North Crowley and Allen strengthened their Texas cases, Basha reset Arizona, Puyallup won a Washington classic, and Massillon, Edna Karr, Raines and Lakeland added national weight.
Top 25 Public HSFB9/20/20266 min read
T25PS
Week 5 was defined by four national developments. #5 North Crowley (TX) and #4 Allen (TX) delivered decisive Texas wins. Basha (AZ) knocked off #14 Liberty (AZ). #81 Puyallup (WA) beat #79 Lake Stevens (WA) on an overtime two-point conversion. #25 Massillon (OH) added a rivalry win over St. Edward (OH).
Edna Karr (LA) and Raines (FL) settled ranked head-to-head matchups, Lakeland (FL) strengthened its résumé, Cherry Creek (CO) escaped in the final seconds and Mission Viejo (CA) answered a late defensive touchdown with a winning drive. Here is what mattered.
Allen and North Crowley make the Texas debate harder
North Crowley’s 47-30 win over #53 Duncanville (TX) was the biggest public-school result in Texas. Duncanville led 14-7 after the first quarter, but North Crowley scored 28 points in the second and led 35-28 at halftime. Duncanville’s only second-half points came on a safety.
North Crowley is 4-0 after beating Aledo (TX), Southlake Carroll (TX), Summer Creek (TX) and Duncanville. Allen matched that statement with a 51-21 win over #51 Prosper (TX). The Eagles trailed 14-9 before scoring 42 straight points. Ty Snell threw three touchdown passes, D’Mand Smith returned a fumble for a score, and Dominic Butler had an interception and a punt-return touchdown.
Allen’s résumé also includes wins over Duncanville, DeSoto (TX) and Southlake Carroll. North Crowley owns the newer result against Duncanville; Allen has the deeper ranked-win inventory.
The teams above them also handled business. #1 Thompson (AL) beat Tuscaloosa County (AL) 62-7, #2 Thomas County Central (GA) shut out Brooks County (GA) 69-0, and #3 Carrollton (GA) beat West Charlotte (NC) 49-6. #6 Buford (GA) added a 23-13 win over #69 Grayson (GA), its third victory over a currently ranked opponent.
Your team. Your state. Your T25PS.
Make the national coverage more personal.
Save your home state and favorite team, then choose whether to receive major rankings and coverage updates. The account is free.
Basha resets Arizona; West Boca Raton (FL) loses by one
Basha entered Friday 1-2 and outside the Top 100, then beat #14 Liberty 30-22 despite having seven players reportedly unavailable. Mike Barth made three field goals, including a 55-yarder with 3:35 left.
The losses to Orange Lutheran (CA) and Pinnacle (AZ)—especially the 40-7 Pinnacle result—still matter. So do wins over Chandler (AZ) and Liberty. Liberty’s 38-24 win over #31 Corner Canyon (UT) also remains important, and Corner Canyon beat Lone Peak (UT) 37-14 this weekend. Basha now owns Arizona’s biggest Week 5 public-school result.
#7 West Boca Raton lost under different circumstances. Heavy rain pushed the St. John’s (DC) game into Saturday morning. West Boca led 7-0 and 14-12 before Luke Moore’s third field goal, with 7:19 left, gave unbeaten St. John’s a 15-14 win. West Boca’s 24-7 victories over American Heritage (FL) and Cardinal Newman (FL) keep the one-point loss in perspective.
Puyallup takes the Washington head-to-head
#81 Puyallup tied #79 Lake Stevens on the final play of regulation. Lake Stevens scored first in overtime, but Puyallup answered with a touchdown and kept its offense on the field. Noah Smith found Briytan Bailey for the two-point conversion and a 43-42 win. Smith threw five touchdown passes, three to J’Isaiah Mitchell.
Puyallup is 3-0 and owns the head-to-head result. In Hawaii, #73 Mililani (HI) improved to 6-0 by beating Kahuku (HI) 28-6.
Massillon and Cherry Creek win at the wire
#25 Massillon beat St. Edward 23-21 after a 7-7 first half. Gary Yeager broke a 50-yard touchdown run in the third quarter and finished with 232 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries. St. Edward had one final chance, but Deontay Malone broke up a Hail Mary at the goal line. Massillon is 5-0 with wins over Glenville (OH), NFL Academy (UK) and St. Edward.
#19 Cherry Creek was scoreless through three quarters and trailed Valor Christian (CO) 12-0 entering the fourth. In the final 2:15, the Bruins scored a touchdown, recovered the onside kick and won 16-15 on a 27-yard field goal. It was a major escape, but also a quality rivalry win.
Edna Karr, Raines and Lakeland add Southern weight
#30 Edna Karr beat #41 Ruston (LA) 21-14 in a ranked Louisiana matchup. Karr led 14-0 before Ruston tied the game. Jermond Macklin scored all three Karr touchdowns, including the go-ahead 3-yard run with 9:31 left. A bad snap later gave Ruston the ball at the Karr 16 with 12 seconds remaining, but the Cougars held.
#37 Raines beat #70 Mandarin (FL) 31-13 after allowing the opening touchdown. Raines led 14-7 at halftime and scored 31 of the final 37 points as its pressure and ground game took control.
#33 Lakeland beat American Heritage 21-16 in a game with six combined turnovers. Lakeland took the lead on a 36-yard touchdown run with 5:15 left and sealed it with an interception. The Dreadnaughts’ only loss came against #12 Venice (FL). #65 Buchholz (FL) also improved to 5-0 by beating Jesuit (FL) 20-17.
California delivers another dramatic finish
#32 Mission Viejo beat #93 Pittsburg (CA) 42-35 after Pittsburg took a 35-34 lead on Isiah Harrison’s 46-yard fumble-return touchdown. Carson Vandermade answered with a 9-yard score with 41 seconds left.
#13 Folsom (CA) owns a 35-21 win over Mission Viejo and reinforced its season with a 56-0 victory over Inderkum (CA). Folsom led 49-0 at halftime and got a 45-yard interception-return touchdown from C.J. Wallace.
#9 Centennial (CA) handled Rancho Cucamonga (CA) 41-7. The Huskies are 2-2, but one loss was 10-9 to Mater Dei (CA) and their wins include a 41-21 road result at Servite (CA). De La Salle (CA) is next.
#86 Central East (CA) beat Liberty (CA) 54-6 without its top two running backs. Jelani Dippel threw for 319 yards and four touchdowns, while Relando Jefferson caught six passes for 214 yards and two scores.
More unbeaten teams make national noise
West Orange (FL) improved to 5-0 with a 36-13 road win at Lake Mary (FL) and already owns a 28-24 win over Archbishop Hoban (OH). Roswell (GA) beat Archer (GA) 37-21. Tampa Bay Tech (FL) improved to 5-0 by beating Gaither (FL) 35-28. Columbia (FL) reached 5-0 with a 27-20 win at Trinity Christian Academy (FL). Pine-Richland (PA) answered its loss to Central Catholic (PA) by beating Mt. Lebanon (PA) 41-6.
Elsewhere, #62 Middletown (DE) fell to 1-2 after a 52-17 loss to Good Counsel (MD). #67 Lake Travis (TX) is 1-1-1 after losing 48-35 to Cornerstone Christian (TX). #53 Duncanville is 1-3 after losses to Allen, DeSoto and North Crowley, although that schedule makes the record more complicated than it looks. #75 Jenks (OK) was idle at 1-2.
Week 6 brings more ranked tests
Week 6 features #2 Thomas County Central at #20 Lee County (GA), #8 Brownsburg (IN) against #63 Westfield (IN), #11 North Shore (TX) against Atascocita (TX), and #18 Miami Central (FL) against Miami Northwestern (FL). #9 Centennial visits De La Salle, while #4 Allen hosts unbeaten #100 Princeton (OH).
Week 5 delivered decisive wins, direct head-to-head results and two of the season’s best late finishes. Week 6 now gets several matchups capable of doing the same.
