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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Dave Hines, NFCA and USA TODAY HSS Staff

NFCA Fall High School Top 25 Coaches Poll

LOUISVILLE, Ky. —Buford heads into today’s Georgia High School Association (GHSA) Elite Eight matchup against East Coweta as the No. 1 team in the NFCA Summer/Fall High School Top 25 Coaches Poll for a second consecutive week despite suffering its first loss of the season last Thursday.

After breezing past Norcross, 13-0, earlier in the day, the (29-1) Wolves fell 1-0 to Lambert in a state 7A playoff game, but then won four straight, including a 4-0 victory over Cherokee and two more one-run games versus Lambert (5-4 and 4-3 wins) on Friday, and a 9-1 triumph over Parkview on Wednesday. Buford, a 10-time state titlist, remains alive to win its first crown in its current classification.

Second-ranked Columbine (28-1) wrapped up its season on Saturday with a 7-3 victory over then-No. 14 Douglas County (26-3) in the Colorado state 5A final, and No. 3 Westfield School (28-0) capped an unbeaten season with a 6-5 win over then-No. 18 Tattnall Square Academy (29-7) in the Georgia Independent Athletic Association Class AAA championship.

Later today, No. 4 Pope (32-1) plays River Ridge in the GHSA Class 6A Elite Eight, while fifth-ranked Blue Springs South (31-2) returns to action against Marquette in the Missouri Class 5 state semis.

No. 7 Lutheran (28-1) beat then-No. 21 Holy Family, 3-0, last Saturday for the Colorado state Class 4A championship, and 12th-ranked Washington plays No. 17 Helias Catholic in today’s Missouri Class 4 state semis. Fourteenth-ranked Fatima (31-3) rolled past Seneca, 9-0, and faces Westminster Christian Academy in tomorrow’s Missouri Class 3 state semis.

Legend (22-6) gained one spot this week after its ranked loss to Douglas County in the state semis, while North Gwinnett stayed put at No. 23 after a 3-2 win over North Paulding advanced the (27-6) Bulldogs to the GHSA Class 7A Elite Eight.

State rankings submitted by the 2022 NFCA High School Steering Committee are used to compile the NFCA Summer/Fall High School Top 25 Coaches Poll. Teams are chosen based on performance, roster quality, strength of schedule, and active NFCA membership.

NFCA Fall High School Top 25 Coaches Poll – Oct. 27, 2022

1. Buford (Ga.)

Record: 29-1 | PR: 1

2. Columbine (Colo.)

Record: 28-1 | PR: 2

3. Westfield School (Ga.)

Record: 28-0 | PR: 3

4. Pope (Ga.)

Record: 32-1 | PR: 4

5. Blue Springs South (Mo.)

Record: 31-2 | PR: 5

6. Marian (Neb.)

Record: 33-2 | PR: 6

7. Lutheran (Colo.)

Record: 28-1 | PR: 7

8. Gretna (Neb.)

Record: 37-2 | PR: 8

9. Rock Bridge (Mo.)

Record: 37-2 | PR: 9

10. Washington (Okla.)

Record: 38-3 | PR: 10

11. Piedmont (Okla.)

Record: 40-3 | PR: 11

12. Washington (Mo.)

Record: 33-3 | PR: 12

13. Pocola (Okla.)

Record: 40-3 | PR: 13

14. Fatima (Mo.)

Record: 31-3 | PR: 15

15. Douglas County (Colo.)

Record: 26-3 | PR: 14

16. Mount Vernon (Iowa)

Record: 36-4 | PR: 16

17. Helias Catholic (Mo.)

Record: 27-6 | PR: 17

18. Legend (Colo.)

Record: 22-6 | PR: 19

19. Tattnall Square Academy (Ga.)

Record: 29-7 | PR: 18

20. Winterset (Iowa)

Record: 37-4 | PR: 20

21. Twin Cedars (Iowa)

Record: 29-3 | PR: 22

22. Holy Family (Colo.)

Record: 24-5 | PR: 21

23. North Gwinnett (Ga.)

Record: 27-6 | PR: 23

24. Eureka (Mo.)

Record: 21-6 | PR: 24

25. Papillion-LaVista (Neb.)

Record: 25-10 | PR: 25

Dropped out: None.

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