2021 Md. Media State Poll (Final)

For the fourth straight season, St. Frances is the unanimous No. 1 in the Maryland Media Football Poll.

The Baltimore power collected all 10 first-place votes to easily outdistance No. 2 Quince Orchard, the state’s top-ranked public school.

St. Frances finished the 2017, 2018, and 2019 seasons as the state’s top-ranked team. There was no State Poll last year as teams had varied seasons — if any — during the depth of the pandemic. Again this season, St. Frances went coast-to-coast as the No. 1 team. In fact, no other team has been No. 1 since Weeks 3-4 in 2017 when St. Frances and DeMatha briefly shared the top spot. DeMatha was No. 1 in Week 2 of 2017, and St. Frances has held (or shared) the top spot every week since — a state record run of 46 straight weeks at No. 1.

All six public school state champions ended up in the final Top 25 with 4A champ Quince Orchard at No. 2, 1A champ Fort Hill at No. 11, 2A/1A champ Dunbar at No. 15, 3A champ Northern Calvert at No. 16, 4A/3A champ Mervo at No. 18, and 2A champ Douglass-PG at No. 24.

Considering there was no 2020 season on which to base the 2021 preseason rankings, the first nine teams in the preseason poll finished ranked in the top 9 in the final poll. Perhaps even more impressive was the fact that 20 of the final Top 25 were either in the Top 25 or receiving votes in the preseason poll. The highest-ranking team in the final poll that was not ranked in the preseason was first-year program Rock Creek Christian, which finished No. 10. 

Now on with the complete the Top 25 …

Maryland High School Football Media State Poll
Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2021 — Regional Playoffs
FREDERICK, Md. — The Maryland High School Football Media State Poll, in its 31st year, is based on a statewide voting by sports reporters. Schools are ranked by points received. The number in parenthesis reflects first-place votes. LW is last week’s ranking. The rankings are compiled by Sheldon Shealer.
Rk.	Name	Record	Points	LW	Accomplishment
1.	St. Frances (10)	8-1	250	1	Independent school
2.	Quince Orchard	14-0	239	2	Class 4A state champion
3.	Absp. Spalding	10-1	224	3	MIAA A semifinalist
4.	Good Counsel	7-5	219	4	WCAC runner-up
5.	DeMatha	7-3	210	5	WCAC semifinalist
6.	Wise	12-1	195	6	Class 4A state runner-up
7.	Calvert Hall	9-3	191	7	MIAA A champion
8.	Mount St. Joseph	7-4	175	8	MIAA A semifinalist
9.	McDonogh	6-6	165	9	MIAA A runner-up
10.	Rock Creek Christian	7-1	153	14	Independent school
11.	Fort Hill	13-0	151	11	Class 1A champion
12.	Northwest	11-2	129	15	Class 4A semifinalist
13.	Flowers	11-2	125	10	Class 4A semifinalist
14.	Broadneck	8-2	105	12	Class 4A quarterfinalist
15.	Dunbar	13-0	103	22	Class 2A/1A champion
16.	Northern Calvert	12-1	102	NR	Class 3A champion
17.	Linganore	12-1	91	13	Class 3A runner-up
18.	Mervo	11-1	84	NR	Class 4A/3A champion
19.	Paint Branch	9-2	78	16	Class 4A quarterfinalist
20.	Concordia Prep	10-2	48	24	MIAA B champion
21.	Loyola	9-3	43	19	MIAA B runner-up
22.	Bishop McNamara	4-5	40	17	WCAC fifth place
23.	Avalon School	5-5	38	23	Independent school
24.	Douglass-PG	13-1	29	NR	Class 2A champion
25.	Dundalk	12-1	27	18	Class 4A/3A runner-up

Others Receiving Votes: St. Mary’s Ryken (6-6, 18 points), Old Mill (8-3, 4), Frederick (10-3, 2), Sherwood (9-3, 2), Franklin (9-3, 1), Milford Mill (12-2, 1), South Carroll (12-1, 1).