ESPN to Broadcast 8 High School Football Games August 27-29

by Jeff Fisher
High School Football America

While the 2010 high school football season will officially kick-off in Alaska on August 6th, the biggest inaugural weekend across the country will be the last weekend of August.

With that in mind, ESPN and ESPN RISE have put together an eight-game television schedule for August 27th, 28th and 29th.

The ESPN RISE High School Football Kickoff will feature sixteen teams from seven states, including eight team's in the ESPN RISE FAB 50.

Here's the schedule....

August 27 - #2 Plant (FL) vs. #19 Manatee (FL) 7 p.m., ESPN
August 27 - #4 Grant (CA) vs. Folsom (CA) 10 p.m., ESPN 2
August 28 - #9 Hoover (AL) vs. Byrnes (SC) 12 p.m., ESPN
August 28 - South Point (SC) vs. #42 Northwestern (SC) 4 p.m., ESPNU
August 28 - Steele (TX) vs. Madison (TX) 7 p.m., ESPN
August 28 - #6 Euless Trinity (TX) vs. Tyler Lee (TX) 10 p.m., ESPNU
August 29 - #15 Good Counsel (MD) vs. #39 St. Xavier (OH), 3 p.m., ESPN
August 29 - Moeller (OH) vs. Huber Heights Wayne (OH) 7 p.m., ESPN U

St. Thomas Aquinas #1 in National Prep Poll & ESPN Rise Fab 50

by Jeff Fisher
The High School Football Huddle

When I first began my television career back in the early 90s, I remember the excitement that ran through the Allentown Central Catholic football program when the Vikings were ranked by USA Today. Yes, back in 1993, the Super 25 meant something...even if it didn't truly mean anything, because...well you know why!

Now, every major media outlet is in on the act. However, I still like USA Today the best, because they've been doing it since 1982.

Tradition means something at The High School Football Huddle!

So with all that being said, let's look at the first couple of polls to be released...ESPN Rise's Fab 50 and Prep Nation. USA Today will release it's Super 25 later.

At least for the pre-season polls, ESPN and Prep Nation are in agreement on #1 and #2. Both polls have the "defending" national champs, St. Thomas Aquinas (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) at the top spot to start the season. The Raiders are followed by Byrnes (Duncan, SC). If all goes according to plan, the Raiders and Rebels will collide on October 2nd in Florida in a nationally-televised game.

There's no surprise when it comes to which states standout in both polls. Texas leads the Prep Nation Poll with four teams in the Top 25, Florida and California landed three teams in the National Prep Football Poll. The State of Washington is smiling with Bellevue and Skyline cracking the Top 10 in the National Prep Football Poll.

In the ESPN Rise Fab 50...California, Florida and Texas each landed seven teams in the Top 50.

Let's start with the National Prep Football Poll, which is America's second oldest weekly poll produced by Jamie DeMoney, who does a great job of keeping fans up-to-date. Below you can learn more about PrepNation.com.

Prep Nation's National Football Poll

1. St. Thomas Aquinas (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) 15-0
2. Byrnes (Duncan, SC) 14-1
3. Northwestern (Miami, FL) 13-2
4. Katy (TX) 13-3
5. Glenville (Cleveland, OH) 11-1
6. Oscar Smith (Chesapeake, VA) 15-0
7. Lakewood (CA) 10-3
8. Bellevue (WA) 14-0
9. Skyline (Sammamish, WA) 14-0
10. Cedar Hill (TX) 12-2
11. Lowndes (Valdosta, GA) 12-1
12. Jenks (OK) 12-2
13. Elder (Cincinnati, OH) 13-2
14. Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, NJ) 11-1
15. Oaks Christian (Westlake Village, CA) 14-0
16. Allen (TX) 15-1
17. Lakeland (FL) 14-1
18. De La Salle (Concord, CA) 12-2
19. Prattville (AL) 13-1
20. Liberty (Bethlehem, PA) 15-1
21. Centennial (Peoria, AZ) 14-0
22. Skyline (Dallas, TX) 12-2
23. Independence (Charlotte, NC) 13-1
24. DeMatha (Hyattsville, MD) 10-2
25. John Curtis (River Ridge, LA) 14-1

About the National Prep Poll: Compiled weekly weekly since 1987 and distributed by World Features Syndicate and the Associated Press, the National Prep Poll is the nation's second oldest weekly high school sports rankings. Doug Huff of ESPN RISE compiled the rankings from 1987 until 1999. Jamie DeMoney has compiled the poll since the start of the 1999 basketball season. The National Prep Poll is the only high school poll distributed to newspapers and Web sites around the United States by the Associated Press national wire service. The National Prep Poll is the first high school football and boys basketball poll to released in the preseason and during each week of the regular season. Criteria considered for the National Prep Poll rankings are strength of schedule, the ability to accomplish the ultimate goal on a team's schedule (i.e. winning a championship), impact players and performers, a team's coaching and recent tradition.

Jamie DeMoney begins his 10th year compiling the World Features Syndicate/Associated Press National Prep Poll. He has covered high school sports and recruiting for more than 15 years and compiled the National Prep Poll since 1999. DeMoney has also compiled high school football and basketball rankings for Sporting News, School Sports, and RISE. DeMoney was managing editor of American Football Monthly and assistant national editor of All-Stater Sports/Highwired Sports. DeMoney is a graduate of the University of Iowa School of Journalism, and a member of the Football Writers Association of America and the United States Basketball Writers Association.

ESPN's Fab 50 looks like this...

1. St. Thomas Aquinas (FL)
2. Byrnes (SC)
3. Elder (OH)
4. Katy (TX)
5. Northwestern (FL)
6. Oaks Christian (CA)
7. Allen (TX)
8. Oscar Smith (VA)
9. Skyline (WA)
10. Prattville (AL)
11. Lowndes (GA)
12. Cedar Hill (TX)
13. Union (OK)
14. Centennial (AZ)
15. Lakeland (FL)
16. St. Bonaventure (CA)
17. Longview (TX)
18. Don Bosco Prep (NJ)
19. Glenville (OH)
20. Bellevue (WA)
21. DeMatha (MD)
22. North Shore (TX)
23. East St. Louis (IL)
24. De La Salle (CA)
25. Dwyer (FL)
26. Hinsdale Central (IL)
27. West Monroe (LA)
28. Miami Central (FL)
29. Orange Lutheran (CA)
30. Colerain (OH)
31. Notre Dame Prep (CA)
32. John Curtis (LA)
33. Camden County (GA)
34. Highlands (KY)
35. Bishop McDevitt (PA)
36. De La Salle Collegiate (MI)
37. St. Ignatius (OH)
38. Hamilton (AZ)
39. Stony Point (TX)
40. Bolles School (FL)
41. Grant (CA)
42. Long Beach Poly (CA)
43. Trinity (KY)
44. Jenks (OK)
45. Southlake Carroll (TX)
46. Mullen (CO)
47. Liberty (PA)
48. Pahokee (FL)
49. Skyline (TX)
50. Shiloh Christian (AR)

ESPN Rise Fab 50

By Jeff Fisher
The High School Football Huddle

Three teams in last week's ESPN Rise Fab 50 Top 10 lost last weekend, which has caused shuffling at the top of the poll. Losses by #5 Jenks (OK), #6 Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, NJ) and #10 Rockhurst (Kansas City, MO) opened the way for Armwood (Seffner, FL), Oscar Smith (Chesapeake, Va.) and Deerfield Beach (FL) to enter the Top 10.

Here's the entire Fab 50....

1. Trinity (Euless, Texas) 2-0, 250 pts (5 first-place) LW: #1
2. Lowndes (Valdosta, Ga.) 3-0, 245 pts LW:#2
3. St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) 2-0, 238 pts LW: #4
4. Gateway (Monroeville, Pa.) 3-0, 233 pts LW:# 7
5. De La Salle (Concord, Calif.) 1-0, 231 pts LW: #3
6. Byrnes (Duncan, S.C.) 3-0, 228 pts LW: #8
7. Poly (Long Beach, Calif.) 1-0, 220 pts LW: #9
8. Armwood (Seffner, Fla.) 2-0, 215 pts LW: #11
9. Oscar Smith (Chesapeake, Va.) 3-0, 206 pts LW: #14
10. Deerfield Beach (Deerfield Beach, Fla.) 1-0, 206 pts LW: #12
11. Lake Travis (Austin, Texas) 3-0, 197 pts LW: #15
12. Glenville (Cleveland) 4-0, 196 pts LW: #17
13. Colerain (Cincinnati) 4-0, 188 pts LW: #25
14. St. Xavier (Louisville, Ky.) 3-0, 186 pts LW: #16
15. Camden County (Kingsland, Ga.) 3-0, 174 pts LW: #20
16. Lakeland (Lakeland, Fla.) 2-0, 173 pts LW: #19
17. Plano (Plano, Texas) 3-0, 172 pts LW: #18
18. St. Xavier (Cincinnati) 3-1, 169 pts LW: #27
19. Carmel (Carmel, Ind.) 4-0, 161 pts LW: #21
20. South Panola (Batesville, Miss.) 3-0, 156 pts LW: #22
21. Skyline (Sammamish, Wash.) 2-0, 150 pts LW: #23
22. Southlake Carroll (Southlake, Texas) 2-0, 147 pts LW: #24
23. Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, N.J.) 0-1, 136 pts LW: #6
24. Maryville (Maryville, Tenn.) 4-0, 136 pts LW: #26
25. Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) 2-0 133 pts LW: #28
26. Arrowhead (Hartland, Wis.) 3-0, 126 pts LW: #29
27. St. Ignatius (Cleveland) 3-1, 123 pts LW: #32
28. Phoebus (Hampton, Va.) 2-0, 114 pts LW: #34
29. Quince Orchard (Gaithersburg, Md.) 2-0, 105 pts LW: #35
30. Bellarmine Prep (San Jose, Calif.) 1-0, 99 pts LW: #33
31. North Shore (Houston) 2-0, 97 pts LW: #36
32. Bastrop (Bastrop, La.) 1-0, 97 pts LW: #37
33. Centennial (Corona, Calif.) 1-0, 90 pts LW: #45
34. Prattville (Prattville, Ala.) 2-1, 82 pts LW: #39
35. Permian (Odessa, Texas) 2-0, 76 pts LW: #43
36. Bear Creek (Lakewood, Colo.) 2-0, 76 pts LW: #38
37. Broken Arrow (Broken Arrow, Okla.) 2-0, 75 pts LW: NR
38. Northside (Warner Robins, Ga.) 3-0, 63 pts LW: #42
39. Plant (Tampa) 1-1, 61 pts LW: #43
40. John Curtis (River Ridge, La.) 1-1, 48 pts LW: #44
41. Stone Bridge (Ashburn, Va.) 3-0, 47 pts LW: #49
42. Blue Springs (Blue Springs, Mo.) 3-0, 36 pts LW: NR
43. Union (Tulsa, Okla.) 1-1, 35 pts LW: NR
44. Crespi (Encino, Calif.) 2-0, 33 pts LW: NR
45. The Woodlands (The Woodlands, Texas) 2-0, 30 pts LW: #47
46. Abilene (Abilene, Texas) 3-0, 29 pts LW: #48
47. North Penn (Lansdale, Pa.) 3-0, 20 pts* LW: NR
48. Rockhurst (Kansas City, Mo.) 2-1, 20 pts LW: #10
49. Cretin-Derham Hall (St. Paul, Minn.) 3-0, 18 pts LW: #50
50. Jenks (Jenks, Okla.) 1-1, 15 pts LW: #5

Lastest ESPN Rise Fab 50 High School Football Rankings

By Jeff Fisher
The High School Football Huddle

The top seven teams held firm in the first regular season ESPN Rise Fab 50 high school football rankings, while six teams fell-out of the poll.

Trinity (Euless, TX) held on to its #1 pre-season poll ranking with a solid 28-12 win over former #23 John Curtis (River Ridge, LA) Sunday in the Kirk Herbstreit Varsity Football Series. Trinity collected all five first-place votes.

The biggest mover in Week 1 is Glenville (Cleveland, OH), which jumps 30 spots from #48 to #18 after season opening wins over former #17 St. Ignatius (Cleveland, OH) and 2007 Pennsylvania Class AAA champ Thomas Jefferson. Another Ohio team, Cincinnati Colerain announced its entrance into the Fab 50 in a big way. The formerly unranked Cardinals enter the poll at #26 after wins over former #9 St. Xavier (Cincinnati, OH) and western Pennsylvania power McKeesport.

The highest rank team to fall out of the poll was former #27 Joliet Catholic (Chicago, IL)

Here's the Fab 50... with 2008 records, number of votes and previous rankings.

1 Trinity (Euless, Texas) 1-0 250 pts, 5 First-Place Votes 1
2 Lowndes (Valdosta, Ga.) 1-0 245 pts 2
3 De La Salle (Concord, Calif.) 0-0 240 pts 3
4 St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) 1-0 235 pts 4
5 Jenks (Jenks, Okla.) 0-0 230 pts 5
6 Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, N.J.) 0-0 225 pts 6
7 Gateway (Monroeville, Pa.) 1-0 220 pts 7
8 Byrnes (Duncan, S.C.) 1-0 213 pts 10
9 Poly (Long Beach, Calif.) 1-0 210 pts 11
10 Rockhurst (Kansas City, Mo.) 1-0 201 pts 13
11 Armwood (Seffner, Fla.) 1-0 197 pts* 14
12 Deerfield Beach (Deerfield Beach, Fla.) 0-0 197 pts* 9
13 Lutheran (Orange, Calif.) 0-0 186 pts 14
14 Oscar Smith (Chesapeake, Va.) 1-0 180 pts 16
15 Lake Travis (Austin, Texas) 1-0 176 pts 12
16 Plano (Plano, Texas) 1-0 171 pts 18
17 St. Xavier (Louisville, Ky.) 1-0 169 pts 17
18 Glenville (Cleveland, Ohio) 2-0 162 pts* 48
19 Plant (Tampa, Fla.) 1-0 162 pts* 20
20 Lakeland (Lakeland, Fla.) 1-0 158 pts 28
21 Camden County (Kingsland, Ga.) 1-0 151 pts* 21
22 Carmel (Carmel, Ind.) 2-0 151 pts* 22
23 South Panola (Batesville, Miss.) 1-0 139 pts 25
24 Skyline (Sammamish, Wash.) 0-0 138 pts 24
25 Southlake Carroll (Southlake, Texas) 1-0 130 pts 30
26 Colerain (Cincinnati, Ohio) 2-0 126 pts NR
27 Maryville (Maryville, Tenn.) 2-0 112 pts 29
28 St. Xavier (Cincinnati, Ohio) 1-1 108 pts 9
29 Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) 0-0 105 pts 32
30 Arrowhead (Hartland, Wis.) 1-0 102 pts 31
31 Union (Tulsa, Okla.) 0-0 100 pts 33
32 St. Joseph's Prep (Philadelphia, Pa.) 1-0 95 pts 34
33 Bellarmine Prep (San Jose, Calif.) 0-0 89 pts 35
34 Mt. Carmel (Chicago, Ill.) 1-0 85 pts NR
35 St. Ignatius (Cleveland, Ohio) 1-1 81 pts 17
36 Phoebus (Hampton, Va.) 1-0 74 pts 37
37 Quince Orchard (Gaithersburg, Md.) 0-0 69 pts* 36
38 Bastrop (Bastrop, La.) 0-0 69 pts* 38
39 North Shore (Houston, Texas) 1-0 51 pts NR
40 Bear Creek (Lakewood, Colo.) 1-0 50 pts 41
41 Prattville (Prattville, Ala.) 0-1 47 pts* 26
42 DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.) 0-0 47 pts* 42
43 Permian (Odessa, Texas) 1-0 41 pts 44
44 Desert Vista (Phoenix, Ariz.) 0-0 35 pts 46
45 Northside (Warner Robins, Ga.) 1-0 33 pts 47
46 John Curtis (River Ridge, La.) 0-1 19 pts 23
47 Centennial (Corona, Calif.) 0-0 16 pts* NR
48 Olive Branch (Olive Branch, Miss.) 1-0 16 pts* NR
49 Sheldon (Eugene, Ore.) 1-0 15 pts* 50
50 Hamilton (Chandler, Ariz.) 1-0 15 pts* NR

*Ties in points are broken according to which team was ranked higher by a majority of panelists.

Also Receiving Votes: Abilene (Abilene, Texas) 1-0, Cretin-Derham Hall (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1-0, Hutchinson (Hutchinson, Kansas) 0-0, Katy (Katy, Texas) 0-1, Madison County (Madison, Fla.) 0-0, Miami Northwestern (Miami, Fla.) 0-1, Stone Bridge (Ashburn, Va.) 1-0.

Dropped Out: Previous No. 27 Joliet Catholic (Joliet, Ill.); No. 39 Miami Northwestern (Miami, Fla.); No. 40 Katy (Katy, Texas); No. 43 Pahokee (Pahokee, Fla.); No. 45 East St. Louis (East St. Louis, Ill.); No. 49 Blue Springs South (Blue Springs, Mo.).