Top 25 Roundup: No. 7 Grayson saves its national title hopes with 24-23 overtime win vs. No. 14 Thompson

Kendall Webb

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Top 25 Roundup: No. 7 Grayson saves its national title hopes with 24-23 overtime win vs. No. 14 Thompson image

The Battle at the Beach and No. 14 Thompson vs. No. 17 Grayson highlighted the National Week 3 schedule.

Same song, different verse.

For the second straight season, the Grayson [Loganville, GA] Rams and the Thompson [Alabaster, AL] Warriors finished tied in regulation – this time in The Sporting News High School Football Game of the Week.

Last season, Thompson took a 14-7 lead in overtime before Grayson scored to pull within a point. Facing a decision on the road, the Rams decided to gamble it all on one play and go for the 2-point conversion. The Warriors could only watch as Grayson converted to steal a 15-14 win on the road.

This time, it was Grayson that scored first in overtime to take a 24-17 lead only to watch No. 14 Thompson answer one play later on a touchdown pass to trim the Rams' advantage to 24-23. This time it was the Warriors who could make the decision to go for the win, and ultimately, that's what Thompson head coach Mark Freeman decided to do.

Unfortunately for Freeman and the Warriors, it didn't work out as well as it did for Grayson in 2024. Instead, the Rams got the stop, and in the process, won their second straight one-point overtime game against the Warriors – albeit in reverse fashion from how they did it a year ago. It was the only time Grayson led the entire game, adding to Thompson's heartbreak.

The Warriors are the defending Alabama AHSAA Class 7A champions after finishing 11-3 in 2024. But all three of those losses a year ago came by a single point in overtime, meaning their loss to Grayson Friday night is the fourth consecutive game to end in that fashion for Thompson. Counting two losses in 2023 by three points or less, the Warriors' last six losses have come by a field goal or less for a cumulative total of nine points.

No. 18 Bergen Catholic rallies to beat No. 17 East St. Louis

There was one other game featuring teams in our Top 25, and just like Grayson-Thompson, it ended with the two teams separated by a single point.

In The Battle at the Beach in Ocean City, New Jersey, the No. 18 Bergen Catholic [Oradell, NJ] Crusaders nipped the No. 17 East St. Louis [IL] Flyers after blocking a late punt and returning it for a touchdown. Trailing 21-20 at that point, the Crusaders then elected to go for two, converting to take a 22-21 lead before fending off one more final drive by the Flyers to get the win in New Jersey's premier season-opening high school football event.

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National Week 3: How the rest of the Top 25 fared

As always, there were some notable upsets in the Top 25, and, on paper, the No. 9 Centennial [Corona, CA] Huskies' loss to the unranked Santa Margarita [Rancho Santa Margarita, CA] Eagles was the biggest.

Santa Margarita is generating all kinds of press under new head coach Carson Palmer, the 2002 Heisman Trophy winner, and the Eagles nearly upset our No. 19 Mission Viejo [CA] Diablos the week before. So while it was a notable win and upset, there really isn't all that much separating the Nos. 3-10 teams in California at the moment. That is to say, it wasn't as big an upset as it might first appear to be.

The real stunner was the unranked Creekside [Fairburn, GA] Seminoles' 70-28 annihilation of the No. 15 DeSoto [TX] Eagles. It was even more remarkable considering the fact that, in 2024, the Seminoles were on the opposite end of a 70-spot, losing to the Eagles, 70-0, in Texas. It was quite the one-year turnaround, and while it isn't likely to lift the Seminoles into the national Top 25 this coming week, it's certain to send the Eagles tumbling.

Complete Top 25 Results for National Week 3

Tuesday, August 26 – Monday, September 1, 2025

NR — Not ranked

THURSDAY, AUGUST 28, 2025

FRIDAY, AUGUST 29, 2025

SATURDAY, AUGUST 30, 2025

BYES

No. 1 Mater Dei [Santa Ana, CA] Monarchs; No. 4 St. Frances Academy [Baltimore, MD] Panthers; No. 6 Duncanville (TX) Panthers; No. 8 American Heritage [Plantation, FL] Patriots; No. 11 Buford [GA] Wolves; No. 20 Edna Karr [New Orleans, LA] Cougars

Next Week's Top 25 Schedule

NR – Unranked

Rankings below reflect last week's rankings; the next edition of The Sporting News High School Football Top 25 will be released at 10 a.m. Tuesday, September 2.

Friday, September 5, 2025

  • No. 18 Bergen Catholic [Oradell, NJ] Crusaders (1-0) at NR West Boca Raton [Boca Raton, FL] Bulls (1-0) — 6:30 p.m. EST local
  • No. 16 Chaminade-Madonna [Hollywood, FL] Lions (1-1) at No. 8 American Heritage [Plantation, FL] Patriots (1-0) — 7 p.m. EST local
  • No. 10 St. Thomas Aquinas [Fort Lauderdale, FL] Raiders (1-1) at NR Columbus [Miami, FL] Explorers (0-1) — 7 p.m. EST local
  • NR East Forsyth [Kernersville, NC] Eagles (2-0) at No. 25 Grimsley [Greensboro, NC] Whirlies (2-0) — 7 p.m. EST local
  • NR Mallard Creek [Charlotte, NC] Mavericks (2-0) at No. 7 Grayson [Loganville, GA] Rams (3-0) — 7:30 p.m. EST local
  • NR South Oak Cliff [Dallas, TX] Bears (1-0) at No. 6 Duncanville [TX] Panthers (0-0) — 8 p.m. EST (7 p.m. CST local)
  • NR Roswell [GA] Hornets (2-0) at No. 11 Buford [GA] Wolves (2-0) — 8 p.m. EST local
  • No. 15 DeSoto [TX] Eagles (0-1) at No. 12 North Crowley [TX] Panthers (1-0) — 8 p.m. EST (7 p.m. CST local)
  • NR Archbishop Shaw [Marrero, LA] Eagles (0-0) at No. 21 Edna Karr [New Orleans, LA] Cougars (0-0)
  • NR Hebron [Carrollton, TX] Hawks (1-0) at No. 22 Southlake [TX] Carroll Dragons (1-0) — 8 p.m. EST (7 p.m. CST local)
  • No. 24 Liberty [Peoria, AZ] Lions (1-0) at No. 21 Corner Canyon [Draper, UT] Chargers (3-0) — 9 p.m. EST (7 p.m. MST local)
  • NR Kahuku [HI] Red Raiders (2-2) at No. 1 Mater Dei [Santa Ana, CA] Monarchs (1-0) — 10 p.m. EST (7 p.m. PST local)
  • NR Lone Peak [Highland, UT] Knights (3-0) at No. 2 Bishop Gorman [Las Vegas, NV] Gaels (2-0) — 10 p.m. EST (7 p.m. PST local)
  • No. 4 St. Frances Academy [Baltimore, MD] Panthers (1-0) at No. 3 St. John Bosco [Bellflower, CA] Braves (2-0) — 10 p.m. EST (7 p.m. PST local)
  • No. 13 Orange [CA] Lutheran Lancers (2-0) at NR Basha [Chandler, AZ] Bears (1-0) — 10 p.m. EST (7 p.m. PST local)
  • NR Folsom [CA] Bulldogs (2-0) at No. 19 Mission Viejo [CA] Diablos (2-0) — 10 p.m. EST (7 p.m. PST local)

Saturday, September 6, 2025

  • NR Bingham [South Jordan, UT] Miners (0-3) at Centennial [Corona, CA] Huskies (1-1) — 10 p.m. EST (7 p.m. PST local)

IDLE

No. 5 IMG Academy [Bradenton, FL] Ascenders (2-0); No. 23 Milton [GA] Eagles

 

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Kendall Webb

Kendall Webb is a freelance writer with The Sporting News and the former publisher of the College Football America Yearbook. He is a proud alumnus of Kilgore College (AA), the University of Texas at Austin (BJ), Middle Tennessee State University (BS), and Harvard University (ALM). Webb has attended a high school or college football game in more than 40 states during his career as a freelance journalist, and he remains an avid follower of team sports at all levels.