A few weeks ago, we here at ITG Next took a look at some of the top high school baseball programs in Florida since the year 2020, as well as why each received that ranking on the list. Let’s keep that same idea this week and now take a look at, and rank, the top five Florida high school football programs since 2020, starting with No. 5.
- Columbus Explorers
- 2020-23 Overall Record: 45-6
- Notable End Results: Class 4M State Champions (2022, 2023)
- Points Scored: 1,582
- Points Allowed: 592
We begin with the Columbus Explorers, who have won the Class 4M state title across each of the last two seasons and posted a combined 45-6 overall record since 2020.
Likely the best single season during this stretch was the Explorers’ 2022 campaign in which they went 14-1, with their lone loss coming via a one-possession game against Miami Central.
- Miami Central Rockets
- 2020-23 Overall Record: 42-7
- Notable End Results: Class 6A State Champions (2020), Class 5A State Champions (2021), Class 2M State Champions (2022)
- Points Scored: 1,834
- Points Allowed: 660
Miami Central has posted a combined 42-7 overall record across the past four years on the way to winning three consecutive state championships across different classifications. The Rockets have also lost only seven games during that span, three of which came to out-of-state teams.
- Chaminade-Madonna Lions
- 2020-23 Overall Record: 47-4
- Notable End Results: Class 3A State Champions (2021), Class 1M State Champions (2022, 2023), Class 3A State Runner-Up (2020)
- Points Scored: 2,084
- Points Allowed: 574
Having dominated Class 1M across the last two seasons, Chaminade-Madonna owns three state titles and a 47-4 combined record dating back to the 2020 campaign.
The Lions have not lost to an in-state team since falling to American Heritage in 2021 and are coming off a truly stellar 2023 campaign in which they went undefeated at 14-0 to win the Class 1M state title.
- St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders
- 2020-23 Overall Record: 50-3
- Notable End Results: Class 7A State Champions (2020, 2021), Class 3M State Champions (2022, 2023)
- Points Scored: 2,144
- Points Allowed: 587
The Raiders, who certainly have an argument to be made for being ranked No. 1, have won a state title in all four seasons from 2020 to 2023 on their way to a combined 50-3 overall record.
Of their three losses, two came to in-state teams (a 17-10 loss to Cardinal Gibbons in 2020 and a 24-21 loss at Jesuit in 2021). Their lone out-of-state defeat came against Califonia’s St. John Bosco in 2023.
- IMG Academy Ascenders
- 2020-23 Overall Record: 35-2
- Points Scored: 1,597
- Points Allowed: 366
It’s hard to find a more impressive stretch since 2020 than that of the IMG Academy Ascenders, who play against a national schedule and will enter 2024 on an 18-game winning streak.
Loaded with talent across the field, IMG Academy owns a combined 35-2 record across the past four seasons. Their two losses came at home against Maryland’s St. Frances Academy in 2021 and Miami Central in 2022.
Here are a few honorable mentions that didn’t quite make the Top 5, but are still worth noting as some of the top Florida high school football programs since the year 2020: the American Heritage Patriots, Lakeland Dreadnaughts, Cocoa Tigers, Edgewater Eagles, and Venice Indians.
