NationalHSFootball.com
In what can best be described as a case of ‘No. 1 until they lose’ the first high school football AP Poll for Ohio was released and national No. 1 St. Edward (Lakewood, OH) was barely within striking distance of two-time defending state champions, Moeller (Cincinnati, OH).
St. Edward was named the top team in the country by five out of six polls tallied in the Media Compilation Top 25 — including the signature product of this website, the HSFB100 — but not its home state.
Moeller only received two votes into the Top 25 by any of the six polls and is ranked No. 40 by the HSFB100, but it got 11 out of 20 first-place votes in the statewide poll.
Moeller had finished the last two seasons hoisting the state title and is projected to make a run to the finals for a third consecutive season it is far from a proven product on the year.
The Crusaders have opened the year with three wins over Pickerington North (OH), Covington Catholic (Park Hills, KY), and Xenia (OH).
St. Ed is fighting for respect.
Cleveland.com has all the AP Polls.
The initial poll will become a moot point as the two are scheduled to play on Oct. 25 and each will be tested multiple times prior to the meeting.
Moeller faces relevant teams St. Xavier (Louisville, KY), La Salle (Cincinnati, OH), and Elder (Cincinnati, OH) as well as HSFB100-ranked programs in St. Xavier (Cincinnati, OH) and St. Ignatius (Cleveland, OH) before St. Edward.
The Eagles share a common opponent in Elder but then plays out-of-state opponents Bergen Catholic (Oradell, NJ), Eastern Christian (Elkton, MD), and Canada Prep Academy. The team will face Cardinal Mooney (Youngstown, OH) as well.
Below is a comparison of how the AP views Division I in Ohio versus the HSFB100 rankings.
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| TEAM (CITY) | HSFB100 | AP POLL | RECORD |
| St. Edward (Lakewood, OH) | 1 / 1 | 2 | 3-0 |
| Moeller (Cincinnati, OH) | 2 / 40 | 1 | 3-0 |
| Mentor (OH) | 3 / 65 | 3 | 3-0 |
| St. Xavier (Cincinnati, OH) | 4 / 83 | NR | 2-1 |
| St. Ignatius (Cleveland, OH) | 5 / 95 | NR | 2-1 |
| Wayne (Huber Heights, OH) | 6 / NR | 9 | 3-0 |
| Coffman (Dublin, OH) | 7/ NR | 8 | 3-0 |
| Elder (Cincinnati, OH) | 8 / NR | NR | 2-1 |
| Centerville (OH) | 9 / NR | 6 | 3-0 |
| Hudson (OH) | 10 / NR | 4 | 3-0 |
With most of those teams having some level of interplay, and then one of the best playoff fields in the country, the initial rankings — like all rankings prior to the end of the season — will likely be proven wrong.
It was noteworthy that the team placed atop the national rankings was selected second in its own state.
