Inside the Power: Meet the Stars Driving America’s Top 5 High School Football Teams

From Baltimore’s St. Frances to California’s St. John Bosco, these elite programs sit atop the latest High School On SI Power 25 — thanks to rosters stacked with five-star recruits and future college standouts

St. Frances five-star edge rusher Zion Elee is committed to the University of Maryland. / Zion Elee

We see the rankings each week, but today we want to take a deeper look at the top five high school football teams in the country – (St. Frances (MD), Grayson (GA), Buford (GA), Sierra Canyon (CA) and St. John Bosco (CA) – according to the laest High School On SI Power 25 National Rankings. Here is some insight on the players that are stepping up for these powerhouse squads.

Leading the way for St. Frances

The number one team in the country is out of Baltimore. A program that has produced Chris Baswell, Blake Corum and Jaelyn Duncan, who are all NFL draftees, St. Frances Academy sits with an 8-1 record and it is Zion Elee leading the charge. The five-star senior is an edge rusher who will be heading to Maryland at the end of his senior season.

Elee is not the only five star prospect on the roster. Jireh Edwards, an Alabama commit, has been patrolling the defensive backfield at the safety position. Both Elee and Edwards rank number one in their positions for the 2026 recruiting rankings.

There are multiple other seniors dominating on the field for St. Frances. DQ Forkpa is a four-star linebacker committed to North Carolina and Amauri Polydor is a three-star defensive back who will be headed to Penn State. Joining Elee at Maryland is corner back Hakim Satterwhite and tight end Damon Hall. Both are three-star recruits. There are eight more 2026 players committed to Division 1 programs:

• Edward Baker (Tennessee)
• Khmari Bing (Ohio State)
• Coen Logan (Temple)
• Maurice Medley (Syracuse)
• Wayne Henry (Auburn)
• John Watkins (Temple)
• Jae’Oyn Williams (Virginia)
• Logan King (Temple). 

There are multiple non-senior players that are getting big looks as well. The defensive back Raylaun Henry has offers from the likes of Ohio State and Texas A&M coming in as a four star-recruit. Edge rusher Jermaine Smith is a four star in the 2028 class getting good looks from Maryland and Ole Miss. 

Grayson sports a dominate roster

The number two team in the current rankings is Grayson from Georgia. They have produced NFL talents in Robert Nkemdiche, Wayna Morris and Wayne Gallman. They are sitting at 10-0 on the season and dominating opponents. 

The top recruit on this team is five star linebacker Tyler Atkinson, who will be going to Texas. He is currently rated as the number one prospect at his position. They also have a top quarterback in Travis Burgess who has a four-star rating. He is ranked 14th at his position and will be heading to Chapel Hill following graduation, despite having his senior season cut short by injury. Another four-star in the 2026 class is Anthony Davis. The linebacker will be heading to Ole Miss as announced in August. 

Other 2026 Wolves players that have committed already are:

• Hannibal Navies (Arizona)
• Dawson Quarterman (East Carolina)
• Lawrence Brown (North Carolina)
• Rashaan Isaac (Georgia Southern)
• Makhi Brazier (Western Kentucky)
• Mckinley McShan (Arkansas State)
• Eric Johnson (Florida International).

There are some young for star talents taking the field for Grayson as well. The 2028 edge rusher Elijah Tillman has offers from the South Carolina and Duke among others. While the 2027 offensive lineman Jordan Agbanoma has high interest from Alabama and Auburn. 

Perry-Wright headlines for undefeated Buford

Number three in the country is Buford, which has produced talents like Dylan Raiola, KJ Bolden, Blake Ferguson and Vadal Alexander. This year's Buford team is 10-0 and has some big time commitments to some of the best programs in the country. 

Right at the top of the list is Bryce Perry-Wright. The four star edge rusher will be heading to Texas A&M which is looking to be a favorite in the SEC this year. Following Perry-Wright are a pair of athletes who decided to stay in state and commit to Georgia. Arguably the best college program of the 2020s so far will be adding four star talents in Tyriq Green and Graham Houston. 

There are many other commitments including:

• Nascar McCoy will be heading to Ole Miss.
• Dream Rashad who made his commitment to Purdue in June where his teammate and brother, Seven, in the 2028 class will also be heading.
• Dylan McCoy is a running back that committed to NC State
• DJ Hunter will be going to Kentucky after he graduates with the 27 class.
• Brother of Dylan Raiola, Dayton Raiola, will be graduating this year and plans to follow in his brothers footsteps going to Nebraska.
• Deion Miller from the 2026 class has committed to Army.

There is one big time prospect yet to commit from the 2026 class and that is edge rusher Dre Quinn. Projections look to the four star leaning towards a Texas commit.

Sierra Canyon is loaded with 'stars'

The country is loaded with great teams and that is apparent when Sierra Canyon can’t crack the top three. At 10-0 Sierra Canyon has exploded onto the football scene this season in California. The Trailblazers feature a five-star prospect, five players with four-stars and six players with three-star statuses. 

Those that are not seniors and will be returning for more high school ball are Faruq Muhammad, Jaxsen Stokes (Oklahoma Commit), Myles Baker, Lance Ciechanowski and Kasi Currie.

With all that said the senior class has some high level commitments. Richard Wesley is the highest ranked player, with the five-star rating. He committed to Texas back in June of this year and is the number one ranked player in the state. Havon Finney is a four star prospect committed to LSU and his corner back teammate Brandon Lockhart has committed to Southern California. 

There are two other players currently committed to USC as well. Ja’Myron Baker and Madden Riordan are both three-star prospects who have had commitments to stay in their backyard since 2023. Lennie Brown is another corner from this team that has a three star-rating and will be going to Kansas after graduating. 

St. John Bosco has been the starting point for many NFL careers

Rounding out the top five is St. John Bosco. The perennial powerhouse that has produced NFL players like Trent McDuffie, Josh Rosen, Wyatt Davis and Leon McFadden has 23 three-star ratings or higher on the team. 

The highest rated player on the roster in junior Jailen Hill with projections currently having him deciding between Notre Dame and Southern California. The other 2027 prospect with the four-star rating is Isala Wily-Ava. His current projection is Washington or Southern California. The two four-star prospects that are committed from the senior class are Madden Williams (Texas A&M) and Daniel Odom (Oklahoma). 

This year's team currently has seven other seniors with Division 1 commitments:

• CJ Wallace (Washington)
• Roman Paseka (San Diego St.)
• Matthew Muasau (UCLA)
• Joshua Holland (Southern California)
• Carson Clark (San Jose St.)
• Dutch Horisk (Oregon)
• Na’o Tito (Sacramento St.)

Non-seniors that are drawing interest from Power 4 programs are:

• Kekoa Peko
• Dorian Franklin
• Justin Coach
• Ethan Coach
• Darren Tubbs
• Josiah Poyer
• Koa Malau’ulu
• Jacob Whitehead
• Maliq Allen
• Dillon Davis
• Brandon Nash.

The discussion for who is the best team in the country is always hard to figure out as very few of them have similar opponents and they will not play each other in majority of the seasons once we find state champions. However, looking at the top prospects on these five teams certainly explains why they have been ranked among the nation's best, regardless of what order in which you place them.

Who do you think is the best team in the country?

Gregory Moreland-Tuhn | @GMT_98_