Pennsylvania Player Named Maxwell Football Club's National Player of the Year

by Jeff Fisher
High School Football America

Florida recuit Sharrif Floyd of George Washington High School is the Maxwell Football Club's 2009 National High School Player of the Year.

The two-way lineman led GW to its third straight Philadelphia Public League title this past season. The 6-3, 305-pounder will be honored at a March 5th dinner in Atlantic City along fellow Players of the Year...Colt McCoy (College) of Texas and Drew Brees (Pros) of the New Orleans Saints.

Super Bowl XLV to Honor Great North Texas High School Football Moments

by Jeff Fisher
High School Football America

Beginning in March, voters will be able to select the top high school football moments in north Texas in conjunction with Super Bowl XLV that will be in 2011 at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas.

Tuesday, the Super Bowl host committee gathered at Dallas' Woodrow Wilson High School to unveil the ballot that has 250 options broken down into four catagories: high school, college, pros and "great moments and unforgettable achievements". Woodrow Wilson is the only public high school in America to produce two Heisman Trophy winners: Davey O'Brien and Tim Brown.

In the high school category, voters will choose from 43 memorable moments. The moments range from the first game played at Fair Park on October 7, 1930 to Allen's Division I championship game win over Euless Trinity in 2008.

In the end, the 250 moments will be reduced to a Top 100 in order. Voting begins in March at www.centuryinthemaking.com.

Mission Bay (CA) QB/RB/WR Named U.S. Army All-American Bowl National Player-of-the-Year

by Jeff Fisher
High School Football America

Mission Bay High School's Dillon Baxter had one of the most incredible high school football seasons ever, and Friday the San Diego-area senior was named as the National Player of the Year by the officials of the U.S. Army All-American Bowl.

Baxter, who also was named as California's Mr. Football on Friday, played quarterback, running back and wide receiver this season, accounted for 76 touchdowns and 5,115 yards of total offense. NBC San Diego reports that Baxter's senior year will go down in the record books.

Now the big question facing Baxter is whether he should stick to his verbal commitment to play his college ball at USC. According to the NY Times today, Baxter is re-thinking his decision because Pete Carroll has resigned to take the head coaching job with the Seattle Seahawks.

West Wins U.S. Army All-American Bowl

by Jeff Fisher
High School Football America

Game MVP Ronald Powell of Mission Viejo High School (CA) led the West stars to a 30-14 win over the East squad in the 10th annual U.S. Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio Saturday.

The 6-5, 230-pound Powell, who committed to Florida during the broadcast on NBC, ended the game with five tackles, one for a loss and one forced fumble, plus caught a 23-yard touchdown pass and returned a block extra point for two points.

Probably the most interesting thing about the game was how Pete Carroll's announcement that he was leaving for USC for the NFL's Seattle Seahawks affected some of the players. ESPN Rise takes a look at that topic.

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US Army All-American Bowl

by Jeff Fisher
High School Football America

Today I send-out congratulations to the Army All-American Bowl that will celebrate its 10th anniversary in San Antonio, Texas.

I was involved in the first-ever national high school football all-star game in the early 90's in Allentown, Pennsylvania. I must be getting old, because for the life of me, I can't remember the game's name, which was broadcast live on ESPN2. I also can't find any on-line info on the game that I think was called the All-American All-Star game. It was the brainchild of a guy from the Lehigh Valley, who created it as part of his college thesis.

What I do remember is future NFLers Grant Wistom (Nebraska/Rams and Seahawks) and Jay Foreman (Nebraska/Bills, Giants & Texans) played in the game at J. Birney Crum Stadium.

The other thought is the difficulty that the organizer had in creating the event that lost money...very different from all the corporate sponsors that are now throwing truckloads of dough at the present day all-star games. The game never made it back for a second year, but on this Saturday, I'm throwing out props to a guy, whose name I can't remember...maybe his first name was Dave...for having the vision to give high school football fans a look at the best-of-the-best on one football field.

If anyone out there recalls the Allentown game, please write me an email at jeff@highschoolfootballamerica.com.

Enjoy today's broadcast on NBC that starts at 1 P.M. eastern time!

Here are the rosters....

East Roster

No. Player Pos. Ht., Wt. Hometown College
1 Ivan McCartney WR 6-3, 180 Miramar, Fla. Undecided
2 Christian Bryant DB 6-4, 190 Cleveland Undecided
3 Spencer Ware RB 5-11, 220 Cincinnati LSU
4 Martavis Bryant WR 6-0, 185 Anderson, S.C. Clemson
5 Markeith Ambles WR 6-3, 190 McDonough, Ga. Tennessee
6 Joe Boisture QB 6-6, 205 Saline, Mich. Michigan St.
7 Jaylen Watkins DB 6-0, 175 Cape Coral, Fla. Florida
8 Silas Redd RB 5-11, 198 Stamford, Conn. Penn St.
9 Keenan Allen DB 6-3, 195 Greensboro, N.C. Alabama
10 Christian Green WR 6-2, 200 Tampa, Fla. Undecided
11 Barry Brunetti QB 6-2, 207 Memphis, Tenn. West Virginia
12 Shakim Phillips WR 6-2, 195 Wayne, N.J. Boston College
13 Paul Jones QB 6-3, 226 McKees Rocks, Pa. Penn St.
14 Cole Marcoux QB 6-5, 234 Bronx, N.Y. Undecided
15 A.J. Derby QB 6-5, 225 Iowa City, Iowa Iowa
20 Austin Collinsworth DB 6-1, 190 Fort Thomas, Ky. Notre Dame
21 Kyle Prater WR 6-5, 205 Hillside, Ill. USC
22 Matt Elam DB 5-11, 205 W. Palm Beach, Fla. Florida St.
23 Nick Forbes LB 6-1, 225 Frederick, Md. Cal
24 Cullen Christian DB 6-3, 230 Pittsburgh Michigan
25 Latwan Anderson DB 5-11, 195 Cleveland Undecided
27 Will Hagerup P 6-4, 215 Whitefish Bay, Wis. Michigan
28 Marcus Lattimore RB 6-1, 210 Duncan, S.C. Undecided
30 Michael Palardy K 6-2, 175 Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. Tennessee
31 Victor Hampton DB 5-11, 176 Darlington, S.C. Undecided
32 Gerald Christian LB 6-0, 180 W. Palm Beach, Fla. Florida
33 Gabe King DE 6-5, 260 Eugene, Ore. Undecided
36 Jacques Smith LB 6-4, 250 Chattanooga, Tenn. Tennessee
37 Chris Martin DE 6-4, 240 Aurora, Colo. Cal
40 Zach Zwinak LB 6-1, 227 Frederick, Md. Penn St.
42 Blake Leuders LB 6-5, 250 Zionsville, Ind. Notre Dame
49 Mike Hull LB 6-1, 218 Canonsburg, Pa. Penn St.
51 Khairi Fortt LB 6-3, 227 Stamford, Conn. Penn St.
53 Ego Ferguson DE 6-3, 275 Chatham, Va. Undecided
54 Carlos Thompson DE 6-5, 220 Hollandale, Miss. Undecided
55 Jeff Whitaker DT 6-4, 295 Warner Robins, Ga. Undecided
56 Garrison Smith DT 6-3, 240 Atlanta Georgia
58 Chance Carter DE 6-4, 250 Evanston, Ill. Northwestern
59 Arie Kouandjio OL 6-6, 310 Hyattsville, Md. Undecided
65 Brandon Linder C 6-6, 295 Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. Miami
66 Andrew Norwell OL 6-6, 275 Cincinnati Ohio St.
67 Andrew Donnal OL 6-7, 285 Whitehouse, Ohio Iowa
72 Shon Coleman OL 6-7, 285 Olive Branch, Miss. Auburn
73 Sharrif Floyd DT 6-4, 310 Philadelphia Undecided
75 Christian Lombard OL 6-6, 295 Palatine, Ill. Notre Dame
76 Quinton Spain OL 6-5, 330 Petersburg, Va. West Virginia
77 Matt James OL 6-8, 285 Cincinnati Undecided
78 Robert Crisp OL 6-8, 295 Raleigh, N.C. NC State
79 Damien Robinson OL 6-8, 330 Olive Branch, Miss. Undecided
88 C.J. Fiedorowicz TE 6-6, 250 Johnsburg, Ill. Iowa
89 Brandon Willis DT 6-4, 250 Duncan, S.C. Undecided
99 Kelcy Quarles DT 6-5, 265 Greenwood, S.C. S. Carolina

Head coach — George Quarles, Maryville (Tenn.); Assistant coaches — David Ellis, Maryville (Tenn.); Dick Beck, Lansdale (Pa.) North; Jeff Herron, Kingsland (Ga.) Camden County; Otis Yelverton, Oak Ridge (N.C.) Military Academy; Patrick Burrows, Miami Southridge; Lee Campbell, Eastman (Ga.) Dodge City; Rick Connor, Ijamsville (Md.) Linganore

West Roster

No. Player Pos. Ht., Wt. Hometown College
1 Trovon Reed WR 6-0, 175 Thibodaux, La. Auburn
2 Robert Woods WR 6-2, 185 Gardena, Calif. USC
3 Dior Mathis DB 5-9, 175 Detroit Undecided
4 Keanon Lowe DB 5-10, 175 Portland, Ore. Washington
5 Sean Parker DB 5-11, 190 Harbor City, Calif. Undecided
6 Anthony Barr RB 6-4, 225 Torrance, Calif. Undecided
7 Ronald Powell DE 6-4, 230 Moreno Vall., Calif. Undecided
8 Nate Askew WR 6-4, 213 Madison A&M
9 Jake Heaps QB 6-2, 205 Sammamish, Wash. BYU
10 Connor Wood QB 6-4, 212 Houston Texas
11 Tevin Jackson LB 6-2, 220 Garland Texas
12 Austin Hinder QB 6-4, 190 Steamboat, Colo. Cal
13 V.J. Fehoko LB 5-11, 215 Honolulu Undecided
15 Lache Seastrunk RB 5-11, 192 Temple Undecided
16 Matt Darr P 6-2, 215 Bakersfield, Calif. USC
17 DeAndrew White WR 6-0, 170 Galena Park Alabama
19 Justin McCay LB 6-3, 200 Shawnee, Kan. Oklahoma
20 Jarrick Williams DB 6-2, 205 Prichard, Ala. Alabama
21 Malcolm Jones RB 6-0, 218 Westlake Vill., Calif. UCLA
22 O. Odighizuwa DE 6-3, 240 Portland, Ore. Undecided
23 Cade Foster K 6-2, 220 Southlake Alabama
24 Demetrius Wright DB 6-1, 201 Corona, Calif. Undecided
25 Traylon Shead RB 6-2, 215 Cayuga Texas
26 Ahmad Dixon DB 6-2, 202 Waco Baylor
28 Dillon Baxter RB 6-0, 200 San Diego USC
30 Eric Reid DB 6-2, 208 Geismar, La. LSU
31 Tony Jefferson LB 6-1, 201 Chula Vista, Calif. Oklahoma
32 C.J. Mosley LB 6-2, 224 Theodore, Ala. Undecided
34 D.J. Morgan RB 5-11, 180 Wood. Hills, Calif. USC
36 Marquis Flowers DB 6-3, 200 Goodyear, Ariz. Undecided
42 Jackson Jeffcoat DE 6-5, 230 Plano Undecided
43 Cecil Whiteside LB 6-3, 224 Nwprt. Beach, Calif. Cal
51 Dominic Espinosa C 6-3, 285 Cedar Park Texas
53 Ricky Heimuli DT 6-4, 280 Salt Lake City Undecided
55 Sione Potoae DT 6-3, 285 Lakewood, Wash. Washington
64 Calvin Barnett DT 6-3, 300 Tulsa, Okla. Okla. St.
71 Cedric Ogbuehi OL 6-5, 270 Allen A&M
72 Reggie Wilson DE 6-4, 240 Haltom City Texas
74 Jake Matthews OL 6-5, 285 Alief A&M
75 Trey Hopkins OL 6-4, 275 Galena Park Texas
76 Jimmy Gjere OL 6-7, 295 N. Brighton, Minn. Minnesota
77 Seantrel Henderson OL 6-8, 300 St. Paul, Minn. Undecided
78 Andrew Rodriguez OL 6-6, 300 Aurora, Neb. Nebraska
79 Nick Demien OL 6-6, 310 Wentzville, Mo. Missouri
80 Ross Apo WR 6-4, 200 Arlington BYU
81 Marcus Lucas WR 6-5, 205 Liberty, Mo. Missouri
83 Curtis White DE 6-4, 240 Eugene, Ore. Oregon
85 Christian Thomas TE 6-3, 235 Palmdale, Calif. Undecided
91 Cassius Marsh DT 6-4, 270 Westlake Vill., Calif. LSU
93 Josh Shirley DE 6-3, 220 Fontana, Calif. Undecided
Head coach — Jim Streety, Madison; Assistant coaches — Glenn Mangold, Madison; Kevin Pearson, Los Angeles (Calif.) Cathedral; David Aymond, Galena Park North Shore; Tony Severino, Kansas City (Mo.) Rockhurst; Bob Johnson, Mission Viejo (Calif.); Tim Grunhard, Shawnee Mission (Kan.) Bishop Miege; Raul Lara, Long Beach (Calif.) Poly

High School Football Player Ratings...What Are They Worth?

by Jeff Fisher
High School Football America

The Army All-American Bowl will be played Saturday in San Antonio with a NBC broadcast crew spending the day spewing out player rankings...who's going where...some players will actually announce their college choice live on-the-air.

For those of you who are regular readers of The High School Football Huddle, you know I'm not a huge fan of these rating services. With that in mind, check out USA Today's Jim Halley's column Prep Player Rankings Raise Plenty of Questions. Halley does a great job of putting things in perspective.

Bottom line...whether it's Rivals.com or Scout.com...it's just a business...not an exact science.

Approximately 1.3 million kids play high school football across America, but Rivals.com and Scout.com only focus on a small fraction (several thousand) of those players. There's a huge segment of the high school football population that's being missed and that's where High School Football America and The High School Football Huddle come in.

Thanks for a great 2009...and Trish and I look forward to 2010!

USA Names 2010 Junior National Team Roster for All-Star Game

by Jeff Fisher
High School Football America

USA Football officials have announced 34 of 45 players, who have made the Team USA Junior National Team roster for the January 30th Team USA vs. The World high school football all-star game in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. 28 of the 34 athletes have already committed to college football programs in eight conferences around the nation.

The American stars will play a the "World Team" that is made-up of 45 players aged 19-and-under from eight countries on four continents.

Team USA will be coached Christopher Columbus (FL) High School head coach Chris Merritt, who owns a 79-22 record at the Miami School.

"These young men were hand-selected to represent our country as elite athletes and exceptional ambassadors," said Merritt. "They have garnered dozens of individual honors at their respective high schools, but those won't help us on Jan. 30. We will prepare diligently for a very talented World team. I look forward to putting our preparation into action at Lockhart Stadium at the end of this month."

Learn more at www.usafootball.com.

Here's the Team USA Roster...

Player-High School-Pos.-Ht.-Wt.-Hometown-Verbal Commitment

Jake Alexander Jenks (OK), C, 6-2, 270, Tulsa, Okla., Tulsa
Demetre Baker, Orange Park (FL), LB, 6-0, 200, Orange Park, Fla., Georgia
Anthony Creecy, Southern Durham (N.C.), WR, 6-0, 196, Durham, N.C., North Carolina State
Corey Cooper, Proviso East (IL), S, 6-2, 203, Maywood, Ill., Illinois
Giovanni Di Poalo, St. Bonaventure (CA), T, 6-4, 250, Ventura, Calif., USC
Steele Divitto, Don Bosco Prep (NJ), LB, 6-2, 214, Ridgefield, Conn., Boston College
Andrew Donnal, Anthony Wayne (Whitehouse, OH), T, 6-7, 285, Monclova, Ohio, Iowa
Quinton Dunbar, Miami Booker T. Washington (FL), WR, 6-3, 170, Miami, Fla., Florida
Dan Foose, Paramus (N.J.) Catholic, G, 6-6, 310, Saddle Brook, N.J., Undecided
Sam Gagliano, Waxahachie (TX), WR, 5-8, 165, Waxahachie, Texas,Undecided
Jakhari Gore, Miami Columbus (FL), RB, 5-10,170, Miami, Fla., LSU
Ethan Grant, North Broward (FL) Prep, RB, 5-10, 175, Coconut Creek, Fla., TCU
Tony Grimes, Hollywood Hills (FL), CB, 5-11, 165, Hollywood Hills, Fla., Undecided
Michael Hartvigson, Bothell (Wash.), TE, 6-6, 240, Bothell, Wash.,Washington
Tommy Heffernan, Miami Columbus (FL), LB, 6-2, 217, Miami, Fla., Undecided
Mike Hull, Canon-McMillan (PA), LB, 6-1, 215, Canonsburg, Pa., Penn State
Kody Innes, Saguaro (AZ), T, 6-5, 280, Scottsdale, Ariz., UCLA
Bryant Jackson, Sulphur Springs (TX), S, 6-3, 175, Sulphur Springs,Texas, Texas
Jordan Johnson, Carol City (FL), DT, 5-10, 245, Miami Gardens, Fla., Undecided
Corey Lemonier, Hialeah (Fla.), DE, 6-5, 223, Miami, Fla., Undecided
Keiwone Malone, Mitchell (TN), WR, 6-1, 165, Memphis, Tenn., Alabama
Tyrann Mathieu, New Orleans St. Augustine (LA), CB, 5-10, 175, New Orleans, La., LSU
Zack McCray, Brookville (VA), DE, 6-5, 236,Forest, Va., Virginia Tech
Mike Moudy, Douglas County (CO), T, 6-7, 291, Castle Rock, CO, Nebraska
Mark Myers, Cleveland St. Ignatius (OH), QB, 6-4, 220, Cleveland, Ohio, Pitt
Colin Porter, Bothell (WA), G, 6-4, 313, Bothell, Wash., Washington
Josh Reese, Miami Central (FL), WR, 6-0, 175, Miami, Fla., UCF
Adam Shead, Cedar Hill (TX),G, 6-4, 315, Cedar Hill, Texas, Oklahoma
Calvin Smith, Hialeah (FL), DT, 6-4, 265, Miami Lakes, Fla., Tennessee
Tyler Smith, Wilson Area (PA), QB, 6-4, 190, Easton, Pa., Maryland
A.J. Tarpley, Plymouth (MN) Wayzata, LB, 6-2, 225, Plymouth, Minn., Stanford; Jim Harbaugh
Titus Till, Wise (MD), S, 6-3, 205, Upper Marlboro, Md., Maryland
Dontae Williams, Aldine (TX), RB, 5-11, 200, Houston, Texas, Oregon
Travis Williams, Lake Taylor (VA), LB, 6-2, 189, Norfolk, Va., Miami (Fla.)

Independence's (NC) Knotts Moving to South Carolina HIgh School

by Jeff Fisher
High School Football America

Tom Knotts, who helped lead Independence (Charlotte, NC) to 109-consecutive wins and seven straight North Carolilna Class 4A state football championships, appears ready to move to the Dutch Fork High School in Irmo, South Carolina.

According to The State, all that stands in the way of Knotts taking over the Silver Foxes program, is school board approval next Monday. Knotts, who in addition to being the main man at Independence, has been the head coach at West Charlotte and Harding in Charlotte, brings a 296-60 career record to Dutch Fork.

Knott Career Stats

Career Record - (296-60)
State Championships - 7 (Six at Independence, One at West Charlotte)