Washington D.C.'s Top 5 Public HS Football Programs (2021-2025)

Public Schools Top 25 | National Series — Part 47.5/50Washington, D.C. is one of the most unique stops in this entire series, which is exactly why it earned its own bonus edition: Part 47.5/50.Even though D.C. is not technically a state, the football landscape here is strong enough — and structurally different enough — that it absolutely deserved its own ranking.Unlike most states, D.C. football runs through multiple layers of postseason play.First, on the public-school side, you have the District of Columbia Interscholastic Athletic Association (DCIAA), which is split into the Stars Division and Stripes Division. These divisions are organized by competitive strength to help create greater parity across the league, with the Stars Division serving as the more competitive bracket and earning eligibility for the historic Turkey Bowl, which is played on Thanksgiving. The Stripes Division competes for the Gravy Bowl, but those titles carry only minimal weight in this ranking.The bigger story is what happens after that.D.C. then moves into the District of Columbia State Athletic Association (DCSAA) postseason, where teams are placed into Class A and Class AA state brackets. What makes this unique is that the bracket is often split into public/DCIAA side and a charter/private side, sometimes referred to through the PCSAA / private-charter bracket.That means a team can lose its DCIAA public division playoff, but still remain alive with a path to the district championship depending on DCSAA seeding and bracket placement.That is exactly what happened with Eastern High School (Washington, D.C.).Eastern lost to Coolidge High School (Washington, D.C.) in DCIAA playoffs, but because of the DCSAA format, they still had a path through the state bracket, where they went on to beat Friendship Collegiate Academy in the semifinal and then came back to beat Coolidge 19–8 in the Class AA championship game.That layered structure — public division play, charter/private bracket, and then a path to the overall district title — makes D.C. one of the most fascinating football systems in the country.For this ranking, just like every other stop in the series, the primary weight is placed on:DCSAA state titlesstate runner-up finisheshighest bracket strengthoverall consistency from 2021–2025Because of that, this list is built almost entirely around DCSAA championship success, with DCIAA division titles used only as tie-breakers.Also remember that for our rankings, tuition-free charter schools are considered a public school.Here are the Top 5 public high school football programs in Washington, D.C. from 2021–2025.1. Friendship Collegiate Academy (Public Charter)There was really no debate at the top.Friendship Collegiate was the premier public program in D.C. during this five-year stretch.Accomplishments2022 DCSAA Class AA State Champion2023 DCSAA Class AA State Champion2024 DCSAA Class AA Runner-UpWinning back-to-back Class AA state titles — in the highest bracket — gives Friendship the clear edge for the top spot.In a city where the top public programs often cannibalize each other, putting together a run like that separates them from the field.This is the strongest résumé in D.C. over the 2021–2025 window.2. Dunbar High SchoolDunbar has been one of the flagship public programs in the district, and this stretch reinforced that.Accomplishments2024 DCSAA Class AA State Champion2023 DCSAA Class AA Runner-UpThe Crimson Tide made back-to-back runs to the biggest stage, culminating in a Class AA state title in 2024.That gives them the second-best peak résumé in D.C. over this span.3. Eastern High SchoolEastern made the biggest statement at the end of this five-year window.Accomplishments2025 DCSAA Class AA State ChampionThis ranking came down to Eastern vs. Coolidge for the No. 3 spot, and the deciding factor was simple:Eastern beat Coolidge head-to-head in the 2025 Class AA state championship game.When the two programs met on the biggest public-access stage in the city, Eastern won 19–8.That head-to-head result and the highest-level title gives Eastern the nod.4. Coolidge High SchoolCoolidge has one of the broader résumés over the full five-year stretch.Accomplishments2022 DCSAA Class A State Champion2023 DCSAA Class A Runner-Up2025 DCSAA Class AA Runner-UpThe jump from Class A success into a Class AA finals appearance in 2025 shows the strength of the program across multiple seasons.The reason they fall behind Eastern is strictly the head-to-head Class AA title game loss.5. Bell Multicultural High SchoolBell rounds out the top five.Accomplishments2025 DCSAA Class A State Champion2021 Class A Runner-Up2024 Class A Runner-UpBell may not have the AA hardware of the teams above them, but the consistency in reaching championship games across the full window earns them this spot.Final Ranking — Washington, D.C. (2021–2025)1. Friendship Collegiate2. Dunbar3. Eastern4. Coolidge5. BellThis one was a really fun bonus edition because D.C. doesn’t fit the traditional state-by-state model, but it absolutely deserved inclusion in the series.The biggest takeaway here is that state titles mattered far more than Stars / Stripes division wins, and once that weight was applied, the ranking became much clearer.This is Part 47.5/50 in our nationwide series breaking down the Top 5 Public HSFB Programs of the Past 5 Years (2021–2025).Next Up: Part 48/50 - West VirginiaHere is the full thread to catch up on any states that you may have missed: 👉CLICK HEREIf you like this series and want to help out, I greatly appreciate any likes, reposts, bookmarks, or comments. It all really helps the algo put these articles in front of more people.Thank you for reading.— Alex | T25PS