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What did we learn from the first FHSAA Football Rankings? There's a lot of football left

alex martin, naples daily news
·3 min read

What were those?

That's exactly the question I posed when the first set of FHSAA rankings dropped. However, we're used to this.

The same thing happened with last year's first set of rankings when CSN was ranked No. 4 in the area to start. The Seahawks dropped as expected by the end of the year.

Despite how misleading the first rankings may be, here are three takeaways with the top 20 teams locally below. And remember district champs gain an automatic berth to the playoffs.

More: Week 5 SWFL football: Golden Gate, Riverdale, Naples, Fort Myers, Gateway pick up wins

More: Complete 2022 weekly high school football schedule, results for Collier, Lee and LaBelle

Dunbar is SWFL's top team

Just like last season, the Tigers were the area's top squad throughout, often being inside the top 10 statewide in each set of FHSAA rankings. It ended abruptly last year, as Dunbar was the lone No. 1 seed in any classification to lost in the first round. Dunbar is the clear favorite to win their district (currently No. 2 in Class 3S), it's just a matter of getting out of the region.

Naples is... fifth locally?

Yes, you read that correctly. The Golden Eagles are fifth in The News-Press/Naples Daily News coverage area, behind Dunbar, Barron Collier, First Baptist, and ECS.

The Golden Eagles, in our poll, are the top team in the area. Their next contest against Barron Collier will be one to follow, as the Cougars are Collier County's last remaining undefeated team.

Private schools hold their own

Of the top 10 teams in the area, four of them are private schools, with First Baptist and ECS ranked third and fourth, respectively, in the area. Bishop Verot is seventh in the area, while CSN is 10th. The Sentinels are undefeated, while the Lions are 3-1. The strength of schedule gap between the two is stark though, as FBA has a 5.30 SOS, while ECS has a -2.91 SOS. We'll have a better feel of how good ECS really is when these two teams play, which was supposed to be Friday night.

On the other hand, Verot is 102nd in the state, but still No. 1 in a region they should have minimal trouble getting out of. CSN is currently 2-1 and will need to beat First Baptist in a de facto district title game to lock up a playoff berth, although their chances of moving on in a six-team region with four playoff spots is highly likely.

Where are the top 20 local teams ranked?

(State rank, team, standing in Class)

18. Dunbar (No. 2 in Class 3S)

29. Barron Collier (No. 4 in Class 3S)

46. First Baptist (No. 4 in Class 1S)

60. ECS (No. 5 in Class 1S)

85. Naples (No. 9 in Class 3S)

93. North Fort Myers (No. 11 in Class 3S)

102. Bishop Verot (No. 10 in Class 2S)

118. Estero (No. 13 in Class 2S

141. Riverdale (No. 21 in Class 4S)

143. CSN (No. 7 in Class 1S)

147. Ida Baker (No. 22 in Class 4S)

150. Fort Myers (No. 20 in Class 3S)

187. Gulf Coast (No. 32 in Class 4S)

191. Mariner (No. 25 in Class 3S)

227. Immokalee (No. 39 in Class 4S)

256. Golden Gate (No. 34 in Class 3S)

259. Bonita Springs (No. 36 in Class 3S)

268. St. John Neumann (No. 15 in Class 1S)

305. SFCA (No. 16 in Class 1S)

311. Cape Coral (No. 41 in Class 3S)

Follow Southwest Florida Sports Writer Alex Martin on Twitter: @NP_AlexMartin. For the best sports coverage in Southwest Florida, follow @newspresssports and @ndnprepzone on Instagram.

This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: FHSAA Football Rankings: Three takeaways from the first set in SWFL