High School Football: Which area teams are ranked in first 2025 state poll?

Middletown is top-ranked area team in D-I poll
Middletown's Joseph "JoJo" Ward carries the ball during their 19-2 win over Fairfield Friday Aug. 29, 2025 at Barnitz Stadium. NICK GRAHAM/STAFF

Credit: Nick Graham

Credit: Nick Graham

Middletown's Joseph "JoJo" Ward carries the ball during their 19-2 win over Fairfield Friday Aug. 29, 2025 at Barnitz Stadium. NICK GRAHAM/STAFF

Middletown ranked seventh in Division I in the first Ohio high school football poll of the 2025 season.

Middletown (3-0) was the only local D-I team in the top 10 of the poll, which was released Tuesday, but Lebanon (3-0), Springboro (2-1) and Lakota East (2-1) all received votes.

In the first three weeks, Middletown beat Troy 28-20, Fairfield 19-2 and Oak Hills 14-9. It’s the second straight 3-0 start for Middletown. The Middies started 4-0 last season and finished 5-6.

The other top-10 teams from the area are:

Division III: Tippecanoe (3-0) is No. 5. It beat Bellbrook, Piqua and Fairborn by a combined score of 116-14. The Red Devils have won 17 straight regular-season games.

• Badin (3-0) is No. 10. The Rams lead the Greater Catholic League Co-Ed Division with 45.3 points per game.

Division VI: Coldwater (2-1), the defending state champion, is No. 4. It beat Valley View, lost to Clinton Massie and beat Fort Recovery.

Division VII: Marion Local (3-0), the four-time defending state champion, is No. 1. It outscored South Adams, Crestview and St. Henry 140-14. It’s state-record winning streak has reached 67 games.

• New Bremen (3-0) is No. 5.

• St. Henry (2-1) is No. 7.

COMPLETE POLL

Division I

RankSchoolTotal Points 
1.Lakewood St. Edward (7) (3-0)87 
2.Cincinnati St. Xavier (1) (3-0)62 
3.Lewis Center Olentangy Orange (3-0)56 
4.Mentor (3-0)54 
5.Cincinnati Elder (3-0)48 
6.Cincinnati Moeller (1) (2-1)39 
7.Middletown (3-0)37 
8.Columbus Upper Arlington (3-0)33 
9.Dublin Jerome (3-0)23 
10.West Chester Lakota West (2-1)17 

Others receiving votes: 11, Lebanon 13. 12, Pickerington North 8. 13, Pickerington Central 5. 14, Lewis Center Olentangy 4. 15, Cincinnati Princeton 2. 16, Berea-Midpark 2. 17, Springboro 2. 18, Toledo Whitmer 1. 19, Perrysburg 1. 20, Liberty Twp. Lakota East 1.

Division II

RankSchoolTotal Points 
1.Uniontown Lake (2) (3-0)56 
2.Cincinnati Anderson (2) (3-0)51 
3.Canal Winchester (3-0)42 
4.Wadsworth (3-0)41 
5.Avon (1) (2-1)39 
6.Macedonia Nordonia (3-0)38 
7.Medina Highland (3-0)30 
8.Kings Mills Kings (1) (3-0)29 
9.Cuyahoga Falls Walsh Jesuit (1) (3-0)27 
10.Louisville (3-0)21 

Others receiving votes: 11, Painesville Riverside 19. 12, Cincinnati La Salle 18. 13, Akron Hoban 16. 14, Ashland 10. 15, Cincinnati Withrow 9. 16, Twinsburg 8. 17, Trotwood-Madison 7. 18, Sunbury Big Walnut 6. 19, Cuyahoga Falls 6. 20, Garfield Heights 5. 21, Massillon Washington 5. 22, North Ridgeville 4. 23, Dublin Scioto 4. 24, Massillon Perry 2. 25, Austintown-Fitch 1. 26, Columbus St. Francis DeSales 1.

Division III

RankSchoolTotal Points 
1.Columbus Bishop Watterson (4) (3-0)60 
2.Wapakoneta (3-0)53 
3.Medina Buckeye (1) (3-0)51 
4.Gates Mills Hawken (1) (3-0)40 
5.Tipp City Tippecanoe (1) (3-0)38 
6.Canfield (3-0)35 
7.London (3-0)27 
8.Columbus Hamilton Township (3-0)22 
9.Youngstown Ursuline (2-0)19 
10.Hamilton Badin (1) (3-0)18 

Others receiving votes: 11, Grafton Midview 15. 12, Maple Heights 12. 13, Granville 10. 14, Toledo Central Catholic 8. 15, Geneva 7. 16, Delaware Buckeye Valley 5. 17, Oxford Talawanda 5. 18, Newark Licking Valley 4. 19, Dresden Tri-Valley 4. 20, Cleveland Villa Angela-St. Joseph 3. 21, Columbus Linden McKinley 2. 22, Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy 1. 23, Richfield Revere 1.

Division IV

RankSchoolTotal Points 
1.Shelby (1) (3-0)64 
2.Cincinnati Taft (1) (3-0)56 
3.Gnadenhutten Indian Valley (2) (3-0)38 
4.Cleveland Glenville (3) (2-1)36 
5.Cincinnati Wyoming (3-0)34 
6.Hubbard (3-0)31 
7.New Lexington (1) (3-0)28 
8.Galion (3-0)27 
9.Chardon Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin (3-0)25 
10.Cincinnati Indian Hill (3-0)23 

Others receiving votes: 11, Plain City Jonathan Alder 22. 12, Perry 14. 13, Vermilion 10. 14, Kettering Archbishop Alter 7. 15, Germantown Valley View 6. 16, Clarksville Clinton-Massie 5. 17, Chillicothe Unioto 3. 18, Norton 3. 19, Mentor Lake Catholic 3. 20, Urbana 2. 21, Millersburg West Holmes 1. 22, Bellefontaine Benjamin Logan 1. 23, Beloit West Branch 1.

Division V

RankSchoolTotal Points 
1.Liberty Center (1) (3-0)58 
2.Oak Harbor (3-0)55 
3.Poland Seminary (3) (3-0)51 
4.Ironton (4) (3-0)49 
5.Wheelersburg (3-0)44 
6.Williamsburg (3-0)36 
7.Barnesville (3-0)28 
8.Findlay Liberty-Benton (3-0)23 
9.Girard (3-0)19 
10.Wooster Triway (3-0)13 

Others receiving votes: 11, Versailles 12. 12, Cincinnati North College Hill 12. 13, Carlisle 7. 14, Milan Edison 7. 15, Akron Manchester 6. 16, Lima Bath 6. 17, St. Paris Graham 5. 18, Canal Winchester Harvest Prep 4. 19, Camden Preble Shawnee 2. 20, Richwood North Union 1. 21, Arcanum 1. 22, Cols. Africentric 1.

Division VI

RankSchoolTotal Points 
1.Kirtland (7) (3-0)79 
2.Bluffton (3-0)59 
3.Columbus Grandview Heights (3-0)45 
4.Coldwater (1) (2-1)42 
5.Dalton (3-0)35 
6.Smithville (3-0)30 
7.Bascom Hopewell-Loudon (3-0)27 
8.Cincinnati Deer Park (3-0)21 
9.Sherwood Fairview (3-0)19 
10.North Robinson Colonel Crawford (3-0)17 

Others receiving votes: 11, West Lafayette Ridgewood 16. 12, Hamler Patrick Henry 13. 13, West Jefferson 10. 14, Kansas Lakota 8. 15, Mechanicsburg 4. 16, Day. Christian 4. 17, Columbia Station Columbia 4. 18, Galion Northmor 2. 19, Anna 2. 20, Springfield Northeastern 2. 21, Wickliffe 1.

Division VII

RankSchoolTotal Points 
1.Maria Stein Marion Local (8) (3-0)80 
2.Lima Central Catholic (3-0)51 
3.McDonald (3-0)47 
4.Jeromesville Hillsdale (3-0)43 
5.New Bremen (3-0)30 
6.Sycamore Mohawk (3-0)27 
7.St. Henry (2-1)25 
8.Beaver Eastern (3-0)22 
9.Fairport Harbor Harding (3-0)19 
10.Portsmouth Notre Dame (3-0)18 

Others receiving votes: 11, Arlington 15. 12, Corning Miller 13. 13, Minster 9. 14, Crown City South Gallia 6. 15, New Madison Tri-Village 6. 16, North Baltimore 4. 17, East Palestine 4. 18, Malvern 4. 19, Strasburg-Franklin 3. 20, Sidney Lehman 3. 21, Ansonia 3. 22, East Canton 3. 23, Convoy Crestview 3. 24, Fort Recovery 2.

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