By Jason Mastrodonato and Anthony Gulizia, Globe Correspondents

This wasn't easy.

Pushing Barnstable down to No. 4 in our final Boston Globe Top 20 this season was difficult and even painful for some. We had folks in the newsroom nearly break into tears. But ultimately, high school editor Bob Holmes is from Reading and we still want our jobs.

We're kidding. He had nothing to do with this. Reading deserves its new ranking.

Here’s why, with a quick breakdown on our top five spots:

1. Everett (11-1) -- Easy choice, although we have heard arguments for St. John’s Prep. If only the Eagles were playing this well earlier in the season…

2. St. John’s Prep (11-1) -- The Eagles ran the table in Division 1.

3. Reading (13-0) -- Here’s how we did this: We went around in a circle giving our best predictions of what would happen if Reading played Barnstable. Ultimately, it came down to defense. If Everett could give Nick Peabody so much trouble in the Super Bowl, what could the Rockets’ defense (allowing 5 points per game) have done?

4. Barnstable (11-1) -- Great season. Inches away from winning the Bob Walsh trophy. Instead, the Red Raiders will settle for fourth.

5. Beverly (13-0) -- If we had the technology, we’d simulate Beverly against the top-four, just to see how many defenders from each team Brendan Flaherty could carry on his back for an additional 10 yards.

The rest of the final Globe top 20 and Boston.com top 100:

1. Everett
2. St. John's Prep
3. Reading
4. Barnstable
5. Beverly
6. Natick
7. Andover
8. Burlington
9. Duxbury
10. Brockton
11. Walpole
12. King Philip
13. Central Catholic
14. Lincoln-Sudbury
15. Lowell
16. Mansfield
17. Abington
18. Plymouth South
19. Weymouth
20. Sharon
21. St. Mary's
22. Masco
23. Needham
24. Xaverian
25. Wayland
26. Westwood
27. Haverhill
28. Melrose
29. Waltham
30. Acton-Boxboro
31. Wakefield
32. Tewksbury
33. North Attleboro
34. Westford
35. Stoughton
36. Stoneham
37. Bishop Feehan
38. Somerset-Berkley
39. Bridgewater-Raynham
40. Nauset
41. Lynnfield
42. Franklin
43. Bedford
44. North Reading
45. Dighton-Rehoboth
46. Millis
47. Holliston
48. New Bedford
49. Foxboro
50. Marblehead
51. Hopkinton
52. BC High
53. Wareham
54. Hingham
55. Amesbury
56. Quincy
57. Lynn Classical
58. Revere
59. Upper Cape
60. Lynn English
61. Hamilton Wenham
62. Bishop Fenwick
63. Shawsheen
64. Whitman Hansen
65. Cambridge
66. North Shore
67. Cathedral
68. Wellesley
69. Blue Hills
70. North Andover
71. Archbishop Williams
72. Framingham
73. Dennis-Yarmouth
74. Catholic Memorial
75. Dorchester
76. Madison Park
77. Newburyport
78. Lowell Catholic
79. Greater Lawrence
80. Pope John
81. Scituate
82. Pentucket
83. Whittier
84. Concord-Carlisle
85. Winthrop
86. Pembroke
87. Northeast
88. Saugus
89. East Bridgewater
90. Mashpee
91. Attleboro
92. Martha’s Vineyard
93. Canton
94. Watertown
95. Oliver Ames
96. Cohasset
97. Swampscott
98. Fairhaven
99. Apponequet
100. Cardinal Spellman