Florida Has 3 High School Football Teams Ranked In The Top 10
It’s officially football season. Some high school teams have already kicked off, while others are gearing up for week one. NFL Play Football has released their newest High School Football America 100, and three teams from Florida are in the top 10.
The first Florida team listed is a local to the Tampa area. Travel about 45 miles south down I-75, and you will hit IMG Academy in Bradenton. This boarding school has established a reputation for its high level of sports training.
IMG Academy is currently ranked #5
This is where the football team started the year, being ranked fifth in the pre-season. The team is off to a fast start, beating Lipscomb Academy away in Nashville, Tennessee last Friday night. The final score was 35-10. IMG had no problem taking control of this game, as they led 21-3 at halftime.
IMG Academy remains on the road for the first few weeks of the season. They will play at St. Joe’s Prep in Philadelphia this Saturday. They then travel to Thompson (Alabama), Ben Davis (Indiana), and Glenville (Ohio) before returning home.
(IMG Academy also has two lower-level teams. A varsity blue and varsity white team. The above is specific to their national team).
Mater Dei (California), St. John Bosco (California), Bishop Gorman (Nevada) and Buford (Georgia), are the high school football teams that currently rank above IMG Academy.
Honorable Florida Mention
St. Thomas Aquinas in Fort Lauderdale ranked just below IMG Academy at number six. Miami Central then was the next Florida team ranked in the NFL Play Football high school top ten. They ranked 9th. Both St. Thomas Aquinas and Miami Central have not started their regular season yet.
Just outside of Tampa, Lakeland made the list at #42, as did Clearwater Academy International at #72. In total, there are 16 high school football teams from Florida ranked in the NFL’s top 100 so far this season. The last HSFA National Champion from the Sunshine State was IMG Academy in 2020.
Who Are The 4 NFL Quarterbacks Kids Like Best?
This past weekend, I spent many hours with youth football players that range from age 10 – 12 years old. My son is a youth player, and I noticed at least six different NFL jerseys being worn by him and his teammates. This led me to wonder, who are kids’ favorite NFL quarterbacks today?
I was reminiscing about which athletes kids looked up to when I was 10 years-old. It was simple. Your favorite player was typically one of the stars on your favorite (usually hometown) team. Occasionally, a universal big name like Joe Montana would jump into the mix. However, many of the big Montana fans I knew growing up in New Jersey were then San Francisco 49ers fans. This was usually due to their admiration of Montana. I don’t see that to frequently be the case today.
It is not uncommon for kids to gravitate more towards specific players now as opposed to an overall team. There are two main reasons why I find this to be the modern way of fandom for youth today.
First is fantasy football. In fantasy football, you cheer for individual players. The team winning or losing doesn’t matter, the player on your team putting up big numbers does. It’s great for the NFL to have kids intently invested with so many games per week.
Second, players are digitally accessible. Meaning, you can engage differently with a player much more in our social media universe. Players share a glimpse into their lives and who they are off the field. The NFL as a league leaned into this a partnered with TikTok back in 2019 to give fans even more content.
Why Do Kids Select A Favorite Player?
It’s a question with many answers. 30 years ago I would have said, “I love Phil Simms because he is the New York Giants’ fearless leader.” I asked 30 local youth athletes this as a follow-up question upon them naming their favorite NFL quarterback. Often the answer was related to the Quarterback’s persona. Their style of play, their personality, and even their jersey number was mentioned.
So tallying up the 30 youth football players I asked, here are the kids’ favorite NFL quarterbacks that are active today.
Jeff Gorra is a Boston-based writer who has been with Beasley Media Group since the beginning of 2023. He writes about restaurants and food, as well as sports and rock music. His experience also includes show hosting and in-depth creative writing in rock and reggae dub music. Jeff’s an avid surfer, New York Giants, and Pearl Jam fan, however, if you make unforgettable pizza, he is sure to find you.
