2026 CFC50 High School Rankings WEEK 10: Expect the unexpected in November

TOP HEADLINES

• If you keep banging on the door hard enough, you’ve gotta believe it’s going to eventually cave in. That was the situation Salisbury found themselves in heading into the Edmonton Metro city finals against Harry Ainlay, who were looking to bank their fifth straight league banner and extend their seven game winning streak against the Sabres. It took five long years of knocking, but Salisbury finally kicked the proverbial door off its hinges with a 10-3 victory over Harry Ainlay to claim their first city championship since 2021. It’s a huge moment for a program that have to compete year in and year out against one the true powerhouses in Canadian high school football, and it should provide some inspiration for other programs who find themselves in a similar scenario trying to reach the summit in their respective leagues. The good news for Harry Ainlay is that they have been in this exact spot before losing to Salisbury in the 2021 city finals, but they ultimately got the last laugh that year defeating St. Francis in the Alberta 5A provincial finals after Salisbury flamed out in the semis. This edition of the Sabres will be looking to write a new chapter in history as they search for their school’s first 5A provincial triumph since 2006, and in an ironic twist only the Football Gods could conjure up, it will once again be St. Francis on the other side of the line scrimmage in the quarterfinals this weekend. Meanwhile the final chapter has yet to be written for the 2026 Harry Ainlay Titans, who will now faceoff against the defending 5A champions Ernest Manning in a rematch from last years semifinals.

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• Across the province, it was Notre Dame who came out on top 27-9 against Ernest Manning to bring home their first city title since 2021. Now Notre Dame’s attention turns to the much bigger task of winning their first 5A provincial banner since 2014 when they capped off a three-peat. Since then they’ve been back to the finals just twice, including last year where they ended up losing 31-0 to Ernest Manning, which also served as the de facto Calgary city final due to the teacher’s strike that shortened the season in Alberta. So they got some sense of revenge this week, but they know the road to the provincial championship is going to be a gauntlet with their first test coming up against Lethbridge C.I. in the quarterfinals. The final matchup in the bracket will feature the feel good story of the year W.H. Croxford going toe-to-toe with one of the Alberta bluebloods Raymond, which has all the makings of a cinematic ending if Croxford can find a way to end the Comets season.
• We now flip our attention to Saskatchewan where the 6A provincial final will take place this weekend in Regina. We’d love to drum up so dramatic prose about the rivalry showdown in Saskatoon, but in reality it felt like the result was never in doubt with Holy Cross once again dominating St. Joseph 42-7 to win their second straight city title. Usually these two squads provide all the drama we crave when they meet between the white lines, but this version of the Crusaders was simply too much to handle for the Guardians, who had three bites at the apple this season and just couldn’t find the answers to the test. Now we can get to the real spectacle, because it was looking like we’d have the exact same storyline playout in the Regina city finals after Riffel laid waste to Miller in their previous two meetings during the regular season outscoring them 97-21, but CFC Prospect Game alumni RB Marcus Adams had full editorial control over the script this time around. Riffel did everything in their power on the offensive side of the ball to keep pace, but it turned out to be an impossible task with Adams rushing for 329 yards and six touchdowns to help the Marauders secure a 41-37 victory and their fifth city banner in six years. This means we will now get another rematch between Holy Cross and Miller in the 6A provincial finals, who have met four times in the grand finale since 2021 with Miller winning the first two matchups before Holy Cross finally brought an end to their 30 year championship drought last season. The defending champs will enter as the favourites, but they will need to find a way to snatch the pen outta the hand of Marcus Adams if they want to keep the provincial trophy in Saskatoon for a third straight year.

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• What’s better than a perfect season? How about back-to-back perfect seasons. That’s what was on the line for Charles P. Allen as they lined up against Bay View in the Nova Scotia provincial finals, and for the 18th time in a row it was the Cheetahs who came out on top 24-2 to retain their title as the kings of Nova Scotia football. It’s an amazing story when you zoom out and look at the historical picture of a program who had gotten used to always being the bridesmaid, but never the bride. Prior to last season, Charles P. Allen had appeared in five provincial finals with their first appearance coming in 2013, but they always walked away heartbroken wondering when it would finally be their turn at the altar. Well, now they’ve completely flipped the question around and everyone is wondering who will be the team that can finally catch the Cheetahs napping. High school football works in cycles and that day will eventually arrive, but for now Charles P. Allen can bask in the glory of their triumph as they reign supreme for another year in Nova Scotia.
• Rankings are a lot of fun. Know what’s even more fun? When a program completely shatters the illusion when it matters most and forces their way into the top 50. That was the goal for Holy Trinity as they headed into the Halton Catholic semifinals against the reigning league champs Assumption, and rankings be damned, it was the Titans day to shine after putting together a dominant 27-7 performance to book their ticket to the finals. Holy Trinity suffered two losses this season against Assumption and Corpus Christi. They can put a big checkmark next to the Crusaders name on their playoff revenge tour, and they now have the opportunity to do the same with Corpus Christi, who earned their spot in the championship bout after holding on for a 15-13 win against Bishop Reding in the other semifinal. It was all Longhorns the first time these two met as Corpus Christi walked away with a 31-14 victory, but at this point in the year it feels like momentum has swung in the direction of the Titans, so we’re expecting this game to live up to all the hype with neither team entering with an underdog mentality. The winner will advance to the GHAC playdowns where they will take on the runner-up from the Hamilton Catholic league finals, which is the perfect segue to our next topic of discussion.

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• Who doesn’t love a classic rivalry showdown in the championship game? That’s what we’ve got on tap in the Hamilton Catholic finals after St. John Henry Newman pulled off the 18-14 upset on the road against St. Thomas More to book a date in the championship with their Stoney Creek rivals Bishop Ryan, who breezed past Bishop Tonnos 49-0 on the other side of the bracket. Now it’s time for a little history lesson about the Father Cote Cup, which has been handed out annually to the winner of the regular season game between Newman and Bishop Ryan since 2012. The trophy is named after Father Ron Cote, who was a Catholic Priest that served as principle at both schools in the 1960’s-1970’s. Both teams have enjoyed success against one another at the junior level, but some on the Newman side might say it really wasn’t a rivalry until last year when Bishop Ryan finally raised the Father Cote Cup for the first time. They held onto the trophy for the second straight year after defeating the Cardinals 16-3 in the season opener, and now they’re getting ready to square off for the trophy that matters most. Bishop Ryan has been a force to be reckon with this season outscoring their opponents 313-20, but this is the type of game where you throw out the standings and just enjoy the show because anything can happen. The good news is that both teams will be advancing to the GHAC playdowns with the winner set to take on the Halton Public champions, and the runner-ups earning the chance to play the winner of the previously mentioned Holy Trinity and Corpus Christi game.
• Redemption. That was the key word for Robert F. Hall as they prepared to take on David Suzuki in the ROPSSAA finals. The Wolfpack perfect season was thwarted two weeks ago when the Grizzlies pulled off the 28-24 victory, but the defending champs weren’t going to let it happen twice as Robert F. Hall battled their way to a 23-19 triumph to claim their second straight league banner. They now turn their attention to defending the Metro Bowl, which will begin with defending the 905 Bowl against the winners from the LOSSA championship bout between Holy Trinity and Paul Dwyer. The winner of the 905 Bowl will move onto the Metro Bowl finals to take on the winner who emerges from the Toronto Public and Catholic leagues in the Toronto Bowl. Lots of football, lots of bowls, and as we mentioned upon it’s inception in 2024, a great initiative to give the Metro Bowl a new meaning in the GTA.
• Brantford CI are heading back to the CWOSSA playdowns after staving off St. John’s in the Brantford city finals in a hotly contested 14-13 showdown. The Mustangs are now looking to make history with the opportunity to make their first ever appearance in an OFSAA Bowl, but the road is never easy through CWOSSA. Their first hurdle will come this weekend against Owen Sound District with the winner advancing to take on either Resurrection or St. Benedict, who will faceoff in the District 8 championship.
• We cap off this week’s headlines with a preview of the WHSFL ANAVETS Bowl that will be contested between Oak Park and Dakota for the third straight year. While there’s always room for upsets, this rematch has felt inevitable from the opening kickoff in Winnipeg, and if their last two championship clashes are any indication, we should be in a for a peach of a ball game. Oak Park looked dominant in their regular season contest coming away with the 47-21 victory, but we believe the scoreboard will be a little closer this time around with nerves buzzing throughout the stadium. The Raiders are looking to repeat for the first time since 2002 when they won three straight, while Dakota are looking to snatch back the crown for the third time in four years.

PAST RANKINGS: WEEK 1 – WEEK 2 – WEEK 3 – WEEK 4 – WEEK 5 – WEEK 6 – WEEK 7 – WEEK 8 – WEEK 9

#	Last Week	School	City	Prov.	League	Non-League	USA	Results
1	1	Catholic Central Crusaders	London	ON	6-0	1-0	0-0	W 37-14 vs. Laurier
2	3	Holy Cross Crusaders	Saskatoon	SK	7-0	1-0	0-0	W 42-7 vs. St. Joseph
3	4	Saint-Jean-Eudes Condors	Québec	QC	8-0	0-0	0-0	BYE
4	10	Salisbury Sabres	Sherwood Park	AB	7-1	2-0	0-0	W 10-3 vs. Harry Ainlay
5	5	Huron Heights Warriors	Newmarket	ON	1-0	4-0	2-4	BYE
6	6	Oak Park Raiders	Winnipeg	MB	9-0	1-0	0-0	W 48-14 vs. Murdoch MacKay
7	7	Vancouver College Fighting Irish	Vancouver	BC	6-0	2-0	0-1	W 56-12 vs. Notre Dame
8	2	Harry Ainlay Titans	Edmonton	AB	7-1	3-0	0-0	L 10-3 vs. Salisbury
9	9	Bishop Ryan Celtics	Hamilton	ON	7-0	1-0	0-0	W 49-0 vs. Bishop Tonnos
10	8	Korah Colts	Sault Ste Marie	ON	6-0	0-0	0-0	BYE
11	12	Nelson Lords	Burlington	ON	6-0	2-1	0-0	W 45-0 vs. Georgetown
12	13	Robert Bateman Timberwolves	Abbotsford	BC	5-1	3-0	0-0	W 45-16 vs. G.W. Graham
13	14	Raymond Comets	Raymond	AB	6-0	2-1	0-1	BYE
14	15	Holy Names Knights	Windsor	ON	6-0-1	0-0	0-0	W 51-12 vs. Villanova
15	16	W. F. Herman Green Griffins	Windsor	ON	6-0-1	0-0	0-0	W 53-0 vs. Sandwich
16	17	Dakota Lancers	Winnipeg	MB	8-1	0-0	0-0	W 41-13 vs. Vincent Massey
17	18	Westmount Wildcats	Hamilton	ON	6-0	0-1	0-0	W 28-3 vs. Waterdown
18	19	Lethbridge CI Rams	Lethbridge	AB	4-2	2-1	1-0	BYE
19	20	Charles P. Allen Cheetahs	Bedford	NS	9-0	0-0	0-0	W 24-2 vs. Bay View
20	21	Holy Cross Saints	Kingston	ON	6-0	0-0	0-0	W 34-0 vs. Sydenham
21	45	Miller Marauders	Regina	SK	6-2	1-0	0-0	W 41-37 vs. Riffel
22	11	Riffel Royals	Regina	SK	7-1	0-1	0-0	L 41-37 vs. Miller
23	23	Charles-Lemoyne Dynamiques	Sainte-Catherine	QC	6-3	0-0	0-0	W 43-21 vs. Académie Saint-Louis
24	29	Notre Dame Pride	Calgary	AB	6-1	0-1	0-0	W 27-9 vs. Ernest Manning
25	22	Sir Winston Churchill Bulldogs	St. Catharines	ON	6-0	0-0	0-0	BYE
26	25	St. Joseph Jaguars	Ottawa	ON	6-0	1-0	0-0	W 27-8 vs. St. Peter
27	26	Frontenac Falcons	Kingston	ON	5-1	0-0	0-0	W 41-8 vs. LaSalle
28	28	Collège Bourget Voltigeurs	Rigaud	QC	7-2	0-0	0-0	W 57-10 vs. Armand-Corbeil
29	32	Oakridge Oaks	London	ON	5-1	1-0	0-0	W 26-5 vs. Sir Frederick Banting
30	33	A.B. Lucas Vikings	London	ON	5-1	0-0	0-0	W 30-6 vs. Saunders
31	35	Robert F. Hall Wolfpack	Caledon East	ON	6-1	1-0	0-0	W 23-19 vs. David Suzuki
32	27	Centennial Centaurs	Coquitlam	BC	6-0	2-1	0-0	W 21-20 vs. Terry Fox
33	31	Lord Tweedsmuir Panthers	Surrey	BC	4-2	3-0	0-0	W 42-0 vs. Seaquam
34	36	Corpus Christi Longhorns	Burlington	ON	7-1	0-0	0-0	W 15-13 vs. Bishop Reding
35	34	David Suzuki Grizzlies	Brampton	ON	5-2	1-0	0-0	L 23-19 vs. Robert F. Hall
36	37	Belmont Bulldogs	Langford	BC	5-1	2-1	0-0	W 35-19 vs. South Delta
37	38	W.H. Croxford Cavaliers	Airdrie	AB	7-1	2-0	0-0	W 51-0 vs. Foothills
38	43	Holy Cross Hurricanes	Peterborough	ON	6-0	0-0	0-0	W 42-7 vs. Fenelon Falls
39	39	St. Mark Lions	Ottawa	ON	5-1	1-0	0-0	W 34-0 vs. Colonel By
40	40	A. N. Myer Marauders	Niagara Falls	ON	6-1	2-1	0-0	W 43-0 vs. Greater Fort Erie
41	41	St-François Blizzard	Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaure	QC	6-3	0-0	0-0	W 26-7 vs. Collège Notre-Dame
42	48	Brantford CI Mustangs	Brantford	ON	6-0	0-0	0-0	W 14-13 vs. St. John’s
43	UR	Holy Trinity Titans	Oakville	ON	6-2	0-0	0-0	W 27-7 vs. Assumption
44	30	Ernest Manning Griffins	Calgary	AB	5-2	1-1	0-0	L 27-9 vs. Notre Dame
45	UR	St. John Henry Newman Cardinals	Hamilton	ON	5-2	0-0	0-0	W 18-14 vs. St. Thomas More
46	46	Harrison Trimble Trojans	Moncton	NB	8-0	0-0	0-0	W 35-0 vs. St. Malachy’s
47	44	G.W. Graham Grizzlies	Chilliwack	BC	4-2	2-1	0-0	L 45-16 vs. Robert Bateman
48	49	St. James Lions	Guelph	ON	5-1	0-1	0-0	BYE
49	50	Westdale Warriors	Hamilton	ON	5-1	1-0	0-0	W 28-7 vs. Saltfleet
50	UR	Bear Creek Kodiaks	Barrie	ON	6-0	0-0	0-0	BYE