High School: Top 25 Football Rankings -- Week 4

A lot of places in this great country of ours saw their lives return to normal over the weekend, as most of the country's high school football games were played as scheduled.

Only five teams in this week's Top 25 had their games cancelled. Included in the cancellations were co-No. 1 Long Beach Poly, whose game against Banning was cancelled by the school district in honor of the national tragedy. The highly anticipated matchup between Jenks and Tulsa Union in Tulsa was also cancelled. The other top team, De La Salle, had a scheduled bye week this past weekend.

There were quite a few upsets included among the games played this week. No fewer than 10 out of the 40 teams ranked in the regional rankings lost last weekend and subsequently dropped out of their region's rankings. That total included five teams formerly ranked in the Top 25. The biggest upset was probably the loss by former No. 3 Tallahassee Lincoln, who was knocked off by unranked Valdosta, GA. Valdosta is currently the all-time winningest high school football program in the country.

The big matchup between Evangel Christian and Lufkin turned into a game that was pretty much dominated by Evangel and their pass-oriented offense. Lufkin, which had been ranked 5th, fell all the way out of the rankings. Another anticipated big Top 25 matchup never materialized as St. Ignatius knocked off former No. 20 Washington of Massilon, OH 40-26. St. Ignatius dominated the game from start to finish. Also losing this week were former No. 19 Jamestown (NY), who lost to Lancaster 13-7 and former No. 24 Creighton Prep (Omaha, NE), who fell to Millard West 21-7.

And now here is this week's Top 25:

T1. De La Salle, Concord, CA (1-0) Last Week: T1 Result: De La Salle's schedule was not affected by the events of last week, as they had a scheduled week off. They will play an angry Mater Dei team, who was just knocked out of the West Region rankings after losing to Mission Viejo. Mater Dei gave De La Salle quite a tussle last season before finally succumbing.

T1. Poly, Long Beach, CA (1-0) Last Week: T1 Result: Poly's game against Banning was cancelled.

3. Jenks, Jenks, OK (2-0) Last Week: 4 Result: One of the bigger high school casualties this weekend was the Jenks game at arch-rival Tulsa Union, which will not be made up during the regular season. However, the two could meet during the playoffs.

4. West Monroe, West Monroe, LA (3-0) Last Week: 6 Result: Shutout Ruston 28-0 as DeMario Taylor ran for 194 yards on 15 rushes, including touchdowns from 55 and 80 yards out. Ruston had been a top five team in the state of Louisiana.

5. Evangel Christian, Shreveport, LA (3-0) Last Week: 9 Result: Knocked former No. 5-ranked Lufkin out of the Top 25 with a convincing 33-17 win that by many accounts wasn't even that close. Sophomore John David Booty established himself as one of the top underclassman quarterbacks in the country by going 26-for-41 for 313 yards and all five touchdowns. Thomas Bachman had three of those touchdown receptions, and five total for 109 yards.

6. Woodland Hills, Pittsburgh, PA (3-0) Last Week: 8 Result: Rolled to a relatively easy 34-16 victory over McKeesport. Quarterback Steve Breaston accounted for four touchdowns, including one on a 93-yard punt return, and had 190 yards rushing on just 10 carries. Kareem Dutrieuille chipped in with an additional 142 yards on the ground and the other touchdown. Their toughest game to date comes this week against state-ranked and undefeated Pittsburgh Central Catholic.

7. Glades Central, Belle Glades, FL (3-0) Last Week: 7 Result: Cruised to a 33-7 win over Riviera Beach Suncoast. Marion Frazier pounded out 147 yards on the ground and Curtis Holley remained undefeated in his high school career, contributing with three touchdown passes.

8. St. Ignatius, Cleveland, OH (4-0) Last Week: 11 Result: An estimated crowd of 12,000 saw what was supposed to be the top matchup in Ohio. But St. Ignatius dominated from wire to wire in a 40-26 victory over former No. 20 Washington High of Massillon. And they did it without leading rusher John van der Oord, but Nate Szep stepped up and threw for four scores.

9. Independence, Charlotte, NC (3-0) Last Week: 10 Result: Chris Leak threw for 359 yards and three touchdowns in a 35-7 defeat of Butler. Mario Raley had eight receptions for 138 yards and two touchdowns.

10. Harrison, Farmington Hills, MI (4-0) Last Week: 12 Result: Harrison finally had their first test of the season, as Plymouth Canton hung tough before succumbing 45-34. Marcus Woods had 15 carries for 150 yards and two TDs.

11. Colerain, Cincinnati, OH (3-0) Last Week: 14 Result: Hamilton was supposed to give Colerain a run for their money. Someone forgot to tell Colerain. Sean Jones had 256 yards of total offense and four scores. Maurice Johnson chipped in with 118 rushing yards as Colerain crushed Hamilton 52-21.

12. Dorman, Spartanburg, SC (4-0) Last Week: 15 Result: Continued their quick rise up the rankings with a 41-0 rout over Westside. Andrew Hewitt was 11-for-17 passing in a game in which Dorman scored on all but three possessions in the game.

13. Westlake, Austin, TX (3-0) Last Week: 13 Result: Chase Clark kept the Chaparrals in the Top 25, plunging in from one yard out with 55 seconds left in the game to give Westlake a 23-18 victory over A&M Consolidated. Scott Ballew had 134 yards on the ground and scored twice. Westlake is idle this week.

14. Mt. Carmel, Chicago, IL (4-0) Last Week: 16 Result: Romped over Chicago Brother Rice 41-14. Two Caravan rushers went over the century mark, including 182 yards and two scores from Tom Brown and 110 yards and two more scores from Greg Owens. Undefeated Fenwick could give Mt. Carmel a challenge this week.

15. Parkview, Lilburn, GA (2-0) Last Week: 17 Result: Their game against undefeated Dacula was cancelled.

16. Ben Davis, Indianapolis, IN (5-0) Last Week: 18 Result: A tough Center Grove squad gave Ben Davis all they could handle before finally falling 21-13. Garrett Phillips put them ahead with a 12-yard touchdown late in the third quarter. Phillips rushed for 126 yards on 25 rushes.

17. Hoover, Hoover, AL (3-0) Last Week: 22 Result: Birmingham Parker held a 13-10 lead at the half against Hoover. Hoover won the game 45-19. A second half outburst left Parker reeling and unable to respond.

18. Lakeland, Lakeland, FL (3-0) Last Week: 21 Result: Knocked off previously unbeaten Plant City Durant 34-13 in a Monday afternoon game. Charles Riddle had rushing touchdowns of one, six, and nine yards.

19. Chatfield, Littleton, CO (3-0) Last Week: 25 Result: Chatfield rolled to a 27-10 victory over Standley Lake. However, the Chargers face currently undefeated Columbine, which has won the last two Class 5A titles in Colorado, this weekend. Allen Webb completed seven passes for 73 yards in split duty.

20. Northridge, Layton, UT (4-0) Last Week: Team to Watch Result: Crushed cross-town rival Layton HS 42-16. Jordan Nicholls ran for 98 yards and a touchdown, while Spencer Bailey added two more rushing touchdowns. Daniel Coates had two touchdown receptions.

21. Elizabeth, Elizabeth, NJ (2-0) Last Week: 23 Result: Ibrahim Halsey accounted for all four Elizabeth touchdowns in a 28-7 win over Union. Included in his stat line were the following: 124 rushing yards on 12 carries, 74 yards receiving on three receptions including two touchdowns, an 82-yard touchdown on a kickoff return, and a 50-yard punt return. Overall Halsey gained an average of 20 yards each time he touched the ball.

22. Hazelwood East, St. Louis, MO (3-0) Last Week: Team to Watch Result: Defeated Hazelwood Central 35-0. Dwayne Buchanan threw for two touchdowns and Darnell Ray added a 92-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.

23. St. Joseph Regional, Montvale, NJ (2-0) Last Week: Team to Watch Result: Ron LaSasso rushed for 130 yards on just nine carries, scoring three times as the Green Knights crushed Passaic 35-0. SJR rushed for 352 yards for the game, despite having four players who lost family members in the attacks on the World Trade Center.

24. St. Thomas Aquinas, Ft. Lauderdale, FL (2-0) Last Week: Team to Watch Result: Their game against Ft. Lauderdale HS has been postponed with no makeup date set as of Tuesday.

25. DeMatha Catholic, Hyattsville, MD (2-0) Last Week: Team to Watch Result: They were supposed to fly to Kansas City, MO to take on former Top 25 school Rockhurst. Not surprisingly, that game was cancelled.

Dropped Out: No. 3. Lincoln, Tallahassee, FL lost to Valdosta 31-21. No. 5 Lufkin, Lufkin, TX lost to former No. 9 Evangel Christian 33-17. No. 19 Jamestown, NY lost to Lancaster 13-7. No. 20 Washington, Massilon, OH lost to former No. 11 St. Ignatius 40-26. No. 24 Creighton Prep, Omaha, NE lost to Millard West 21-7.

Teams to Watch: Poly Prep, Brooklyn, NY; Valdosta, Valdosta, GA; Blue Springs, Blue Springs, MO; Southeast, Lincoln, NE; Strath Haven, Wallingford, PA; Kahuku, Laiae, HI; John Tyler, Tyler, TX; Blaine, Blaine, MN; Red Bank, Chattanooga, TN

Regional Rankings East 1. Woodland Hills, Pittsburgh, PA (3-0) 2. Elizabeth, Elizabeth, NJ (2-0) 3. St. Joseph Regional, Montvale, NJ (2-0) 4. DeMatha, Hyattsville, MD (2-0) 5. Poly Prep, Brooklyn, NY (1-0) 6. Strath Haven, Wallingford, PA (3-0) 7. Neshaminy, Langhorne, PA (3-0) 8. Newark, Newark, DE (2-0) 9. Morgantown, Morgantown, WV (4-0) 10. Bloomfield, Bloomfield, CT (1-0)

Midwest 1. St. Ignatius, Cleveland, OH (4-0) 2. Harrison, Farmington Hills, MI (4-0) 3. Colerain, Cincinnati, OH (4-0) 4. Mt. Carmel, Chicago, IL (4-0) 5. Ben Davis, Indianapolis, IN (5-0) 6. Hazelwood East, St. Louis, MO (3-0) 7. Blue Springs, Blue Springs, MO (3-0) 8. Southeast, Lincoln, NE (3-0) 9. Blaine, Blaine, MN (3-0) 10. Harding, Warren, OH (4-0)

South 1. Jenks, Jenks, OK (2-0) 2. West Monroe, West Monroe, LA (3-0) 3. Evangel Christian, Shreveport, LA (3-0) 4. Glades Central, Belle Glades, FL (3-0) 5. Independence, Charlotte, NC (3-0) 6. Dorman, Spartanburg, SC (4-0) 7. Westlake, Austin, TX (3-0) 8. Parkview, Lilburn, GA (2-0) 9. Hoover, Hoover, AL (3-0) 10. Lakeland, Lakeland, FL (3-0)

West T1. De La Salle, Concord, CA (1-0) T1. Poly, Long Beach, CA (1-0) 3. Chatfield, Littleton, CO (3-0) 4. Northridge, Layton, UT (4-0) 5. Kahuku, Laiae, HI (4-0) 6. O'Dea, Seattle, WA (2-0) 7. St. Louis, Honolulu, HI (4-0) 8. Jesuit, Portland, OR (3-0) 9. McQueen, Reno, NV (3-0) 10. Mission Viejo, Mission Viejo, CA (2-0)