It was a week of chaos in the high school football world as five teams ranked in last week's USA TODAY Sports Super 25 national rankings found themselves on the outside of the win column.
Bishop Gorman (NV), previously ranked second in the Super 25, fell to Columbus (FL) behind a legacy game from five-star Miami commit A'mir Sears, who finds himself on this week's Super 25 Playmakers list as his team surged into Week 3's Super 25 rankings.
Other Super 25 teams to lose this past week include then-No. 4 Centennial (CA), then-No. 16 Duncanville (TX), then-No. 17 Carol City (FL) and then-No. 24 East St. Louis (IL).
Which players weathered the storms of Week 2 and join Sears on this week's list of Super 25 Playmakers?
Jashawn Crayton, No. 11 Waxahachie (TX) WR
Jashawn Crayton, only a sophomore
for the 11th-ranked Waxahachie Indians, put on a showing that aligns with his growing recruitment in Friday night's game vs. rival Ennis (TX).
Waxahachie's 72 points in its 72-14 win over Ennis was a scoring record in the game between rivals and Crayton had a hand in 18 of those points as he hauled in a trio of touchdown receptions, including touchdown catches of 44 and 50 yards.
Crayton, who finished his big night with seven catches for 193 yards, has reported recent offers from Texas A&M, Mississippi State, SMU and others.
CJ Cypher, No. 15 Carrollton (GA) QB
CJ Cypher and the Carrollton (GA) Trojans might've slid down two spots in this week's Super 25 rankings, but it was to no fault of their own and instead points to the chaos the Super 25 saw in Week 2.
Cypher and the Trojans beat Columbia (GA) 61-6 in a lopsided game that saw the four-star Miami commit complete 23 of his 30 passing attempts for 324 yards and six touchdowns. Carrollton had eight different receivers catch passes, with four different players hauling in receiving touchdowns.
Ranked as the top-ranked quarterback in the 2029 class by 247Sports, Cypher, only a sophomore, has the Carrollton offense rolling with an early average of 58 points per game. This year, Cipher has completed 77.2% of his passes for 593 yards, 10 touchdowns, and no interceptions.
Marc Duerson III, No. 14 Basha (Chandler, AZ) LB
No. 14 Basha (AZ) linebacker Marc Duerson III, who is committed to the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks, finds himself right in the middle of the Super 25 Playmakers conversation after an unbelievable outing against then-No. 20 Chandler (AZ) on Friday night.
In what was a nationally televised rematch of the 2026 Open Division championship, Duerson seized the opportunity and notched three forced fumbles in Basha's 37-26 win.
Duerson's second takeaway of the night came as a massive turning point as Chandler had just blocked a Basha punt and took over possession with prime field position while only trailing by six points. On the first snap of Chandler's drive, Duerson ripped the ball out of the hands of Chandler's ball carrier, putting a screeching halt to Chandler's momentum.
The VERY next play after getting their punt blocked Basha takes the ball right back with a strip and recovery 👀 Turnovers galore in Arizona pic.twitter.com/VUGebAPB9V
— SportsCenter NEXT (@SCNext) August 30, 2026
Trent Seaborn, No. 10 Thompson (Alabaster, AL) QB
Trent Seaborn, an ALL-USA second-team quarterback, has been the Thompson Warriors' starting quarterback since eighth grade. Now a senior who is committed to Alabama, Seaborn is looking to put a bow on his high school career and looks well on his way to doing so as he piloted the Warriors to a 37-13 win over a respectable Clay-Chalkville (AL) team on Friday night.
Against Clay-Chalkville, a team Seaborn had never beaten heading into the night, Thompson's veteran quarterback tossed four touchdown passes — three of which came before halftime.
Seaborn finished the night connecting on 22 of his 25 pass attempts for 292 yards and four touchdowns. That performance comes on the heels of Seaborn's 335-yard, four-touchdown season opener against Central-Phenix City in Week 1.
A'mir Sears, No. 6 Columbus (Miami, FL) ATH
The Travis Hunter comparisons were running rampant after this one — and rightfully so.
Columbus (Miami, Fla.) five-star Miami commit A'mir Sears looked very much like the best high school football player in the country on Saturday as he helped his squad upset then-No. 2 Bishop Gorman at the Broward County High School National Football Showcase.
Sears helped the Explorers, who entered the game unranked in USA TODAY Sports' Super 25, beat the Gaels as he hauled in a pair of touchdown receptions and picked off Bishop Gorman quarterback Ace Amina three times in the 33-28 win.
In the wake of Sears' video game-like performance and Columbus' massive upset win, the Explorers have surged up the Super 25 rankings and find themselves in the No. 6 spot this week.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Super 25 Playmakers: USA TODAY Sports top athletes of Week 2 — VOTE now!
