Rivals La HS Football Preseason Rankings. - UHS / Dunham too low?

Rivals released its 2026 preseason Louisiana high school football rankings. The top of the rankings looks about like most people would expect, with Edna Karr, St. Aug, and Catholic-BR in the top three spots.

What surprised me was seeing U-High at No. 30 and Dunham at No. 31.

I understand that both schools compete in smaller divisions and may not face the same week-to-week schedule as many of the Division I programs. But at some point, the results on the field and the actual talent on the roster should matter.

U-High won a state championship in 2021 and has reached the semifinals three times since then. The 2024 team probably would have won State in 2024 if they weren’t DQ’d right before the playoffs. They returned to the SF last year and lost 34–27 in overtime to eventual Div. II Select champ, SCC.

Again - I know they play in a smaller division, but they have shown they are able to compete with the larger schools every year. U-High beat Catholic 31–30 in 2023, during a season in which Catholic won the Division I Select championship, and beat them again in 2024.

Now U-High adds Lanes son - Knox Kiffin (a three-star quarterback) - along with Kevin Smith Jr., his longtime teammate and a receiver with major college offers. That is in addition to the returning players from a team that was one overtime possession away from the Dome last season. The recruiting board says they are adding the top HS recruit in Mississippi this year as well.

I just find it hard to believe there are 29 teams in Louisiana that should be ranked ahead of U-High entering the season.

Dunham at No. 31 may be even more difficult to understand. The Tigers are the defending Div. III Select state champions and return Elijah Haven, a top 3 quarterback in the entire country. With Haven leading Dunham’s wide-open offensive system, they are capable of scoring with almost anyone in the state.

I am not saying that either U-High or Dunham belongs in the top five. The larger schools generally have more depth, especially along the lines, and that matters over a full season. But both schools being outside the top 25 - and behind that many teams with far less recent postseason success - just seems odd.

To me, both look more like top-12 - 15 teams than No. 30 and No. 31.

I don’t have any kids at either school, but I do live in Baton Rouge and hear and follow the local sports teams. Am I overrating them because they are Baton Rouge-area programs, or are these two of the biggest misses in the preseason rankings?


LINK