The 2023 high school football season has arrived, with teams kicking off across the country in August.
That means the first USA TODAY Sports Super 25 is nearing, which marks another start to an iconic franchise that began back in 1982.
Last year’s Super 25 was one of the tightest races of all time, as St. John Bosco narrowly won out over Mater Dei and Bishop Gorman, among others.
How will things stack up this season? Ahead of the opening Super 25, USA TODAY HSS is looking around the country at the five regions we use to create the national rankings:
Next up is the East region, which comprises of Maryland, Pennsylvania, Delaware, District of Columbia, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Vermont, Virginia, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Maine.
St. Frances Academy (Baltimore)
Chris Jones-USA TODAY Sports
2022 final Super 25 ranking: No. 10.
St. Frances Academy dominated some really good competition last year, many of whom either had time in the Super 25 or were on the fringes. Four-star quarterback Michael Van Buren, an Oregon commit, leads the offense alongside four-star running back DeJuan Williams, while the team returns its usual deep defensive crew led by a pair of four-star cornerbacks, a top-100 defensive lineman, and a safety and multiple linebackers who are also ranked on the 247Sports Composite.
St. Joseph’s Prep (Philadelphia)
Photo: ScoreStream
2022 final Super 25 ranking: No. 20.
St. Joseph’s Prep lost its first game of the 2022 season, decided it did not want to do that again, and then simply didn’t. The Hawks rattled off 12 straight wins en route to the title. Quarterback Samaj Jones, a Cincinnati commit, returns after racking up 3,200 yards of total offense and 46 TDs as he was named HSFA’s all-state player of the year. In total, six St. Joseph’s Prep players were named to the team, and only two of them graduated. No reason to think the Hawks won’t be fierce again.
Bergen Catholic (Oradell, N.J.)
USA TODAY Network
2022 final Super 25 ranking: No. 21.
Last year, there were split quarterback duties as Jack Duffy and Dominic Campanile both played roles in each game. With Duffy having graduated, will Campanile have complete control of the reins? He showed promise as a sophomore, completing 67.7% of passes and throwing 15 touchdowns to just three interceptions. While Bergen Catholic lost key players like Saeed St. Fleur (1,436 rushing yards) and Malachi Mercer (118 tackles), the quarterback position is the key thing to watch as the season begins.
St. John’s (Washington, D.C.)
Rich Storry-USA TODAY Sports
2022 final Super 25 ranking: NR.
St. John’s recovered from a midseason hurdle and won a hard-fought championship. The football is now in the hands of Isaiah French, who had time at quarterback alongside Myles Slade last season. Helping the effort to remain a top team will be players like Oregon running back commit Da’Jaun Riggs and four-star cornerback Tariq Hayer. Who else will step up this season for the Cadets?
DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.)
Photo: 247Sports
2022 final Super 25 ranking: NR.
DeMatha went head-to-head with St. John’s for the championship last year in a true defensive battle, falling short by a score of 7-3 and finishing with a 10-2 record. They did this with a sophomore quarterback; Denzel Gardner will work to use his two years of experience to push DeMatha back up to the top. He’ll get some help behind three-star senior offensive linemen Mason Lindsay and Terez Davis, while the defense will be headed by four-star edge rusher Cortez Harris and defensive lineman Emmett Laws.
Highland Springs (Va.)
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2022 final Super 25 ranking: NR.
Highland Springs returns some key pieces from its undefeated championship season. Khristian Martin, a three-star quarterback named co-player of the year in the metro by Richmond.com, gets back weapons including the versatile Jakyre Henley (eight receiving TDs, five rushing TDs, one passing TD and a punt return TD) while sophomore linebacker Brennan Johnson will try to keep his recruiting momentum, as he has a half-dozen offers already after recording 90 tackles and 22 tackles for loss as a freshman.
