USA TODAY High School Sports Ranks Florida's Miami Central Number One In Preseason Super 25 National Football Rankings

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USA TODAY

Aug 02, 2012, 09:30 ET

Eleven teams return from last season's final Super 25, while last season's No. 1, Don Bosco (NJ) Prep, is unranked

Full rankings in today's print edition of USA TODAY and online at usatodayhss.com

MCLEAN, Va., Aug. 2, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Miami (FL) Central, which returns 17 starters from a squad that went 14-0 last season and finished ranked 14th in the Super 25, is the No. 1 team in the USA TODAY High School Sports Super 25 preseason national rankings for the 2012 season.

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

The USA TODAY High School Sports Super 25 is now in its 30th year as the most prestigious high school ranking platform for every major high school football, baseball, boys and girls basketball, and boys and girls lacrosse team in the nation.

Following Miami Central at No. 2 in the Super 25 is Santa Margarita (Rancho Santa Margarita, CA), which returns 15 starters from a team that last season captured the state Division I title. Defending Florida 7A champions Manatee (Bradenton, FL), perennial national power De La Salle (Concord, CA) and defending South Carolina 4A state champion Byrnes (Duncan, SC) round out the top five.

New Jersey's Don Bosco Prep, the No. 1 team in the final Super 25 rankings last year, is not among the preseason Super 25.

Miami Central, De La Salle (seventh) and Byrnes (20th) are among 11 teams from last season's final Super 25 rankings that also begin this year ranked among the nation's best. They are joined by No. 6 Grayson (Loganville, GA); No. 8 Carroll (Southlake, TX); No. 9 Good Counsel (Olney, MD); No. 10 Plant (Tampa, FL); No. 13 Trinity (Louisville, KY); No. 15 Bellevue (WA); No. 19 Cass Technical (Detroit, MI) and No. 24 Lake Travis (Austin, TX).

No. 14 Moeller (Cincinnati, OH) is the lone team to be in this year's rankings and the final rankings from the inaugural year of Super 25, 1982.  Moeller finished that season ranked No. 1.

The states of Florida and Texas are each represented by four schools in the preseason Super 25 ranking, while California placed three.

In addition to Miami Central, Manatee and Plant, Florida is also represented by Miami's Booker T. Washington at No. 11. Miami Central will face both Manatee and Booker T. Washington as part of its formidable schedule this season, which also includes a matchup with No. 6 Grayson.

Texas is represented by Carroll, Lake Travis, Katy (No. 18) and No. 20 Trinity (Euless, TX), with Santa Margarita, De La Salle and No. 22 Vista Murrieta (Murrieta, CA) making up the California contingent.

Following is the complete listing of the USA TODAY High School Sports preseason Super 25 rankings for 2012, as determined by USA TODAY Sports.

2012 PRESEASON RANKINGS

USA TODAY High School Sports High School Football Super 25

(Schools are listed with final 2011 records)

  1. Miami (FL) Central, 14-0
  2. Santa Margarita (Rancho Santa Margarita, CA), 13-2
  3. Manatee (Bradenton, FL), 13-2
  4. De La Salle (Concord, CA), 14-1
  5. Byrnes (Duncan, SC), 13-2
  6. Grayson (Loganville, GA), 15-0
  7. John Curtis (River Ridge, LA), 14-0
  8. Carroll (Southlake, TX), 16-0
  9. Good Counsel (Olney, MD), 12-0
  10. Plant (Tampa, FL), 14-1
  11. Booker T. Washington (Miami, FL), 12-2
  12. Union (Tulsa, OK), 10-3
  13. Trinity (Louisville, KY), 14-0
  14. Moeller (Cincinnati, OH), 9-4
  15. Bellevue (WA), 14-0
  16. Gilman (Baltimore, MD), 10-1
  17. Oscar Smith (Chesapeake, VA), 14-1
  18. Katy (TX), 12-1
  19. Cass Technical (Detroit, MI), 11-3
  20. Trinity (Euless, TX), 12-1
  21. Eden Prairie (MN), 12-1
  22. Vista Murrieta (Murrieta, CA), 9-5
  23. Bingham (South Jordan, UT), 9-3
  24. Lake Travis (Austin, TX), 16-0
  25. Central Dauphin (Harrisburg, PA), 15-1

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

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The USA TODAY Sports Media Group encompasses all sports initiatives across USA TODAY, as well as Gannett Co. Inc.'s 81 community newspaper properties and 23 broadcast television stations. It also includes the sports photography service U.S. Presswire, USA TODAY High School Sports and USA TODAY Sports Digital Properties. USA TODAY is owned by Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI).

SOURCE USA TODAY