National Week 4 high school football composite rankings: DeSoto's big loss the biggest shock of the week

You know what they say about Texas, and apparently, even the losses are bigger.

High school football finally kicked off in the Lone Star State, and the biggest shock in The Sporting News rankings was the TSN No. 15/Texas No. 3 DeSoto Eagles' meltdown in a 70-28 loss in the Peach State. DeSoto had beaten the Creekside [Fairburn, GA] Seminoles, 70-0, last year in Texas and they were expected to beat the Seminoles again down in Georgia.

There was enough of a question mark on the game that we did list it as a "trap game" in last week's Roadmap to the National Championship, but at the same time, it almost felt overly cautious. After all, it's rare that a high school football team beats another by 70 points and then loses to them the following a year. But to give up 70 to the team you beat by 70?

That's exactly what happened last Saturday afternoon, though, and ultimately, DeSoto was one of four schools in the first edition of The Sporting News Texas High School Football Rankings to lose.

Our Nos. 5 and 6 in the Lone Star State – the Vandergrift Vipers and the Westlake Chaparrals, both of Austin – also lost along with the No. 8 Galena Park North Shore [Houston] Mustangs. None of those teams were ranked in the national edition of The Sporting News High School Football Top 25, but North Shore was receiving votes from other selectors in The Sporting News High School Football Composite Rankings.

The Sporting News composite rankings are a poll of eight major selectors (including The Sporting News High School Football Top 25) that provide a broader picture of the teams considered to be Top 25 worthy from across the nation. It is updated every week after all the latest polls are published, and it will generally be available on Wednesday mornings here on The Sporting News.

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National Week 4 high school football composite rankings

Every week, we'll compile the rankings from those 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!

Take for instance St. John Bosco this week. Four national voters have the Braves ranked second while the highly regarded Massey Ratings have them slotted seventh.

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

• SN – The Sporting News 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 receiving the highest ranking from any one or more selectors; if those are equal, 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 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 The Sporting News High School Football Top 25 rankings.

OTHER TEAMS RECEIVING POINTS

Beyond our weekly composite top 25, there were a total of 16 teams receiving a vote from at least one of our eight contributing rankings:

• 26. Liberty [AZ], 26
• 27. Douglas County [GA], 25
• 28. Carrollton [GA], 19
• 29. Grimsley [NC], 19
• 30. Centennial [CA], 19
• 31. Folsom [CA], 18
• 32. Thomas County Central [GA], 14
• 33. Brownsburg [IN], 11
• 34. Bryant [AR], 10
• 35. De La Salle [CA], 6
• 36. (tie) Creekside [GA], 4
• 36. (tie) Mt. Carmel [IL], 4
• 38. (tie) Aledo [TX], 2
• 38. (tie) Cass Tech [MI], 2
• 38. (tie) Lincoln [San Diego, CA], 2
• 41. Jenks [OK], 1

PREVIOUSLY RANKED TEAMS NOT CURRENTLY RECEIVING VOTES

Allen [TX], Archbishop Hoban [OH], Archbishop Moeller [OH], Atascocita [TX], DeSoto [TX], North Shore [TX], Northwestern [FL], St. Joseph's Prep [PA], Summer Creek [TX], Westlake [TX]

MORE HS FOOTBALL: How last week's Top 25 fared | Major win streaks snapped last week

National high school football schedule this week — Top games

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 The Sporting News Top 25 ranking diverges from the rankings above, the composite ranking is listed first followed by the TSN ranking in parentheses.}

Friday, September 5, 2025

• No. 12 (TSN No. 13) 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. 20 (TSN No. 15) Chaminade-Madonna [Hollywood, FL] Lions (1-1) at No. 9 (TSN No. 8) American Heritage [Plantation, FL] Patriots (1-0) — 7 p.m. EST local
• No. 11 (TSN No. 9) St. Thomas Aquinas [Fort Lauderdale, FL] Raiders (1-1) at NR Columbus [Miami, FL] Explorers (0-1) — 7 p.m. EST local
• NR Imhotep Charter [Philadelphia, PA] Panthers (1-1) at No. 18 (TSN No. 25) DeMatha [Hyattsville, MD] Stags (1-0) — 7 p.m. EST local
• NR East Forsyth [Kernersville, NC] Eagles (2-0) at No. 29 (TSN No. 24) Grimsley [Greensboro, NC] Whirlies (2-0) — 7 p.m. EST local
• NR Franklin Central [Indianapolis, IN] Flashes (2-0) at No. 33 Brownsburg [IN] Bulldogs (2-0) — 7 p.m. EST local
• NR Grandville [MI] Bulldogs (1-0) at No. 38 Cass Tech [Detroit, MI] Technicians (1-0) — 7 p.m. EST local
• NR Mallard Creek [Charlotte, NC] Mavericks (2-0) at No. 6 (TSN No. 7) Grayson [Loganville, GA] Rams (3-0) — 7:30 p.m. EST local
• No. 27 Douglas County [Douglasville, GA] Tigers (3-0) at NR Langston Hughes [Fairburn, GA] Panthers (2-0) — 7:30 p.m. EST local
• NR Lithia Springs [GA] Lions (1-1) at No. 30 Carrollton [GA] Trojans (3-0) — 7:30 p.m. EST local
• NR Thomasville [GA] Bulldogs (3-0) at No. 32 Thomas County Central [Thomasville, GA] Yellow Jackets (3-0) — 7:30 p.m. EST local
• NR South Oak Cliff [Dallas, TX] Bears (1-0) at No. 7 (No. 6) Duncanville [TX] Panthers (0-0) — 8 p.m. EST (7 p.m. CST local)
• NR Roswell [GA] Hornets (2-0) at No. 8 (TSN No. 10) Buford [GA] Wolves (2-0) — 8 p.m. EST local
• NR DeSoto [TX] Eagles (0-1) at No. 10 (TSN No. 11) North Crowley [TX] Panthers (1-0) — 8 p.m. EST (7 p.m. CST local)
• NR Hebron [Carrollton, TX] Hawks (1-0) at No. 15 (TSN No. 17) Southlake [TX] Carroll Dragons (1-0) — 8 p.m. EST (7 p.m. CST local)
• NR Tuscaloosa County [Northport, AL] Wildcats at No. 19 Thompson [Alabaster, AL] Warriors (1-1) — 8 p.m. EST (7 p.m. CST local)
• NR Archbishop Shaw [Marrero, LA] Eagles (0-0) at No. 21 (TSN No. 20) Edna Karr [New Orleans, LA] Cougars (0-0) — 8 p.m. EST (7 p.m. CST local)
• No. 23 Bixby [OK] Spartans (1-0) at NR Charles Page [Sand Springs, OK] Sandites (1-0) — 8 p.m. EST (7 p.m. CST local)
• NR Newton [Covington, GA] Rams (2-1) at No. 34 Bryant [AR] Hornets (1-0) — 8 p.m. EST (7 p.m. CST local)
• No. 40 Aledo [TX] Bearcats (1-0) at NR Lancaster [TX] Tigers (0-1) — 8 p.m. EST (7 p.m. CST local)
• NR St. Rita [Chicago, IL) Mustangs (1-0) at No. 36. Mt. Carmel [Chicago, IL] Caravan (1-0) — 8:30 p.m. EST (7:30 p.m. CST local)
• No. 41 Jenks [OK] Trojans (1-0) at NR Owasso [OK] Rams (0-1) — 8:30 p.m. EST (7:30 p.m. CST local)
• No. 26 (TSN No. 23) Liberty [Peoria, AZ] Lions (1-0) at No. 13 (TSN No. 16) 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)
• No. 4 St. Frances Academy [Baltimore, MD] Panthers (1-0) at No. 2 (TSN No. 3) St. John Bosco [Bellflower, CA] Braves (2-0) — 10 p.m. EST (7 p.m. PST local)
• NR Lone Peak [Highland, UT] Knights (3-0) at No. 3 (TSN No. 2) Bishop Gorman [Las Vegas, NV] Gaels (2-0) — 10 p.m. EST (7 p.m. PST local)
• No. 31 Folsom [CA] Bulldogs (2-0) at No. 14 Mission Viejo [CA] Diablos (2-0) — 10 p.m. EST (7 p.m. PST local)
• No. 17 (TSN No. 12) Orange [CA] Lutheran Lancers (2-0) at NR Basha [Chandler, AZ] Bears (1-0) — 10 p.m. EST (7 p.m. PST local)
• NR Arbor View [Las Vegas, NV] Aggies (0-2) at No. 39 Lincoln [San Diego, CA] Hornets (2-0) — 10 p.m. EST (7 p.m. PST local)

Saturday, September 6, 2025

• No. 35 De La Salle [Concord, CA] Spartans (1-0) at Junipero Serra [San Mateo, CA] Padres (0-1) — 5 p.m. EST (2 p.m. CST local)
• NR Punahou [Honolulu, HI] Buff n' Blue (2-2) at No. 16 (TSN No. 18) Sierra Canyon [Chatsworth, CA] Trailblazers (2-0) — 10 p.m. EST (7 p.m. PST local)
• No. 24 (TSN No. 19) Santa Margarita [Rancho Santa Margarita, CA] Eagles (1-1) at NR Highland [Palmdale, CA] Bulldogs (0-2) — 10 p.m. EST (7 p.m. PST local)
• NR Bingham [South Jordan, UT] Miners (0-3) at No. 28 (TSN No. 21) 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 (TSN No. 22) Milton [GA] Eagles; No. 25 East St. Louis [IL] Flyers; No. 37 Creekside [Fairburn, GA] Seminoles

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