ESPN Releases High School Football Super 25 Rankings, Expanded High School Coverage Debuts on ESPN.com

High School Sports Reporter Chris Lawlor Joins ESPN.com

In anticipation of the 2007-08 high school sports season, ESPN.com debuted the 2007 ESPN High School Football Super 25 preseason rankings on August 24 (full list below) The site also announces the addition of Chris Lawlor to the ESPN.com editorial team. Lawlor will oversee a completely revamped and expanded high school sports section, which will be unveiled after Labor Day. In addition to expanding the high school section to include dedicated recruiting pages for football, boys’ basketball and girls’ basketball, ESPN.com will maintain ESPN Super 25 national and regional rankings for the country’s top high school teams in football, boys’ basketball, girls’ basketball and baseball.

Lawlor, who has covered high school sports for more than 20 years, most recently with USA TODAY, will maintain the rankings on a weekly basis and be ESPN.com’s lead high school sports reporter, covering all high school sports as well as the teams, athletes and programs to watch. Lawlor was the head writer responsible for national high school rankings in football, baseball and boys and girls basketball at USA TODAY. Previously, he worked for Scholastic Coach Magazine, where he ran the Gatorade national player of the year program for nine years.

To compile the 2007 ESPN Top 25 preseason high school football rankings, Lawlor consulted with a national network of sports writers, Scouts Inc. analysts and high school coaches. Criteria considered are a team’s strength of schedule, with an emphasis on national games; the superiority of competition in its state, district or league; the program’s history and tradition; and the quality of its players.

2007 Preseason ESPN High School Football Super 25 National Rankings
(Statistics are from the 2006 season; explanations available at ESPN.com).

1. Northwestern, Miami (15-0)
2. Carroll, Southlake, Texas (16-0)
3. Mater Dei, Santa Ana, Calif. (8-3)
4. St. Xavier, Cincinnati (10-2)
5. Independence, Charlotte (16-0)
6. South Panola, Batesville, Miss. (15-0)
7. DeMatha, Hyattsville, Md. (12-0)
8. Summerville, S.C. (12-1)
9. Booker T. Washington, Miami (12-2)
10. Poly, Long Beach, Calif. (11-2)
11. Katy, Texas (13-1)
12. Pahokee, Fla. (14-0)
13. John Curtis Christian, River Ridge, La. (14-0)
14. Maryville, Tenn. (15-0)
15. Gateway, Monroeville, Pa. (6-5)
16. St. Bonaventure, Ventura, Calif. (10-2)
17. Jenks, Okla. (13-1)
18. Colerain, Cincinnati (13-1)
19. Northside, Warner Robins, Ga. (15-0)
20. De La Salle, Concord, Calif. (13-1)
21. Cardinal Mooney, Youngstown, Ohio (14-0)
22. Prattville, Ala. (15-0)
23. Smithson Valley, Spring Valley, Texas (9-2)
24. Carmel, Ind. (12-3)
25. Hamilton, Chandler, Ariz. (13-1)

REGIONAL RANKINGS

EAST
1. DeMatha, Hyattsville, Md. (12-0)
2. Gateway, Monroeville, Pa. (6-5)
3. Central Catholic, Pittsburgh (10-2)
4. St. Anthony, South Huntington, N.Y. (11-0)
5. Liberty, Bethlehem, Pa. (14-2)
6. Don Bosco Prep, Ramsey, N.J. (12-0)
7. Upper St. Clair, Pittsburgh (16-0)
8. Good Counsel, Olney, Md. (10-2)
9. St. Peter's Prep, Jersey City, N.J. (11-1)
10. Everett, Mass. (12-0)

MIDWEST
1. St. Xavier, Cincinnati (10-2)
2. Jenks, Okla. (13-1)
3. Colerain, Cincinnati (13-1)
4. Cardinal Mooney, Youngstown, Ohio (14-0)
5. Carmel, Ind. (12-3)
6. St. Rita, Chicago (13-1)
7. Muskegon, Mich. (14-0)
8. Union, Tulsa (7-4)
9. Cretin-Derham Hall, St. Paul (10-1)
10. Blue Springs (Mo.) South (13-0)

SOUTHLAND
1. Northwestern, Miami (15-0)
2. Carroll, Southlake, Texas (16-0)
3. Independence, Charlotte (16-0)
4. South Panola, Batesville, Miss. (15-0)
5. Summerville, S.C. (12-1)
6. Booker T. Washington, Miami (12-2)
7. Katy, Texas (13-1)
8. Pahokee, Fla. (14-0)
9. John Curtis Christian, River Ridge, La. (14-0)
10. Maryville, Tenn. (15-0)

WEST
1. Mater Dei, Santa Ana, Calif. (8-3)
2. Poly, Long Beach, Calif. (11-2)
3. St. Bonaventure, Ventura, Calif. (10-2)
4. De La Salle, Concord, Calif. (13-1)
5. Hamilton, Chandler, Ariz. (13-1)
6. Notre Dame, Sherman Oaks, Calif. (11-1)
7. Centennial, Corona, Calif. (11-1)
8. Jesuit, Portland, Ore. (13-0)
9. Kahuku, Hawaii (11-2)
10. Lakes, Lakewood, Wash. (9-2)

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