Manatee (Bradenton, Fla.), John Curtis (River Ridge, La.), DeSoto (Texas) Hold Strong In Top Three Spots In The USA TODAY High School Sports Super 25 Football Rankings

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Nov 27, 2012, 08:30 ET

-- Whitmer (Toledo, Ohio) Debuts in No. 12 Spot; Glenbard West (Glen Ellyn, Ill.), Lawrence Central (Indianapolis, Ind.) and North Allegheny (Wexford, Pa.) also enter rankings for first time--

MCLEAN, Va., Nov. 27, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Number one-ranked Manatee HS (Bradenton, Fla.), No. 2 John Curtis (River Ridge, La.) and No. 3 DeSoto (Texas), along with the rest of the top nine teams from last week's rankings, continue to hold strong in the USA TODAY High School Sports Super 25 national high school football editorial rankings for the week of Nov. 26. During the week, four previously-ranked teams in the midst of state playoffs—Mentor (Ohio), Byrnes (Duncan, S.C.), Coppell (Texas) and Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, N.J.) — suffered losses that knocked them out of the rankings.

The USA TODAY High School Sports Super 25 rankings appear in today's print edition of USA TODAY Sports and are also available online at USA TODAY High School Sports (www.usatodayhss.com).

The USA TODAY High School Sports Super 25 is now in its 30^th year as the most prestigious high school ranking platform in the nation. Gatorade is the Official Fuel of the Super 25 rankings platform, which includes computer rankings of every major high school football, baseball, boys and girls basketball and boys and girls lacrosse team in the nation.

The biggest change in this week's Super 25 comes out of Ohio where Whitmer (Toledo, Ohio)—debuting in the No. 12 slot this week—defeated last week's 10th-ranked team, Mentor, in Ohio's Division I state semifinals. Whitmer will now meet Moeller (Cincinnati)—the year-end
No. 1 team in the first-ever USA TODAY High School Sports Super 25 rankings in 1982—for the Ohio state title.

Also making its first appearance in this year's Super 25 is Glenbard West (Glen Ellyn, Ill.), which debuts at No. 23 and completed an undefeated season by claiming the 7A state title this past Saturday against Lincoln-Way East (Frankfort, Ill.). Lawrence Central (Indianapolis, Ind.) also enters the Super 25 in the No. 24 slot after claiming the 5A state Division I title against Snider (Fort Wayne, Ind.), while North Allegheny (Wexford, Pa.) debuts at No. 25 heading into the state AAAA quarterfinals this weekend against McDowell (Erie, Pa.)

Bellevue (Wash.) remains undefeated at 13-0 and held onto the No. 4 spot as it prepares for the 3A state title game at the Tacoma Dome, while Katy (Texas) held onto its No. 5 position in the rankings as the team heads into the Region III semifinals against La Porte (Texas) at Reliant Stadium in Houston.

Following is the complete listing of this week's USA TODAY High School Sports football rankings.

USA TODAY High School Sports
High School Football Super 25
For Week of Nov. 26, 2012

Manatee, Bradenton, Fla. (12-0)
John Curtis, River Ridge, La. (12-0)
DeSoto, Texas (12-0)
Bellevue, Wash. (13-0)
Katy, Texas (12-0)
Butler, Matthews, N.C. (14-0)
De La Salle, Concord, Calif. (12-0)
Vista Murrieta, Murrieta, Calif. (13-0)
Hoover, Ala. (13-0)
Ensworth School, Nashville (12-0)
Bishop Gorman, Las Vegas (12-1)
Whitmer, Toledo, Ohio (14-0)
Good Counsel, Olney, Md. (11-1)
Bentonville, Ark. (12-0)
Dr. Phillips, Orlando (12-0)
Narbonne, Harbor City, Calif. (13-0)
Kirkwood, Mo. (13-0)
Bishop McDevitt, Harrisburg, Pa. (13-0)
Trinity, Louisville (12-1)
Camden County, Kingsland, Ga. (11-1)
Cass Technical, Detroit (12-2)
Gilman School, Baltimore (9-2)
Glenbard West, Glen Ellyn, Ill. (14-0)
Lawrence Central, Indianapolis (15-0)
North Allegheny, Wexford, Pa. (13-0)

For more information on the Super 25, visit USA TODAY High School Sports.

The USA TODAY Sports Media Group encompasses all sports initiatives across USA TODAY Sports and Gannett's more than 100 well-known local media brands. It also includes the sports photography service U.S. Presswire, USA TODAY High School Sports and the hundreds of sites within USA TODAY Sports Digital Properties such as thebiglead.com and mixed martial arts site MMAjunkie.com, among others. USA TODAY is owned by Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI).

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SOURCE USA TODAY Sports Media Group