Top 25 Missouri high school football rankings (9/4/2024)

Top-ranked Cardinal Ritter opened the season with its 29th straight victory

SBLive Missouri Power 25 high school football rankings /

Week 1 of the Missouri high school football season featured some big top 25 matchups, top performances and even a little controversy thanks to the weather wreaking havoc on Friday night.

SBLive Missouri Power 25 high school football rankings

• PREVIOUS RANKINGS: PRESEASON

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Missouri high school football rankings

September 4, 2024

1. Cardinal Ritter (1-0)

Preseason ranking: 1

Top-ranked Cardinal Ritter opened the season with a 44-7 win over Jackson. Nebraska pledge RB Jamarion Parker scored four touchdowns in the win and quarterback Carson Boyd, an Illinois commit, racked up more than 400 total yards with two passing TDs.

2. De Smet (1-0)

Preseason ranking: 2

Eastern Michigan commit Quincy Byas had a sack, an interception and a fumble recovery as De Smet rolled over visiting Creighton (Nebraska) Prep in Week 1.

3. Liberty North (1-0)

Preseason ranking: 3

All-state kicker Bleu Renfrow booted three field goals in Week 1, from 36, 49 and 26 yards. The last one was a game-winner for the defending Class 6 champion Liberty North, 21-20, over Blue Springs South.

4. CBC (1-0)

Preseason ranking: 4

The Corey Simms from Nick McClellan connection accounted for four catches and 122 yards — and three touchdowns in the season-opening victory for Christian Brothers College High School.

5. Lee’s Summit North (1-0)

Preseason ranking: 5

Senior Michki Mitchell threw two touchdown passes and ran for another in his first start as Lee's Summit North's quarterback.

Vote: Who should be SBLive's Missouri High School Athlete of the Week (9/3/2024)?

6. Nixa (1-0)

Preseason ranking: 6

Sophomore quarterback Adam McKnight was 5-for-6 passing for 111 yards with two touchdowns and ran for another as Nixa opened the season with a 49-14 win over state finalist Republic.

7. Kearney (1-0)

Preseason ranking: 7

Reigning Class 4 champion Kearney opened the season with a 21-0 win over Fort Osage. DB Aidan Arellano had 10 tackles and a pick-6 touchdown late in the 4th quarter.

8. Lutheran North (0-1)

Preseason ranking: 8

Lutheran North lost its opener against nationally-ranked Phenix City Central in Alabama. Karvon Jefferson finished with nine tackles in the game. Next up for the Crusaders is a matchup with visiting Blair Oaks on Thursday.

9. Blair Oaks (1-0)

Preseason ranking: 9

The Tyler Bax to Brady Dapkus connection was strong early as the all-state quarterback connected with the Southern Boone transfer for three touchdowns in the first half in Blair Oaks' season-opening win against Maryville.

10. Platte County (1-0)

Preseason ranking: 14

WR Braiden Stevens had six catches for 180 yards and four touchdowns, tying a school record, in Platte County's seaon-opening 58-0 victory over visiting William Chrisman.

Vote for the top Missouri high school football play of the week (9/3/2024)

11. Jackson (0-1)

Preseason ranking: 11

The Indians were held to seven points in the Week 1 loss to Cardinal Ritter but now face the first of two straight foes from Illinois. Jackson will face Cahokia this Saturday at East St. Louis.

12. MICDS (1-0)

Preseason ranking: 16

MICDS got credit for a season-opening 21-14 win over Hillsboro on Monday after a ruling by the Missouri State High School Activities Association. The score was 21-14 when the weather prevented the Friday game from finishing. Hillsboro wanted to play on Saturday but MICDS said it couldn’t because of players missing for Labor Day vacation. Hillsboro called it a forfeit, MICDS called it a win and MSHSAA provided the tiebreaker. 

13. Hillsboro (0-1)

Preseason ranking: 10

Quarterback Preston Brown, a North Dakota State pledge, scored both touchdowns in Hillsboro's weather-shortened season-opening loss to MICDS.

14. Webb City (1-0)

Preseason ranking: 15

Another game that was hampered by weather, the Cardinals didn’t start until almost 9 p.m. last week. Webb City welcomed the new Central Ozark Conference school in Lebanon by winning 35-13.

15. Helias (1-0)

Preseason ranking: 17

Helias went on the road and won at Hannibal, 31-20, which included overcoming an early deficit. The Crusaders had a kickoff return for a touchdown and returned a fumble for a touchdown as well.

Cardinal Ritter's Carson Boyd racks up 413 total yards, 2 TDs in Week 1 win

16. Eureka (8-5)

Preseason ranking: 18

Eureka scored 17 points in the fourth quarter to surge ahead and hold off Francis Howell North for an impressive Week 1 road win. Trevor Codak accounted for two of the team’s three touchdowns.

17. Francis Howell (0-1)

Preseason ranking: 13

Eli Skidmore provided the lone touchdown for Francis Howell in the Week 1 loss to Eureka. The Vikings travel to Fort Zumwalt North this week to aim to get to .500.

18. Carthage (1-0)

Preseason ranking: 19

Landyn Collins, an all-state running back, had three touchdowns and 96 yards on 15 carries in Carthage's 55-7 season-opening win over Waynesville on Friday.

19. Lamar (1-0)

Preseason ranking: 20

Lamar kept its winning streak going, now 11 in a row, by holding off McDonald County, 32-29, in Week 1 in Anderson.

20. Rockhurst (11-2)

Preseason ranking: 21

Van Pham, Pierce Fisher, Cash Lewandowski and Beau Neuburger combined for 221 rushing yards and three TDs as Rockhurst earned an impressive 24-12 win over St. Pius X (KC).

Nebraska football commit Jamarion Parker scores 4 TDs in Cardinal Ritter's season-opening win

21. Hannibal (0-1)

Preseason ranking: 22

Quarterback Waylon Anders went 7-for-16 passing with 111 yards and a touchdown and had 14 carries for 50 yards and a score in Hannibal's season-opening loss to Helias.

22. Oak Park (11-1)

Preseason ranking: 23

Oak Park scored with 13 seconds left to break a tie and beat Staley, 28-21, in Week 1. The Northmen trailed 21-7 at the break.

23. Seneca (13-1)

Preseason ranking: 24

Seneca rolled in its Big 8 Conference opener, blasting Cassville 55-16. RB Roman Miller had a pair of first-half scores, as the Indians went up 35-0 early.

24. Lafayette Wildwood (1-0)

Preseason ranking: NR

Lafayette blanked Parkway North behind three TDs from quarterback Jack Behl — two on the ground and a fourth-quarter touchdown to Northwestern commit Robby Preckel.

25. St. Pius X Kansas City (0-1)

Preseason ranking: 25

St. Pius X played up against Class 6 Rockhurst in Week 1 — the first meeting between the two Kansas City parochial schools since 1974. While the Warriors are in Class 5 this year, they were in Class 3 last year making it a unique matchup.

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