Cedar Ridge stays No. 1 in USA TODAY Sports/NFCA High School Super 25

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Cedar Ridge tuned up for the Texas state playoffs with three more wins to keep the No. 1 spot in the USA TODAY Sports/NFCA High School Super 25 poll for a second straight week, while Neshoba Central rebounded from its first loss in 65 games with a pair of victories to remain second.

The (28-0) Raiders open their best-of-three bi-district series against Houston Cypress Woods with two games today in Bryan, Texas. A decisive third game would take place on Saturday, if necessary.

Neshoba (27-1), meanwhile, rode Aspen Wesley’s one-hitter to a 10-0 triumph over Saltillo on Tuesday, and will face Grenada in the next round of the Mississippi 5A playoffs starting Friday.

California’s Norco (27-1) and Kansas’ Shawnee Heights (12-0) kept winning to stay third and fourth, respectively, while unbeaten schools Louisville Male (16-0), Foothill (19-0) and Winter Springs (23-0) all gained one place this week to round out the first seven. New Palestine (10-1) suffered its first loss on Monday, but bounced back to win Wednesday’s ranked matchup at Center Grove to knock its fellow Indiana school out of the top 25.

Elsewhere, five teams joined the rankings this week, including Tennessee’s Clarksville (36-1), which has now won 20 straight, at 11th, and undefeated teams St. John Vianney (7-0) and Hanover (12-0) at positions 19 and 20.

State rankings submitted by NFCA member coaches are used to compile the USA TODAY Sports/NFCA High School Super 25. Teams are chosen based on performance, roster quality and strength of schedule.

USA TODAY Sports/NFCA High School Super 25 Poll – April 25, 2019

Rank

Team

2019 Record

Previous

1

Cedar Ridge (Texas)

28-0

1

2

Neshoba Central (Miss.)

27-1

2

3

Norco (Calif.)

27-1

3

4

Shawnee Heights (Kan.)

12-0

4

5

Louisville Male (Ky.)

16-0

6

6

Foothill (Pleasanton, Calif.)

19-0

7

7

Winter Springs (Fla.)

23-0

8

8

New Palestine (Ind.)

10-1

5

9

Angleton (Texas)

27-1

10

10

Lakewood Ranch (Fla.)

22-0

13

11

Clarksville (Tenn.)

36-1

NR

12

Keystone (Ohio)

15-0

16

13

Barbers Hill (Texas)

30-2

12

14

Tualatin (Ore.)

13-1

14

15

Marist (Ill.)

16-2

18

16

Forney (Texas)

19-2

19

17

Fairhope (Ala.)

30-3

17

18

Keller (Texas)

26-3-1

20

19

St. John Vianney (N.J.)

7-0

NR

20

Hanover (Va.)

12-0

NR

21

Immaculate Heart Acad. (N.J.)

10-0

21

22

Donovan Catholic (N.J.)

11-1

22

23

Appoquinimink (Del.)

10-1

NR

24

Mountain View (Idaho)

19-2

NR

25

Pinnacle (Ariz.)

21-3

24

Dropped out: Apopka (Fla.), Center Grove (Ind.), Estero (Fla.), Los Alamitos (Calif.) and James Madison (Va.)