Football in Indianapolis is among some of the nation’s best, and it comes in a football state

As Indiana state football champions are crowned this weekend with title matches being played at Lucas Oil Stadium, the Metropolitan Conference that is comprised with a strong nucleus of schools in the Indianapolis area has come in for very high national praise.

According to the MaxPreps Computer Rankings formula, Indiana’s Metropolitan Conference ranks among the top 10 toughest high school football leagues in the nation.

The conference ranks as the ninth-toughest nationally and is among other states known for football excellence – California, New Jersey, Ohio, Florida and Michigan.

A state once known for national relevance in another sport now boasts one of the best football presences in the country, and it has been a pronounced trend for about the past 15 years.

The Top 10 Toughest High School Football Leagues (according to MaxPreps):

1. New Jersey, Big North – United League (Overall Rating: 66.4).
2. California, Trinity League – (Overall Rating:  60.1).
3. Ohio, Greater Catholic – South League (Overall Rating: 57.3).
4. California – Serra League (Overall Rating: 53.4).
5. Michigan, Catholic Central League (Overall Rating: 49.2).
6. Maryland, Virginia, Washington D.C. – Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (Overall Rating: 48.9).
7. Florida, 5A, District 2 (Overall Rating: 48.5).
8. Kentucky, 6A District 4 (Overall Rating: 47.4).
9. Indiana, Metropolitan Conference (Overall Rating: 46.8).
10. Florida, 6A District 16 (Overall Rating: 46.6).

MaxPreps rated the schools in the conference:

1. Center Grove, Rating:  63.5.
2. Ben Davis, Rating:  58.7.
3. Carmel, Rating:  54.4.
4. Pike, Rating:  53.0.
5. Warren Central, Rating:  51.4.
6. Lawrence Central, Rating:  44.3.
7. North Central, Rating:  33.3.
8. Lawrence North, Rating:  15.8.

Indianapolis ranks in the nation’s top 15 most populous cities, while the state ranks 14^th in population according to recent Census Bureau numbers.

Among the leagues rated higher than the Metropolitan Conference, only Kentucky has a smaller population (4,380,415) than Indiana (6,537,334).  In the top 10 in the football leagues cited, New Jersey is 11^th in population, while California is first, Ohio is seventh, Michigan is eighth, Florida is fourth and the area around the Maryland/Virginia/Washington conference is among the nation’s most densely-populated areas as well.