheses.

Here are this week's top 25 teams in our composite rankings:

^{NR — Not ranked}

For full team write-ups and capsules — including how each team performed last week and what's on tap next — check out AllSportsPeople High School Football Top 25 rankings via the link above.

OTHER TEAMS RECEIVING POINTS

Beyond our weekly composite top 25, there were a total of 21 teams receiving a vote from at least one of our eight contributing rankings:

• 26. Clay-Chalkville [AL], 24
• 27. Thomas County Central [GA], 23
• 28. Randle [TX], 22
• 29. Sierra Canyon [CA], 18
• 30. Mt. Carmel [IL], 17
• 31. DeSoto [TX], 16
• 32. Creekside [GA], 15
• 33. Basha [AZ], 13
• 34. North Shore [TX], 13
• 35. Millard South [NE], 11
• 36. North Crowley [TX], 10
• 37. St. Joseph Regional [NJ], 9
• 38. Bryant [AR], 8
• 39. Catholic Central [MI], 7
• 40. (Tie) King [Houston, TX], 6
• 40. (Tie) South Oak Cliff [TX], 6
• 42. Providence Day [NC], 5
• 43. Summer Creek [TX], 4
• 44. (Tie) Oakland [TN], 3
• 44. (Tie) Waxahachie [TX], 3
• 46. Folsom [CA], 2
• 47. Lakeland [FL], 1

PREVIOUSLY RANKED TEAMS NOT CURRENTLY RECEIVING VOTES

American Heritage [FL]; Archbishop Hoban [OH]; Archbishop Moeller [OH]; Atascocita [TX]; Bergen Catholic [NJ]; Cass Tech [MI]; Central [FL]; Don Bosco Prep [NJ]; Douglas County [GA]; East St. Louis [IL]; Guyer [TX]; Hamilton [AZ]; Jenks [OK]; La Salle College [PA]; Lake Travis [TX]; Langston Hughes [GA]; Lewisville [TX]; Liberty [AZ]; Lincoln [San Diego, CA]; Lone Peak [UT]; McCallie [TN]; Milton [GA]; Mission Viejo [CA]; Orange Lutheran [CA]; Prosper [TX]; St. Joseph's Prep [PA]; Skyridge [UT]; Thompson [AL]; Westlake [TX]

National schedule for teams in composite rankings this week

Here is every game this week featuring teams ranked in the national composite rankings.

Looking to watch? Stream live on NFHS Network or check your local listings. For games available to watch on local broadcast, you can also stream for free on Fubo which is currently offering a free trial for new subscribers.

^{NR — Not ranked; in cases where AllSportsPeople Top 25 ranking diverges from the rankings above, the composite ranking is listed first followed by the TSN ranking in parentheses.}

__________

Wednesday, December 10, 2025

__________

Playoffs

• No. 4/SN No. 4 St. Frances Academy [Baltimore, MD] Panthers vs. No. 24 Corner Canyon [Draper, UT] Chargers (12-1) — 7 p.m. EST local

__________

Thursday, December 11, 2025

__________

Playoffs

• No. 21 Chaminade-Madonna [Hollywood, FL] Lions (11-2) vs. NR Cardinal Newman [West Palm Beach, FL] Crusaders (11-3) — 12:30 p.m. EST local
• No. 8/SN No. 8 St. Thomas Aquinas [Fort Lauderdale, FL] Raiders (13-1) vs. No. 47 Lakeland [FL] Dreadnaughts (12-2) — 7:30 p.m. EST local
• No. 27 Thomas County Central [Thomasville, GA] Yellow Jackets (13-0) vs. NR Roswell [GA] Hornets (12-1) — 7:30 p.m. EST local

__________

Friday, December 12, 2025

__________

Playoffs

• No. 22 Northwestern [Miami, FL] Bulls (13-0) vs. NR Raines [Jacksonville, FL] Vikings (13-0) — 7:30 p.m. EST local
• No. 20/SN No. 17 Grimsley [Greensboro, NC] Whirlies (14-0) vs. NR Clayton [NC] Comets (12-2) — 8 p.m. EST local
• No. 23/SN No. 13 Aledo [TX] Bearcats (13-0) vs. NR Lone Star [Frisco, TX] Rangers — 8 p.m. EST (7 p.m. CST local)
• No. 28/SN No. 14 Randle [Richmond, TX] Lions (13-0) vs. NR Boerne [TX] Greyhounds (13-1) — 8 p.m. EST (7 p.m. CST local)
• No. 40 (tie)/SN No. 20 South Oak Cliff [Dallas, TX] Bears (12-1) vs. NR Melissa [TX] Cardinals (13-1) — 8:30 p.m. EST (7:30 p.m. CST local)
• No. 46 Folsom [CA] Bulldogs (13-1) vs. NR Cathedral Catholic [San Diego, CA] Dons (11-2) — 11 p.m. EST (8 p.m. PST local)

__________

Saturday, December 13, 2025

__________

Playoffs

• No. 5/SN No. 3 Southlake [TX] Carroll Dragons (13-0) vs. No. 31 DeSoto [TX] Eagles (11-3) — 3 p.m. EST (2 p.m. CST local)
• No. 9/SN No. 6 Allen [TX] Eagles (14-0) vs. No. 18/SN No. 12 Duncanville [TX] Panthers (11-1) — 4 p.m. EST (3 p.m. CST local)
• No. 34 North Shore [Houston, TX] Mustangs (12-2) vs. NR Lake Travis [Austin, TX] Cavaliers (14-0) — 4 p.m. EST (3 p.m. CST local)
• No. 10/SN No. 11 Edna Karr [New Orleans, LA] Cougars (13-0) vs. NR St. Augustine [New Orleans, LA] Purple Knights (12-1) — 4:30 p.m. EST (3:30 p.m. CST local)
• No. 7/SN No. 15 Santa Margarita [Rancho Santa Margarita, CA] Eagles (10-3) vs. No. 15/SN No. 25 De La Salle [Concord, CA] Spartans (12-0) — 11 p.m. EST (8 p.m. PST local)

__________

Monday, December 15, 2025

__________

• No. 32/SN No. 23 Creekside [Fairburn, GA] Seminoles (14-0) vs. NR Benedictine [Savannah, GA] Cadets (11-2) — 7 p.m. EST local

__________

IDLE

No. 1/SN No. 1 Buford [GA] Wolves (14-0); No. 2/SN No. 2 IMG Academy [Bradenton, FL] Ascenders (9-0); No. 3/SN No. 5 Carrollton [TX] Trojans (14-0); No. 6/SN No. 9 Bishop Gorman [Las Vegas, NV] Gaels (11-1); No. 11/SN No. 16 Centennial [Corona, CA] Huskies (11-2); No. 12/SN No. 10 DeMatha [Hyattsville, MD] Stags (11-0); No. 13/SN No. 7 Grayson [Loganville, GA] Rams (12-1); No. 14/SN No. 18 Mater Dei [Santa Ana, CA] Monarchs (8-3); No. 16/SN No. 21 Bixby [OK] Spartans (13-0); No. 17/SN No. 19 St. John Bosco [Bellflower, CA] Braves (9-2); No. 19/SN No. 22 Baylor [Chattanooga, TN] Red Raiders (12-0); No. 25 Brownsburg [IN] Bulldogs (14-0); No. 26/SN No. 24 Clay-Chalkville [Pinson, AL] Cougars (15-0); No. 29 Sierra Canyon [Chatsworth, CA] Trailblazers (10-1); No. 30 Mt. Carmel [Chicago, IL] Caravan (14-0); No. 33 Basha [Chandler, AZ] Bears (12-1); No. 35 Millard South [Omaha, NE] Patriots (12-1); No. 36 North Crowley [Fort Worth, TX] Panthers (12-2); No. 37 St. Joseph Regional [Montvale, NJ] Green Knights (10-2); No. 38 Bryant [AR] Hornets (13-0); Catholic Central [Novi, MI] Shamrocks (14-0); King [Houston, TX] Panthers (12-2); No. 42 Providence Day [Charlotte, NC] Chargers (13-0); No. 43 Summer Creek [Houston, TX] Bulldogs (12-2); No. 44 (tie) Oakland [Murfreesboro, TN] Patriots (15-0); No. 44 (tie) Waxahachie [TX] Indians (11-2)

MORE HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL PLAYOFF HEADLINES

• Florida 2025 playoff brackets (7A/6A/5A/4A)
• Georgia 2025 playoff brackets (6A/5A/4A)
• Louisiana 2025 playoff brackets (Division I/II)
• Texas 2025 playoff brackets (6A/5A/4A)