- Florida leads the nation with 53 teams in the High School Football America 300 national rankings for the 2026 season.
- Buchholz High School is the highest-ranked area team at No. 120 after finishing No. 94 in 2025 and reaching the state semifinals.
- Columbia (Lake City) is the next highest-ranked area team at No. 251.
The high school football season is still over a month away, but there appears to be another good season on tap for the Sunshine State.
Florida leads the way with 53 teams ranked in the High School Football America 300 national rankings, powered by NFL Play Football. Texas (43) is next, followed by Georgia and California (29 each) and Ohio (21) in the top five.
Buchholz (12-2), which finished in the top 100 of the final 2025 rankings (No. 94), is the highest-ranked area team at No. 120.
Last fall, the Bobcats advanced to their fifth straight state semifinal before falling to West Broward (Pembroke Pines), 24-17, in the FHSAA Class 6A state semifinals.
West Broward (12-3), which lost to West Boca Raton in the title game, is ranked just behind the Bobcats at No. 127 in the preseason rankings.
Other teams on the Bobcats’ very difficult 2025 schedule and are among the top 200 include No. 57 Cardinal Newman (West Palm Beach), Vero Beach (102), No. 108 Mandarin (Jacksonville) and Nease (Ponte Vedra) at No. 188.
The Bobcats open the regular season at Vanguard (Ocala). The Knights (9-3), who lost at eventual state runner-up Jones (Orlando) in the 4A regional semifinals, are ranked No. 245.
Last August, Buchholz edged Vanguard, 15-13, at Citizens Field in the opener for both teams.
Buchholz, which played No. 55 Lakeland in the spring game, will travel to No. 95 Lake Mary (12-3) for the Kickoff Classic on Friday, Aug. 14.
The Bobcats also travel to No. 139 Jesuit (Tampa) (11-2) on Sept. 18 and close the regular season with a trip to No. 143 Bolles (Jacksonville) (13-2) on Oct. 30.
The ‘Cats finished third in the all-classification regional rankings behind 3A state champion Raines (Jacksonville) and Bolles, which lost to Cardinal Mooney (Sarasota) in last year’s 2A state championship game.
The next highest-ranked area team is Columbia (Lake City) at No. 251. The Tigers (9-3), who lost at Choctawhatchee (Fort Walton Beach) in the 4A regional semifinals, will open the regular season at Bolles on Aug. 21.
They will also host No. 230 Lakewood (St. Pete) in August, followed by a home game against Madison County on Sept. 4.
Although they didn’t make the top 300, a few area teams were listed in the High School Football America Elite 1100 for 2026.
Rural state champion Hawthorne (11-1), 2A regional finalist Bradford (Starke) (11-2), 3A regional semifinalist Eastside (9-3), and 2A regional quarterfinalist Newberry (5-6) are among the 138 teams in Florida who made either the Elite 1100 or the top 300.
Florida teams and rankings in the top 300:
IMG Academy (Bradenton) – 3
St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale) – 4
Northwestern (Miami) – 26
Miami Central – 35
Chaminade-Madonna (Hollywood) – 36
American Heritage (Plantation) – 40
Raines (Jacksonville) – 46
Lakeland – 55
Cardinal Newman (West Palm Beach) – 57
West Boca Raton – 64
The First Academy (Orlando) – 66
Venice – 77
Armwood (Seffner) – 83
Jones (Orlando) – 86
Edgewater (Orlando) – 93
Lake Mary – 95
Vero Beach – 102
Cardinal Mooney (Sarasota) – 104
Mandarin (Jacksonville) – 108
Columbus (Miami) – 113
Buchholz (Gainesville) – 120
West Broward (Pembroke Pines) – 127
Gaither (Tampa) – 134
DeLand – 137
Jesuit (Tampa) – 139
The Bolles School (Jacksonville) – 143
St. Augustine – 145
Tampa Bay Tech – 148
Atlantic (Delray Beach) – 186
Nease (Ponte Vedra) – 188
Palmetto (Miami) – 193
Booker (Sarasota) – 207
Choctawhatchee (Fort Walton Beach) – 214
Southridge (Miami) – 216
Seminole (Sanford) – 219
Lake Wales – 228
Lakewood (St. Pete) – 230
Eau Gallie (Melbourne) – 238
Boone (Orlando) – 240
McArthur (Hollywood) – 242
Monarch (Coconut Creek) – 243
Vanguard (Ocala) – 245
Dillard (Fort Lauderdale) – 247
Norland (Miami) – 249
Columbia (Lake City) – 251
Archbishop McCarthy (Fort Lauderdale) – 252
West Orange (Winter Garden) – 254
Spruce Creek (Port Orange) – 257
Port Charlotte – 262
Osceola (Kissimmee) – 268
Carrollwood Day (Tampa) – 287
Clearwater Central Catholic – 292
Bishop Moore (Orlando) – 294