Monday, June 27, 2011

High School Football America Begins National Radio Show on July 21st

by Jeff Fisher
High School Football America

Yesterday's NHSCA Sports Hour was a lot of fun with Steve Spiewak of MaxPreps.com talking about the upcoming high school football season.

If you missed the interview on Spiewak's Preseason Top 25 Early Contenders, the show will be posted later this week in the archives. Steve did a great job of giving listeners a snapshot of what goes into creating national rankings, and who are the teams to beat this year.

So with high school football on the brain, it's with great pleasure that I make the official announcement that my website High School Football America is coming to radio!

Yes, beginning July 21st, I'll also be doing a weekly high school football-only show from 7-8 PM EST on the Artist First Radio Network.

Below is the news release announcing the show:


HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL AMERICA TO BEGIN WEEKLY RADIO SHOW ON ARTIST FIRST RADIO NETWORK JULY 21ST

Chicago, IL – June 27, 2011 – High School Football Founder Jeff Fisherannounced today that he’ll be hosting a weekly internet radio show on theArtistFirst World Radio Network beginning Thursday, July 21, 2011   The show, which is called High School Football America, will air every Thursday starting at 7 P.M. EST.

“This is a very important step in the growth of High School Football America,” said Fisher, who also serves as High School Football America’s Editor-in-Chief.  “There is a need for a weekly high school football-only show that looks inside the sport from a national perspective.”

In addition to running High School Football America, Fisher, whose broadcast journalism career began in radio at the age of 14-years old at WEST-AM in Easton, Pennsylvania, is the host of the very successful National High School Coaches Association radio show called the NHSCA Sports Hour, which is America’s premiere high school sports interview show that covers all sports.

“The NHSCA Sports Hour is an excellent example of America’s thirst for high school sports information,” said Fisher.  “Since taking over as the producer of the show, we’ve been able to increase listenership by over 25%.  We have tens of thousands of listeners that turn to us for the stories-behind-the-stories that make high school sports great.”

Fisher added, “Our goal with High School Football America is to give our listeners a reliable show that they can tune into to each week for previews of the big games, plus interviews with coaches and players.”

For more information on High School Football America, visit our website at www.highschoolfootballamerica.com.

About Jeff Fisher/High School Football America
Jeff’s broadcasting career began at the age of 14 in Easton, Pennsylvania.  In a career that has spanned 35-years, he’s worked in every aspect of sports journalism.  He is the founder of High School Football America, a website dedicated to telling the stories of small town high school football across the United States.  Prior to launching High School Football America, Jeff worked as a TV sports anchor at FOX Sports Net in Chicago.  Fisher is best known as the creator, executive producer and host of The Big Ticket, a weekly 60-minute high school football wrap-up show that won him the Associated Press Best Sportscast in Pennsylvania Award.

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

MaxPreps.com's High School Football Preseason Top 25 Early Contenders

by Jeff Fisher
High School Football America


You know that the high school football season isn't far away when national rankings start coming-out!

Several weeks ago, MaxPreps.com beat everyone to the punch when Senior Football Editor Steve Spiewak released his Preseason Top 25 Early Contenders.

Spiewak will join me on Sunday's NHSCA Sports Hour to talk about the poll, and why Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, New Jersey), looks like its going to take another run at a "mythical" national championship. The Ironmen finished #1 in MaxPreps' Xcellent 25 Rankings in 2009.

Here's the MaxPreps.com 2011 Preseason Top 25 Early Contenders....

1. Don Bosco Prep (NJ)
2. Armwood (FL)
3. De La Salle (CA)
4. St. Thomas Aquinas (FL)
5. Allen (TX)
6. Prattville (AL)
7. Trinity (TX)
8. Pleasant Grove (CA)
9. St. Edward (OH)
10. Bishop Gorman (NV)
11. Katy (TX)
12. South Panola (MS)
13. Centennial (CA)
14. Glades Central (FL)
15. Good Counsel (MD)
16. Harrison (MI)
17. Dwyer (FL)
18. Warren Central (IN)
19. St. Xavier (OH)
20. Trinity (KY)
21. Aledo (TX)
22. Oaks Christian (CA)
23. Bellevue (WA)
24. Chaparral (AZ)
25. Grayson (GA)

Click here read more from Spiewak about each team

Click here to listen to Sunday's show LIVE

Monday, June 13, 2011

St. Thomas Aquinas' George Smith Named National High School Coaches Association 2011 Coach of the Year

by Jeff Fisher
High School Football America

The man who built St. Thomas Aquinas into a Florida and then a national high school football power has been named the 2011 National High School Coaches Association Coach of the Year.

George Smith, who retired earlier this year after 34 years of leading the Raiders, becomes the 12th high school football coach honored by the non-profit organization based in Easton, Pennsylvania.

Smith, who is still the school's athletic director, led St. Thomas Aquinas to a record of 361-66 and six Florida state championships, plus two mythical national titles.

Earlier this year, former defensive coordinator Rocco Casullo was named as Smith's successor.

Click here to see the full list of 20 coaches honored by the National High School Coaches Association.

Thursday, June 09, 2011

Texas Quarterback Named Player of the Year by the National High School Coaches Association

by Jeff Fisher
High School Football America

Former Tivy High School (Kerrvile, TX) quarterback Johnny Manziel is the 2011 National High School Coaches Association's Football Player of the Year.

Manziel, who's already enrolled at Texas A&M, finished his high school career with over 11,600 yards in total offense.  The 6-1, 195-pounder completed over 63% of his passes (520 of 819) for 7,626 yards and 76 touchdowns.  In his senior season, Manziel tossed 45 touchdown passes with only five interceptions.

In addition to a strong right arm, Manziel rushed for 4,045 yards and 77 touchdowns.

**Jeff Fisher is host of the NHSCA Sports Hour that airs LIVE every Sunday from 6-7 PM EST on the Artist First Radio Network