Section V Teams to Watch in 2026

Team, it is all about the team. These are some of the top teams that should be at the top of the leaderboard in Section V and that everyone should be looking out for. These teams are well coached and have very talented players. Check it out below.   1. Aquinas Institute:   How can we not start with the Section V Class AA Champions in Aquinas Institute led by their Head Coach Maurice Jackson and Assistant Coaches Billy Harmon & Alex Ruta. For the players' side, QB [player_tooltip player_id='501394' first='Trent' last='Buttles'] will be leading the offense and will be entering into his sophomore season. Buttles will be losing [player_tooltip player_id='726199' first='Joshua' last='Ernst'] Jr., [player_tooltip player_id='390760' first='Derrion' last='Battle'], and [player_tooltip player_id='403035' first='Quante' last='Gillians']. Aquinas will now rely heavily on [player_tooltip player_id='1144300' first='Noah' last='Collins-Howard'], [player_tooltip player_id='1621904' first='Jeffery' last='Logan III'], CJ Flaherty, Brody Lennox and [player_tooltip player_id='606249' first='Amere' last='Brewer'] to defend their title as they all have extreme talent to help Buttles out on both sides of the ball. A good note for the trenches, [player_tooltip player_id='1624540' first='Frankie' last='Burgess'] will still be there for the offensive line and defensive line. It will be interesting to see how Aquinas Institute comes out this upcoming season.        2. Rush Henrietta:   Turning to the team that fell short in the Class AA Championship but is super well coached by Head Coach Joseph Montesano and his assistants. This team has a lot of talented players returning and should make a push once again for Rush Henrietta. They did lose a great player in [player_tooltip player_id='1283671' first='Kaleb' last='Condello'], but I expect others to step up for this team. Starting with their LB that will be leading the defense in [player_tooltip player_id='619468' first='Ronin' last='Walker'], knowing what he will be bringing to the table. Walker is a force for this defense and will be a problem for other teams. [player_tooltip player_id='1563822' first='Imani' last='Wagstaff'] will be a huge playmaker for this team on both sides of the football as well, playing alongside Walker on the defense as an OLB. Rush Henrietta will also rely heavily on QB/DB Brandon Mangone who will be looking to improve even more off his 1380 passing yards, 8 passing TDs, 614 rushing yards, and 10 rushing TDs season. Additionally, RB [player_tooltip player_id='820006' first='Justin' last='Medina'] will be looking to carry the rock for this team to get back into the Championship game to walk away with the win this time around.       3. McQuaid Jesuit:   A team that fell short in the tournament this past season was McQuaid Jesuit; who lost their starting QB Will DiMarco. McQuaid Jesuit will have a new starting QB in [player_tooltip player_id='1212726' first='Gavin' last='Vander Wal'] who is looking to lead this team. I have a lot of confidence in this young man to make some noise in Section V this season. Has a lot of talent and can really throw the football. McQuaid is losing a big-time player on the defense too in Zach Couch, but [player_tooltip player_id='726203' first='Xavier' last='Cox'] is a CB and WR that should not only help Vander Wal out but help lead this McQuaid defense. Head Coach Bobby Bates no doubt will have this team ready to go.     4. Brighton High School:   Now for the Class A Champions in Brighton High School, led by Head Coach Stephen Lian, who has done an incredible job this past season. Lian was even named the Buffalo Bills' nominee for the Don Shula NFL High School Football Coach of the Year award in 2025. Brighton is losing players such as [player_tooltip player_id='527732' first='Gavin' last='Parks'], [player_tooltip player_id='527733' first='Kaleb' last='Matthews'], Xavier White, and [player_tooltip player_id='726194' first='Shawn' last='Blake']. This team will be relying heavily on their LB/RB [player_tooltip player_id='1344744' first='Amari' last='Snowden'] and LB [player_tooltip player_id='1213835' first='Matthew' last='Heininger'], who both will be entering into their final seasons. In the trenches, [player_tooltip player_id='1217497' first='Titus' last='Nebbia'] will be back, and expect a huge season at the RB spot from Zack Rossignol. For the WR spot, an underrated name to look out for is [player_tooltip player_id='1624577' first='Clarence' last='Bell']. Big season to come for Brighton as they look to defend their title.       5. Monroe High School:   Monroe High School will be losing a decent number of players in [player_tooltip player_id='600288' first='Christian' last='Alfaro'], [player_tooltip player_id='255197' first='Styhles' last='McKenzie-Baker'], Nasir Kelly, and [player_tooltip player_id='1449690' first='LaRhon' last='Williams'] when the summer hits. The Red Jackets still do have, in my opinion, the best player in Section V in [player_tooltip player_id='505856' first='Messiah' last='Hampton'] at the WR position. Hampton is one of those players who can score on any possession for their team. Additionally, Monroe will have [player_tooltip player_id='1208310' first='Terrence' last='Nichols'], [player_tooltip player_id='841047' first='Christien' last='Franklin'], and [player_tooltip player_id='1345184' first='Jovan' last='Bennett'] back in their lineups to make a strong run for this season. I expect this team to be a force once again.        6. Pittsford High School:   Pittsford is a team that is going to fight with a lot of teams under the leadership of Steve Marriot and his coaching staff. This group loves to gain hard-earned yards and is going to do so with the talented RB they have in [player_tooltip player_id='1328866' first='James' last='Mobley Jr']., who I have high expectations for. Pittsford is losing awesome players in Daniel Cohen, Douglas Denning, and Naasir Parker, but they will have younger players step up. [player_tooltip player_id='505865' first='Jaxon' last='Bernas'] is the captain for this team and will be leading it into the battle for his senior season, so I still expect a strong core within this team. The underrated name to look out for with Pittsford is [player_tooltip player_id='1610739' first='Jesse' last='Jablonsky'] at the WR spot.

Team, it is all about the team. These are some of the top teams that should be at the top of the leaderboard in Section V and that everyone should be looking out for. These teams are well coached and have very talented players. Check it out below.