High School Football America Preseason Top 25

by Jeff Fisher
Follow @HSFBamerica

Many of you know that I have a problem with preseason national rankings and national rankings in general. You may remember last year that we waited until mid-September before releasing our first Top 25.   

This year, I’ve had so many requests to do a High School Football America Top 25 before the start of the season, I’ve decided to do one – BUT REMEMBER – it’s all for fun and nothing takes the place of the games on the field.

So with all that out of the way, here’s how we see things heading into 2013.

Allen, which last year shared our mythical national championship with John Curtis (Louisiana), starts the season as our top-ranked team.  The Eagles get the top slot thanks to the return of junior quarterback Kyler Murray, plus some key returners on both sides of the ball, although the team did lose 56 lettermen. Murray, a dual-threat QB has already gotten offers from Texas A&M and Texas, plus TCU, Clemson and Ohio St. 

Will the Eagles be able to live-up to the preseason #1 ranking?  The answer should come in the first two weeks with a road game against Southlake Carroll in Week 1, followed by Class 5A Division 2 runner-up Cedar Hill the following week.  Allen will also face Coppell, the only team to beat them last year, on September 27^th – Coppell is ranked #10 in our preseason poll.

Allen and Coppell are two of four Texas teams in the Top 25 – defending Class 5A Division 2 champ Katy is #7 and DeSoto is ranked #20.  

California is the most represented state with six teams.  For those of you ready to ask, no I don’t have a California bias.  The Golden State is loaded with returning talent, which should make for a fun season. 

Speaking of lots of returning talent, Florida lands three teams with tons of returning talent in the Top 25.

Finally, defending 2012 High School Football America co-champion John Curtis has plenty of solid returning talent to garner the #3 preseason ranking.  With out-of-state games against #14 St. Thomas Aquinas (Florida) and Bergen Catholic (New Jersey), the Patriots can begin dreaming about another national title with wins in those games in Weeks 1 and 2.  JC also will play defending Louisiana 4A champ Edna Karr this year in Week 4.

So without further ado….here’s the Top 25 with last year’s record and the team’s final High School Football America 2012 ranking.

1. Allen (Texas) 15-1, LY: Tied #1

2. De La Salle (California) 16-0, LY: #4

3. John Curtis (Louisiana) 14-0, LY: Tied #1

4. Norcross (Georgia) 15-0, LY: #8

5. Corona Centennial (California) 14-2, LY: #17

6. Booker T. Washington (Florida) 13-1, LY: #25

7. Katy (Texas) 16-0, LY: #5

8. Miami Central (Florida) 12-2, LY: #21

9. St. John Bosco (California) 8-5, LY: NR

10. Coppell (Texas) 11-1, LY: NR

11. DeMatha (Maryland) 9-3, LY: NR

12. Paramus Catholic (New Jersey) 10-2, LY: NR

13. Bishop Gorman (Nevada) 13-1, LY: #14

14. St. Thomas Aquinas (Florida) 13-2, LY: #16

15. Long Beach Poly (California) 12-4, LY: NR

16. Good Counsel (Maryland) 11-1, LY: #15

17. Ensworth (Tennessee) 13-0, LY: #12

18. Hoover (Alabama) 16-0, LY: #6

19. Serra (California) 14-2, LY: NR

20. DeSoto (Texas) 14-1, LY: #9

21. North Allegheny (Pennsylvania) 16-0, LY: #7

22. Byrnes (South Carolina) 12-2, LY: NR

23. Highlands (Kentucky) 14-1, LY: NR

24. Bellevue (Washington) 14-0, LY: #3

25. Sandy Creek (Georgia) 15-0, LY: NR

Kenton (Ohio) wins National Select 7 on 7 Tournament

by Jeff Fisher
Follow @HSFBamerica

Kenton High School (Ohio) has made plenty of national headlines over the last decade thanks to head coach Mike Mauk's high-powered, wide-open offense that has landed his two sons Maty (currently at Missouri) and Ben at the top of most national passing records.

Today, the Wildcats sit atop the other 31 teams that participated in the National Select 7-on-7 Championships held in Hoover, Alabama this weekend. Kenton won 12 of its 13 games, including a 22-5 win over Byrnes (South Carolina) in the championship game to become the first non-Alabama team in five years to win the prestigious passing tournament.  Kenton had to beat Byrnes in back-to-back games to win the double-elmination tournament.
Kenton was led by senior-to-be Grant Sherman, who was named tournament MVP.  The 6-5 Sherman set an Ohio state single-game record last season with 684 yards in a game against Shawnee.  Sherman completed 44 of 53 passes in that game with nine touchdown throws.

Teams from 15 different states participated in the tournament held at Hoover High School.

Here are the past National Select 7-on-7 Champs:

2013 - Kenton HS, Ohio
2012 - Hoover HS, Alabama
2011 - Daphne HS, Alabama
2010 - Carver HS, Alabama
2009 - Hooever HS, Alabama
2008 - Har-Ber HS, Arkansas
2007 - Hoover HS, Alabama
2006 - Shiloh Christian HS, Arkansas
2005 - Hoover HS, Alabama
2004 - Springdale HS, Arkansas
2003 - Thomas Jefferson, Pennsylvania
2002 - Evangel Christian, Louisiana
2001 - Daphne HS, Alabama

High School Football America - June 27, 2013

by Jeff Fisher
Follow @HSFBamerica

Technology takes center stage on the June 27th edition of High School Football America.
Host Jeff Fisher talks with Hudl.com CEO David Graff about the cutting edge internet technology that has revolutionized how coaches breakdown practice and game film.

After speaking with Graff, Fisher discusses The Debris Inhibitor Razur with Joey Teichert, whose company Southern Sport has developed a patented sock that does many things, including keeping crumb rubber from Field Turf out of players' shoes.

Fisher's final guest is Jim Cantafio, head coach at Cedar Cliff High School in Pennsylvania, who is the only coach in the Keystone State to have coached two quarterbacks to be invited to the Elite 11 Quarterback Competition. Coach Cantafio talks about Virginia Tech recruit Andrew Ford.

Editor's Note: Enter this code - HSFBARZR1 - at www.tdirazur.com for a 20% on your order for the The Debris Inhibitor Razur.

High School Football America Radio Show

Because of the Christmas holiday, the High School Football America radio show be taking Thursday off, but you can always listen to past shows in our archives.

Above is last Thursday's show that featured MaxPreps' Steve Spiewak. 

We'll return on January 3rd. Happy Holidays!

 Jeff

Final 2012 High School Football America Top 25

By Jeff Fisher
Editor-in-Chief
High School Football America
Follow @HSFBamerica

So the 2012 high school football season is officially over - other than for some national and local all-star games for seniors.

What a season it was!

If you've been following our rankings throughout the year, you know that we didn't release our first Top 25 until a month into the season, in order to get an accurate picture of who was good on the field, not just on paper.  We also didn't post rankings from mid-November on, so that the playoffs could unfold.

Now it’s time for High School Football America to name its first national champ.

Let’s also start using the word “mythical” in-front of national champs, because ultimately, there’s really no way to do this scientifically.

There are some years when a team rises head-and-shoulders above the pack, but for the most part, each year there could be anywhere from 5-8 teams that could lay claim to the “mythical” title. That’s the case this year with several teams having outstanding seasons.

We salute all of them! However, we need to name a national champ.

The choice could have gone many ways, but in the end, it came down to the Allen Eagles (Texas) and John Curtis (Louisiana) with Bellevue (Washington), De La Salle (California) and Katy (Texas) getting first-place votes.

My personal vote came-down to strength of schedule for the Eagles, who captured Texas’ Class 5A Division I championship Saturday night defeating previously unbeaten Lamar. The Eagles (15-1) finish the season with one loss, a 27-24 loss to Coppell (11-1) in overtime. Seven of Allen’s 16 opponents won 11 or more games this season.

There is no doubt that a case could be made for John Curtis. However, when you consider that Curtis (14-0) played seven opponents with sub-.500 records, compared with only three for Allen.  On the other side of the equation, Curtis faced and passed everyone of its tests. 

You can't do more than play your schedule and play it well.  The Patriots' outscored opponents 667-60 with seven shutouts. 

When the votes were tallied, we have co-national champs.
How would an Allen vs. John Curtis match-up turn-out next week?  We'll never know...but we do know they are both great teams.

For those of you that would like to check out our first national rankings back in mid-September, click here.

Again, congats the everyone and I can't wait until 2013.

Happy Holidays!

High School Football America Final 2012 Top 25

1 (tie). Allen (Texas) 15-1
Original Ranking: #11

1 (tie). John Curtis (River Ridge, LA) 14-0
Original Ranking: #5
3. Bellevue (Washington) 14-0
Original Ranking: #7

4. De La Salle (Concord, CA) 15-0
Original Ranking: #8

5. Katy (Texas) 16-0
Original Ranking: #21

6. Hoover (Alabama) 16-0
Original Ranking: #13

7. North Allegheny (Wexford, PA) 16-0
Original Ranking: NR

8. Norcross (Georgia) 15-0
Original Ranking: NR

9. DeSoto (Texas) 14-1
Original Ranking: #4

10. Butler (Matthews, NC) 15-0
Original Ranking: #20

11. University (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) 12-0
Original Ranking: #25

12. Ensworth (Nashville, TN) 13-0
Original Ranking: #18

13. Trinity (Louisville, KY) 13-1
Original Ranking: #9

14. Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nevada) 13-1
Original Ranking: #23

15. Good Counsel (Maryland) 11-1
Original Ranking: #24

16. St. Thomas Aquinas (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) 13-2
Original Ranking: NR

17. Centennial (Corona, CA) 14-2
Original Ranking: NR

18. Manatee (Bradenton, FL) 13-1
Original Ranking: #2

19. Steele (Cibolo, TX) 14-1
Original Ranking: NR

20. Whitehaven (Memphis, TN) 15-0
Original Ranking: NR

21. Miami Central (Florida) 12-2
Original Ranking: NR

22. Archbishop Moeller (Cincinnati, OH) 12-3
Original Ranking: #17

23. Narbonne (Harbor City, CA) 14-1
Original Ranking: #19

24. St. Joseph Regional (Montvale, NJ) 10-2
Original Ranking: NR

25. Booker T. Washington (Miami) 13-1
Original Ranking: NR

Listen to High School Football America - December 13th Show

by Jeff Fisher
Editor-in-Chief
High School Football America
Follow @HSFBamerica




If you missed last Thursday's High School Football America show, you missed a good one.  However, if you did, all you have to do to hear it is click-on the "play button or arrow" above to listen whenever you want.

On this show, Jeff Fisher talks with Corona Centennial (California) head coach Matt Logan about his team's preparation for its showdown with De La Salle in the California Open Division championship game.

Fisher also previews the Pennsylvania state championships with Dave Mika of EasternPAFootball.com and WesternPAFootball.net.

Fisher's third guest is Rim of the World (California) High School running back Jake Taylor, who became the sixth player in high school football history to rush for 4,000 yards in a season.

The show wraps-up with a flashback interview that Fisher and Trish Hoffman did back in June 2011 with Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel after he was named the 2011 National Football Player of the Year by the National High School Coaches Association.

Iowa High School to Get New Stadium Thanks to Powerball

by Jeff Fisher
Editor-in-Chief
High School Football America
Follow @HSFBamerica

What would you do if you won $202 million in the Powerball?

In the case of Brian and Mary Lohse of Iowa - build a high school football stadium.

The Des Moines Register reports that the family will donate $3 million dollars of their winnings to the Bondurant-Farrar school district to build a new high school football stadium in time for their oldest son's senior season in 2014 

One interesting twist is the family has asked that the visitor's locker froom be painted pink.

Last year Bondurant-Farrar finished 10-3, losing in the quarterfinal round of the Class 2A playoffs.

California RB Tops 4,000 Yards Rushing this Year

by Jeff Fisher
Editor-in-Chief
High School Football America
Follow @HSFBamerica

Friday night, Rim of the World High School (Lake Arrowhead, CA) senior running back Jacob Taylor became just the fifth running back in America to EVER top the 4,000 yard rushing mark in a season.  Not only did Taylor reach his goal, his team held-on to defeat previously unbeaten Ontario Christian 34-31 to win the CIF-SS East Valley Division championship, which was the school's first since 1976.

Taylor entered the game needing 228 yards to surpass the 4,000 mark - he ended-up with 260 yards on 41 carries.

Here are the other running backs that have topped the 4,000 yard in a season milestone:

4,756 - John Giannantonio, Netcong HS (New Jersey), 1950
4,495 - Tyler Ebell, Ventura HS (California), 2000
4,087 - Travis Henry, Frostproof HS (Florida), 1996
4,045 - Ken Hall, Sugar Land HS (Texas), 1953
4,032 - Jacob Taylor HS (California), 2012