2026 CFC50 High School Rankings WEEK 1: Harry Ainlay already making their intentions known in Alberta

Welcome Back!

Another summer has unofficially come and gone. It’s a somber time of year for the majority of students across Canada, but we know it brings tears of happiness to all the players and coaches who have been dreaming about hitting the field again for another season of high school football madness.

Training camps have been in full swing from coast to coast, and some provinces have already kicked off with results rolling in from Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Quebec and Nova Scotia that have shaken up the hierarchy in our week one rankings.

As always, September is an adventurous month for the rankings with teams looking to make an early statement about their intentions this year. If you’re not happy about your spot today, rest assured the final rankings will look vastly different when the dust has settled in November.

The only thing we can promise is a wild ride with peaks and valleys that nobody can predict. So strap yourself in for another journey through the chaotic world of Canadian high school football.

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Top Headlines

• Our first headlines of the 2026 campaign come from Alberta, who always get a head start on the rest of the country with top tier exhibition matchups that help paint an early picture. After three tough CFC50 matchups checked off the schedule, it looks like Harry Ainlay have regained control of the paint brush after bowing out last season to the eventual provincial champions Ernest Manning in an all-time classic semifinals showdown that went to overtime. The Titans put together a convincing 31-7 performance against the mighty Raymond Comets in their opener, followed up with another 27-12 victory against Lethbridge CI, and then this past week welcomed Nelson from Burlington, Ontario to Edmonton for a cross-province clash that saw Harry Ainlay come out on top 40-22. Their strong start has helped vault them up to number three on the rankings, but they know better than anybody that big wins early in the season mean nothing if you can’t get the job done when it matters most in November.
• We now flip our attention to the defending champions Ernest Manning, who’ve suffered a bit of a stumble out of the blocks that is eerily similar to last year’s script. They managed to hold on for a 10-0 win in their opener against Notre Dame (Red Deer), but then followed it up with a 30-18 loss to Bev Facey, who appear at the moment to be competing for the 4A provincial title this year pending the final calculations of student enrollment in Alberta. Their ranking has taken a hit for now, but they lived through a similar story last year when they dropped their first two games to Salisbury and Notre Dame (Calgary) before running the table the rest of the way. We are intrigued to see how Bev Facey performs this week against a promising Salisbury squad coming off a 91-7 victory over Lindsay Thurber so we can get a better idea of the landscape in Alberta.
• Vancouver College got a taste of Alberta football this week when Notre Dame (Calgary) flew west for a cross-provincial matchup to kickoff their seasons. There’s always debates about which provinces have the better programs, and the Fighting Irish chalked up a huge tally for British Columbia with a dominant 31-7 victory against the Pride, who finished as the runner-ups to Ernest Manning last season. After taking a minor step back following three straight provincial titles, we know Vancouver College will be eager to reclaim their crown at BC Place this year.

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• Elsewhere in BC, the lengthy exhibition campaign has begun with some interesting results to report. Kelowna managed to take down South Delta 35-20, which could be a sign of big things to come for the Owls this season. It’s always impossible to gauge just how meaningful a result like this is in week one, but the Sun Devils were one of the top programs in contention for the championship last season, so it will definitely raise a few eyebrows across the province.
• Now in their second season in the top division, Robert Bateman have started to lay the foundation for another stellar year with a huge 43-0 victory over New Westminster. The Timberwolves have already proven that their excellence transcends divisions, so they’ll be a fun team to watch with a full season of top tier battles under their belts.
• We now turn our attention to Saskatchewan, where we’ve seen some surprising results to open the year. After competing tooth and nail for the provincial championship last year, St. Joseph got a wake up call against Miller in their opener, who left no doubt about who the better team is right now after a 35-12 victory. It’s better to hear the alarms sooner than later, and will give the Guardians time to reassess where they stand before facing off against their sworn enemies Holy Cross this week. The Crusaders are still riding high coming off their first provincial title since 1995 with a 46-7 blowout against Riffel to begin the year, so it’ll be very interesting to see how these two rivals stack up in the first of three potential showdowns in 2026.

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• Across the province in Regina, it looks like LeBoldus may be on the rise again after a 24-4 win against Campbell to open their league record. The Golden Suns were the bell of the ball for many years in Saskatchewan, and after hitting a gulley in recent years, it might be time for them to compete for bragging rights in the Queen City again.
• It’s time to check-in with La Belle Province, who is coming off a very strange year full of parity with only two teams finishing with a winning record in the regular season. The top two programs remain the same after week one with the defending champions Saint-Jean-Eudes picking up where they left off with a 33-2 victory against Collège Notre-Dame, while the runner-ups from a year ago Collège Bourget got off to a red hot start with a 39-8 win against Charles-Lemoyne, who finished 8-2 last year before falling to the very same Voltigeurs in the semifinals. Once again, the other two games between Saint-François/Académie Saint-Louis and Curé-Antoine-Labelle/Armand-Corbeil were close affairs, so we’ll just have to wait and see if anybody else can emerge as contenders for the Bol d’Or.
• We finish off week one with a visit to Nova Scotia, where the reigning champions Charles P. Allen wasted no time getting back to business with a 44-2 win against Woodlawn in their season opener. The Cheetahs put together one of the most dominant campaigns we’ve seen in Nova Scotia, and it looks like they’re going to be hard to catch again this year.

CFC25 Tier II Rankings Rebrand

The CFC25 Small School Rankings are now the CFC25 Tier II Rankings, a new name that better reflects the competitive landscape of high school football across Canada.

The CFC50 National Rankings feature programs eligible to compete for their province’s highest-level championship, including Ontario programs eligible for an OFSAA Bowl.

The CFC25 Tier II Rankings spotlight the best programs competing in lower provincial classifications and divisions.

The mission hasn’t changed. We’re still shining a national spotlight on programs from coast to coast. The new name simply removes school size from the equation that was cause for confusion in the past and puts the focus on the level of competition on the field.

#	Last Year	School	City	Prov.	League	Non-League	USA	Results
1	T1	Huron Heights Warriors	Newmarket	ON	0-0	0-0	0-0	BYE
2	T1	Catholic Central Crusaders	London	ON	0-0	0-0	0-0	BYE
3	8	Harry Ainlay Titans	Edmonton	AB	0-0	3-0	0-0	W 40-22 vs. Nelson (ON)
4	4	Holy Cross Crusaders	Saskatoon	SK	0-0	1-0	0-0	W 46-7 vs. Riffel
5	5	Saint-Jean-Eudes Condors	Québec	QC	1-0	0-0	0-0	W 33-2 vs. Collège Notre-Dame
6	6	Korah Colts	Sault Ste Marie	ON	0-0	0-0	0-0	BYE
7	7	Lord Tweedsmuir Panthers	Surrey	BC	0-0	0-0	0-0	BYE
8	9	Oak Park Raiders	Winnipeg	MB	0-0	1-0	0-0	W 48-0 vs. Vincent Massey (BDN)
9	17	Miller Marauders	Regina	SK	0-0	1-0	0-0	W 35-12 vs. St. Joseph
10	21	Collège Bourget Voltigeurs	Rigaud	QC	1-0	0-0	0-0	W 39-8 vs. Charles-Lemoyne
11	10	Frontenac Falcons	Kingston	ON	0-0	0-0	0-0	BYE
12	11	A. N. Myer Marauders	Niagara Falls	ON	0-0	0-0	0-0	BYE
13	12	W.J. Mouat Hawks	Abbotsford	BC	0-0	0-0	0-0	BYE
14	30	Vancouver College Fighting Irish	Vancouver	BC	0-0	1-0	0-0	W 30-7 vs. Notre Dame (CGY)
15	50	Salisbury Sabres	Sherwood Park	AB	0-0	2-0	0-0	W 91-7 vs. Lindsay Thurber
16	13	Holy Names Knights	Windsor	ON	0-0	0-0	0-0	BYE
17	15	Westdale Warriors	Hamilton	ON	0-0	0-0	0-0	BYE
18	18	Dakota Lancers	Winnipeg	MB	0-0	0-0	0-0	BYE
19	19	Bishop Ryan Celtics	Stoney Creek	ON	0-0	0-0	0-0	BYE
20	31	Raymond Comets	Raymond	AB	0-0	1-1	0-1	L 42-22 vs. Star Valley (WY)
21	38	Lethbridge CI Rams	Lethbridge	AB	0-0	0-1	1-0	W 21-16 vs. Riverton (WY)
22	34	Robert Bateman Timberwolves	Abbotsford	BC	0-0	1-0	0-0	W 43-0 vs. New Westminster
23	23	Charles P. Allen Cheetahs	Bedford	NS	1-0	0-0	0-0	W 42-2 vs. Woodlawn
24	24	Robert F. Hall Wolfpack	Caledon East	ON	0-0	0-0	0-0	BYE
25	25	St. Mark Lions	Ottawa	ON	0-0	0-0	0-0	BYE
26	26	Bishop Tonnos Titans	Ancaster	ON	0-0	0-0	0-0	BYE
27	27	Assumption Crusaders	Burlington	ON	0-0	0-0	0-0	BYE
28	28	Nelson Lords	Burlington	ON	0-0	0-0	0-0	L 40-22 vs. Harry Ainlay (AB)
29	UR	Leboldus Golden Suns	Regina	SK	1-0	0-0	0-0	W 24-4 vs. Campbell
30	29	St. Paul’s Crusaders	Winnipeg	MB	0-0	1-0	0-0	W vs. Steinbach
31	UR	St. Francis Browns	Calgary	AB	0-0	0-1	0-0	L 21-14 vs. Raymond
32	36	Corpus Christi Longhorns	Burlington	ON	0-0	0-0	0-0	BYE
33	37	St. James Lions	Guelph	ON	0-0	0-0	0-0	BYE
34	39	St. Andre Bessette Bulldogs	London	ON	0-0	0-0	0-0	BYE
35	14	St. Joseph Guardians	Saskatoon	SK	0-0	0-1	0-0	L 35-12 vs. Miller
36	22	Charles-Lemoyne Dynamiques	Sainte-Catherine	QC	0-1	0-0	0-0	L 39-8 vs. Collège Bourget
37	3	Ernest Manning Griffins	Calgary	AB	0-0	1-1	0-0	L 30-18 vs. Bev Facey
38	UR	Notre Dame Cougars	Red Deer	AB	0-0	1-1	0-0	W 28-0 vs. Medicine Hat
39	UR	Kelowna Owls	Kelowna	BC	0-0	1-0	0-0	W 35-20 vs. South Delta
40	16	South Delta Sun Devils	Delta	BC	0-0	0-1	0-0	L 35-20 vs. Kelowna
41	20	Notre Dame Pride	Calgary	AB	0-0	0-1	0-0	L 30-7 vs. Vancouver College
42	33	Riffel Royals	Regina	SK	0-0	0-1	0-0	L 46-7 vs. Holy Cross
43	40	Riverview Royals	Riverview	NB	0-0	0-0	0-0	BYE
44	UR	Holy Cross Hurricanes	Peterborough	ON	0-0	0-0	0-0	BYE
45	41	W. F. Herman Green Griffins	Windsor	ON	0-0	0-0	0-0	BYE
46	42	St. Igantius Falcons	Thunder Bay	ON	0-0	0-0	0-0	BYE
47	43	Paul Dwyer Saints	Oshawa	ON	0-0	0-0	0-0	BYE
48	44	St. Joseph Jaguars	Ottawa	ON	0-0	0-0	0-0	BYE
49	45	St. Joan of Arc Knights	Barrie	ON	0-0	0-0	0-0	BYE
50	46	St. John’s Eagles	Brantford	ON	0-0	0-0	0-0	BYE