Euless Trinity coach Steve Lineweaver talked like he knew the phone call was coming.

He probably did, since his defending Class 5A Division I champion Trojans were voted the top team in The Associated Press preseason poll released Sunday, not long after they were ranked No. 1 in the nation by rivals.com.

In other words, they've replaced Southlake Carroll, at least for now, as the most-hyped high school football team in Texas. Lineweaver used to coach at Carroll and has talked to some of his compadres on a staff that includes his son, Aaron Lineweaver.

"Southlake's been encouraging to me about the whole thing," he said. "I think, by the way, they're pretty relieved. They're playing with a joy in their step because they've had that target on them for a while."

The Dragons aren't too far down the list, though. They're ranked fourth behind Plano and Katy after missing the championship round of the playoffs last year for the first time since 2001.

Carroll didn't get any first-place votes. After Trinity's 15, defending 5A Division II champ Katy was next with four. Plano got the other one.

Trinity returns 11 starters from a team that beat Converse Judson 13-10 in what amounted to a road game at San Antonio's Alamodome in the finals.

"We're taking (the ranking) as something that hopefully helps us work harder and take it in a positive way," said Lineweaver, whose team is ranked No. 2 nationally in the USA Today preseason poll. "At times at night by myself, I take it in a negative way when I think about how we're going to meet all those expectations."

Lake Travis, the defending 4A Division II champion featuring Texas-bound quarterback Garrett Gilbert, edged Wichita Falls Rider by a point (179-178) for the top spot in 4A. The difference was first-place votes. Lake Travis had 13, Rider the other seven.

Last year's 3A champs — Liberty Hill and Celina — hold the top two spots in 3A. Liberty Hill, with a 24-game winning streak and consecutive state titles, earned 13 first-place votes and 192 points to five and 172 for Celina, a seven-time champion.

Cisco has never won a state title but was the most overwhelming No. 1 pick, with 17 first-place votes and 196 points in 2A. Cisco returns 13 starters from a 14-1 Division II semifinalist, the team's third trip to the semifinals in the past six years.

The closest vote was in Class 1A. No. 1 Alto, the defending 1A Division I champ, got eight first-place votes and 177 points to seven first-place nods and 176 points for No. 2 Canadian, which is dropping down after winning last year's 2A Division II title.

Here is The Associated Press Texas high school football preseason poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, final 2007 records, points based on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1, and the team's ranking in last season's final poll:

Others receiving votes: Lufkin 19, Beaumont West Brook 16, Pflugerville 11, Flower Mound Marcus 11, Houston Cypress Ridge 9, Round Rock Stony Point 8, Arlington Bowie 8, San Antonio Warren 7, Smithson Valley 5, Cypress Falls 4, SA Roosevelt 3, SA Southwest 3, Pearland 2, Dallas Skyline 2, Aldine Eisenhower 1, Austin Westlake 1.