Which high school football team is the best in Florida after Week 3?

Well, the interesting high school football season just keeps getting more interesting.

And a little more confusing.

Much like we asked after Week 1: Which team will be the best after Week 3?

Was it Lakeland, which stunned Lake Mary with an 80-yard touchdown run in the final minute to force overtime and win another important road game?

Is it IMG that dominated Cocoa’s offense and defense in Friday’s 34-13 victory?

Whether it was St. Thomas Aquinas, which routed state champion Columbus 42-6 and suffered arguably its “biggest” defeat at the hands of Bishop Gorman (Nevada).

Was this the Venice team that went on the road to beat Bishop Verot in a game that looked more like a basketball score? (Final: Venice 71, Verot 56.)

Is it Armwood, which outlasted Tampa Bay Tech and also won against Gaither (2023 regional champion) and Sumner (2023 regional finalist)?

Is it someone else (Mandarin, Jones, Clearwater Central Catholic, etc.)?

Vote for the #1 team in the state below.

Before you vote, here are six stats that show just how peculiar the first three weeks of the regular season have been.

Venice has given up 138 points in three games. Venice is also undefeated and the unanimous No. 1 team in Class 7A. It’s also worth noting that Venice has already had to defend against the No. 1 wide receiver in the 2025 USA Today Florida Network top 100 (Dallas Wilson of Tampa Bay Tech), the No. 1 receiver in the 2026 class (Calvin Russell Jr. of Miami Northwestern) and the No. 1 quarterback in the 2025 top 100 (Carter Smith of Bishop Verot).

Chaminade-Madonna, Plantation-American Heritage and Columbus are a combined 3-6 heading into Week 4. Five of those six early-season losses came against teams ranked in the top 100 in the country, but that was still unexpected. Chaminade, American Heritage and Columbus are a combined 77-8 in the 2022 and 2023 seasons.

Lakeland is 2-0 after victories over Miami Central, the No. 1 team in Class 3A, and Lake Mary, the No. 2 team in Class 7A. Both victories were by one point. Lakeland trailed or tied Lake Mary throughout the second half and didn’t regain the lead until the first point of overtime.

File this under Be careful not to overdo it with a classic opener: Eau Gallie’s offense struggled mightily in an 11-3 loss to Mainland in the preseason. (That was a strange game, with Mainland leading 4-3 with less than eight minutes left in the fourth quarter.) In their first three regular-season games against 2023 playoff teams Vero Beach, Rockledge and Heritage, the Commodores have outscored opponents 90-27, with back-to-back clean sheets.

First Academy opened the season with wins at Lipscomb Academy (Tennessee) in Edgewater and a dominant season opener against Treasure Coast on Friday. Lipscomb is a perennial playoff team that won state titles in 2021 and 2022. Edgewater last lost a regular-season game at home in 2016. Since the start of the 2018 season, only three other teams have scored 42 points or more against Treasure Coast since 2018: St. Thomas Aquinas, Chaminade and Cocoa.

Mandarin is undefeated this season, but suffered a major loss when senior quarterback Tramell Jones Jr. suffered a lower leg injury in Week 2. On the other hand, it will be really tough to beat the Mustangs if they don’t give up any points. Mandarin’s defense has two straight shutouts and hasn’t allowed a point in 10 consecutive quarters.

Which high school football team is the best in Florida after Week 3?

By meerna

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Which high school football team is the best in Florida after Week 3?

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