High school football in Missouri begins Friday, and we're taking a look at who the best teams are in southwest Missouri entering the season.
And what better way to do that than with some power rankings?
News-Leader reporter Wyatt Wheeler ranked more than 50 teams in southwest Missouri before cutting the list down to the Top 25 while also including the first 10 teams who missed the cut in alphabetical order.
Among the considered factors in the rankings:
- How teams finished the 2019 season
- Who teams have returning for the 2020 season
- Program success over the years
- 2019 head-to-head matchups
- Watching the teams play
Note that rankings don't necessarily mean a Class 1 team ranked higher than a Class 5 team would beat them head-to-head, but the rankings show dominance by class.