The rankings are out and Ardmore has a tough road ahead.
The Tigers will play four of the top 10 teams in Class 5A according to the The Associated Press’ preseason prep football poll, which was released Monday. Defending 5A state champion Carl Albert tops the list with six first-place votes, followed by Booker T. Washington, Guthrie and East Central, which each received one vote. Duncan rounds out the top five.
Ardmore just missed the top 10. The Tigers are 11th in the poll, ranked one spot ahead of El Reno and two ahead of Ada. El Reno eliminated Ardmore in the first round of the 2009 playoffs while Ada comes to Ardmore on Friday to open the season.
In week 2, the Tigers will play the top-ranked Titans at Noble Stadium in a non-district matchup. That begins a three-week span of games against top 10 opponents for Ardmore, followed by No. 9 McAlester in week 3 and No. 6 Lawton MacArthur in week 4 to open District 5A-2 play. Ardmore hosts district foe Duncan on Nov. 29 for Senior Night.
Bishop Kelley is tied with Mac- Arthur at sixth, Claremore is eighth and Deer Creek is 10th.
In Class 3A, Madill and Sulphur are ranked 12th and 13th, respectively, while Plainview is unranked. Purcell, ranked 10th, is the highest-rated District 3A-2 team.
Davis and Ringling take their usual high spots the Class 2A and Class A polls. Davis, for many a three-way favorite for the 2A state title with defending champ Lincoln Christian and Millwood, is ranked third behind those schools. Ringling is No. 3 in Class A behind Cashion and Okeene.
Healdton is 21st in Class A, Fox is 10th in Class B and Thackerville is seventh in Class C.
Union is No. 1 in 6A followed by rival Jenks. Douglass is No. 1 in 4A, Cascia Hall is tops in 3A and Shattuck is No. 1 in Class B.
