Thompson Tops First Preseason Power 25, Saraland and South Alabama Teams Also Ranked
Thompson opens the 2026 season as the unanimous No. 1 team in Alabama's first Preseason Power 25, with Saraland, McGill-Toolen, Jackson, Bayside Academy and other South Alabama-area teams also ranked among the state's best.
Thompson enters the 2026 season as the unanimous No. 1 team in the first Preseason Power 25, a ranking of Alabama’s best high school football teams regardless of classification. The Warriors received all five first-place votes in the poll.
Thompson opens its season Thursday against No. 2 Central-Phenix City in the AHSAA Kickoff Classic, a rematch of last year’s dramatic Class 7A state semifinal, which the Warriors won 35-34.
Central-Phenix City, playing under new head coach Cody Flournoy after Patrick Nix’s retirement, edged reigning Class 6A state champion Clay-Chalkville by a single point for the No. 2 spot. Clay-Chalkville landed at No. 3. Auburn and Saraland rounded out the top five.
South Alabama Teams in the Rankings
Saraland was among the poll’s top five teams overall. McGill-Toolen checked in at No. 14 and enters the season as the preseason No. 1 team in the AHSAA Double-A private-school ranking, despite finishing 6-5 with a first-round playoff loss at Pike Road last year.
Jackson, the reigning Class 4A state champion, tied for No. 16 in the preseason poll and enters the year ranked No. 2 in Class 3A by the Alabama Sports Writers Association.
Bayside Academy, last year’s Class 3A runner-up, came in at No. 22 and is the preseason No. 1 team in AHSAA Single-A private-school competition.
Muscle Shoals debuted at No. 21 after a 12-1 season that ended in the Class 6A semifinals, and Central-Clay County rounded out the top 20 after going 11-2 a year ago.
Vestavia Hills checked in at No. 11, and Benjamin Russell rounded out the top six after a 12-2 season that ended in the Class 6A semifinals.
Pike Road and Mary G. Montgomery tied for No. 25 to close out the rankings. Pike Road finished 10-3 last season before losing to Saraland in the Class 6A quarterfinals, while Mary G. Montgomery went 10-2 before falling to Thompson in the second round of the Class 7A playoffs.
Others Receiving Votes
Several teams with ties to the South Alabama area received votes but fell just outside the top 25, including Daphne, St. Paul’s, UMS-Wright, Gulf Shores and W.S. Neal. Other schools receiving votes included Oxford, Homewood, Madison Academy, Dothan, Carver-Montgomery, Baker, Hewitt-Trussville and Gadsden City.
