You’re sitting in the stands on a Friday night in Brownsburg or Carmel, smelling the popcorn and hearing the pads pop, and you look at the scoreboard. The home team is winning by 30. You check your phone to see the latest indiana high school football rankings, and suddenly nothing makes sense. Why is an undefeated 5A team ranked below a two-loss 6A powerhouse? Why does the computer love a team that just barely scraped by last week?
Honestly, the way we rank these kids is kinda messy. It’s a mix of math, "vibe checks" from coaches, and the cold, hard reality of the IHSAA playoff system.
In Indiana, we don't just have one list. We have several. You've got the AP poll where sportswriters vote, the IFCA Coaches Poll where the guys on the sidelines pick their favorites, and then the computer models like Sagarin or MaxPreps that don't care about your feelings or your "tradition." If you want to understand who is actually the best, you have to look at the 2025 season as a whole. It was a year where the giants stayed giants, but the math told a much more interesting story than the trophies did.
The Brownsburg Dominance and the 6A Logjam
If you want to talk about the top of the indiana high school football rankings, you have to start with Brownsburg. They didn't just win; they bullied people. Finishing the 2025 season at 14-0 and capturing back-to-back 6A state championships is a feat that basically cements John Hart’s legacy. When they beat Westfield 38-31 at Lucas Oil Stadium this past November, it wasn't just a win. It was a statement. Branden Sharpe, who is only a junior, put on a clinic. A 99-yard kickoff return in a state final? That’s video game stuff.
But here is where the rankings get weird.
Westfield finished 11-3. In a vacuum, three losses looks "worse" than an undefeated season in a lower class. But because Westfield played one of the most brutal schedules in the country, the computer rankings kept them at No. 2 or No. 3 statewide all year. They lost to Brownsburg twice. That’s it. If you put Westfield against almost any other team in any other class, they probably win by three scores. That’s the "Strength of Schedule" factor that most casual fans miss when they just look at records.
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The Real Top 10 (Post-2025 Finals)
Looking back at the final data from the 2025 season, the consensus across the Massey, MaxPreps, and SI rankings settled into a fairly clear hierarchy.
- Brownsburg (14-0): The undisputed kings. They had the talent and the execution.
- Westfield (11-3): The best "three-loss" team you’ll ever see.
- New Palestine (14-0): The Dragons are the 5A powerhouse that everyone is scared to play.
- Carmel (9-2): Still the gold standard for consistency, even if they fell short of the ring.
- Center Grove (10-2): They had a "down" year by their standards and were still Top 5. That’s terrifying.
- Crown Point (10-1): Their only blemish was a heartbreaker in the tournament.
- Fishers (8-4): Another 6A team that suffered from playing in the "Sectional of Death."
- Cathedral (7-4): Their schedule is always a gauntlet of out-of-state giants.
- Lawrence North (7-3): Speed for days, but struggled with consistency in big moments.
- Merrillville (11-3): Representing the Region with pride and a 5A runner-up finish.
Why the Computers and Coaches Never Agree
You’ll see it every Tuesday. The Coaches Poll comes out, and they’ve got a team like Penn or Cathedral high up because they respect the "program." Then the Sagarin ratings drop, and those same teams are five spots lower. Why?
Because coaches value "winning the right way" and momentum. Computers value efficiency.
Take a look at the 2025 Class 3A champion, Cascade. They went 15-0. It was the first time in their school history they ever did that. Most human voters moved them up slowly because they hadn't "been there before." Meanwhile, the computer models liked them early because they were winning by an average of 30 points. By the time they beat Fort Wayne Bishop Luers 29-14 in the final, the computers were finally screaming "I told you so."
The Success Factor: The Ranking Killer
This is the most Indiana thing ever. The IHSAA has this "Tournament Success Factor." If you win too much in a certain class, they force you to move up.
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- New Palestine won 4A in 2024, moved to 5A in 2025, and won that too.
- Adams Central is moving from 2A to 3A for the next cycle because they keep winning.
This makes indiana high school football rankings a moving target. You aren't just ranking teams against their peers; you're ranking them against their own success. When a team like New Palestine stays at the top of the rankings while jumping up a class, it’s a sign of a truly elite coaching staff. Led by Kyle Ralph, the Dragons have now won 28 straight games. That's the longest active streak in the state.
Small School Giants You’re Ignoring
Everyone talks about the 6A schools in Indianapolis, but the real heart of the indiana high school football rankings often lives in 1A and 2A.
Take South Putnam. They didn't even enter the 2025 state finals as the favorite. They were ranked No. 5 in most polls. Then they went out and dropped 55 points on Pioneer to win their first title since 1986. Drew Cline and Ty Benton basically ran through the Pioneer defense like it was a practice drill.
Then there’s Andrean. They are the ultimate "don't look at the record" team. They often play a schedule full of 5A and 6A schools, lose a few games, and everyone drops them in the rankings. Then the playoffs start, they play teams their own size, and they win. They beat an undefeated Brownstown Central 7-0 in a defensive masterclass to win the 2A title.
Rankings are just a snapshot. Andrean proves that.
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Actionable Insights for the 2026 Season
If you’re trying to track the indiana high school football rankings for the upcoming 2026 cycle, stop looking at just the wins and losses. That’s amateur hour.
Instead, watch the Margin of Victory (MOV) and the Opponent’s Opponent Record. Indiana is a state of "haves" and "have-nots." A 7-2 team in the Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference (MIC) is almost always better than a 9-0 team in a weaker rural conference.
Next season, keep your eyes on the junior class. 2025 was dominated by juniors like Branden Sharpe (Brownsburg) and Cooper Melvin (Westfield). Since these stars are returning, the 6A rankings likely won't change much at the top.
How to use these rankings:
- For Betting or Predictions: Use the Sagarin Ratings. They are historically more accurate for point spreads than the AP Poll.
- For "Big Game" Feel: Check the IFCA Coaches Poll. It tells you which teams are feared by the people actually drawing up the plays.
- For Playoff Tracking: Monitor the Success Factor points. It tells you which programs are about to be "promoted" to a harder class.
The most important thing to remember? In Indiana, the rankings only matter until the weather turns cold. Once the snow starts falling in late October, the numbers on the screen don't mean a thing compared to who can run the ball in the slush.
Keep an eye on the enrollment shifts coming in 2026. The IHSAA recently updated the classifications, and we’re going to see some traditional powers facing brand-new rivals. That’s going to throw the computer models for a loop in the first few weeks of August. Get ready. It’s gonna be a fun ride.