Right out of the gate, the big news for this season is the increasing amount of stellar inter-state match ups by the power teams. Also the television coverage of these games is on the rise as well. We could debate the pros and cons of the high school level “going big time”, but I’ll save that for another day. For the most part it is very exciting.
I’ll go into more depth regarding the upcoming season within Florida in a week or so, but for tonight let’s take a look at who the power teams are across the country and what the marquee matchups will be.
Folks will passionately fight for their own state and make a case for supremacy. I have been around the country and while I still have some bias, really try to be objective at some level. Without using absolutes, the best high school football is played in Texas, Florida, California, Ohio and Pennsylvania. There are also some amazing teams from Mississippi, Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, Arizona and lately Utah. Texas, Florida and California have sheer numbers (high populations) and are well known for the athleticism of so many skill position players. Ohio has some Catholic league teams that are some of the best in the USA every year (primarily Cincinnati and Cleveland). Pennsylvania is highly regarded for a tough nosed brand of football.
In Texas, you have your Trinity (Euless), SouthLake Carrol, Abilene, Katy and Judson as the names that always seem to be near the top, year in and year out. Most polls have Trinity and Abilene in the national top 10 for 2010.
Florida’s top teams do not always come from the highest classification. There are always 2 or 3 giant schools in Miami who are over loaded with inhuman athletes. The Tampa area has Lakeland, Plant, Jefferson and Armwood, with Bradenton Manatee a few miles down the Gulf coast as well. F.L. St Thomas Aquinas is one of the largest private schools in the state, and drawing from the Dade and Broward talent pool, gives them a small college caliber lineup most season. Class 4A has had some teams that may be better than the 5A and 6A boys, with Palm Beach Dwyer, Niceville, Pine Forest, Lincoln and Nease among the teams that can take on anybody.
In South Carolina, Byrnes and Dorman are the elite teams.
Georgia boasts Lowndes County, Camden County, North Gwinnet and Warner Robbins as some of their annual big dogs.
In Alabama, it us usually either Hoover or Prattville that rule the prep world.
Next door in Mississippi, South Panola, Olive Branch and West Point are some of the power programs.
Louisiana has some good teams, but nationally, it is usually John Curtis River Ridge or Evangel Christian, private schools willing to take on powers across state lines.
Ohio boasts St Xavier, Moeller, Colerain from Cinci, Glenville and St Ignatious from Cleveland, and these guys can play with anybody, period.
California is so big that there are lots of great teams. Concorde DeLaSalle is the most famous, going several years with out losing. Servite, Matre Dei, Grant, Long Beach Poly are big schools that dominate, and Oaks Christian is the lil private school with sons of famous fathers all over the roster.
Oklahoma often comes down to Union vs Jenks.
In Kansas, Olathe North and a couple of the Wichita schools have had some notoriety, while in Missouri the top squads are often Blue Springs and Rockhurst.
Tennessee has some decent public school teams (Maryville went a few years without a loss) but it is the private schools that are more renowned, like Brentwood Academy, MUS, and Montgomery Bell Academy..
I get carried away sometimes, but I really do follow football in these states and several more…
OK, the biggest interstate match ups for 2010 are only a few weeks away.
The weekend of August 28th, we have a big event in Daytona! That Friday night Daytona Beach Mainland will play West Point, Mississippi and the on Saturday it is Cocoa, Fl against Olive Branch, Mississippi. Cocoa is a small school, but have been on a roll the last few seasons, and in addition to this match up against a 6A power from the Magnolia state, Cocoa also goes out to Texas to play Abilene in September! Mainland is a solid 6A team, but not a top 10 Florida kind of team. They could change my mind this year however, if they beat West Point, and Miami NorthWestern! That same Saturday, Glades Central, another small school power from Florida, will go out to Texas and play Dallas Skyline. I like GC in this one, but have to editorialize that while the best football athletes may come out of south Florida, the teams down there are not usually well coached. In fact, the Miami Northwestern vs Miami Central contest last year was embarrassingly sloppy, despite the fact that some 20+ D1 players were on the field.
Again on that opening weekend, the top team from Mississippi, South Panola – Batesville will take on Colquitt County in Moultrie, Georgia. Colquitt is coached by Russ Probst, famous for his days at Hoover in Birmingham and infamous for his scandalous personal life.
Big interstate match ups opening weekend:
Fri Aug 27: DB Mainland vs West Point, Miss
South Panola, Miss @ Colquitt County, Georgia
Sat Aug 28: St X (Cinci) vs Good Council Maryland
Cocoa, Fl vs Olive Branch, Miss
Hoover, AL vs Byrnes, SC
Glenville, Ohio vs Warren Central, Indiana
Tulsa Union, OK vs Evangel Christian, La
Key Kickoff Classic games in the sunshine state:
Plant vs Manatee
Nease @ Deland
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