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 21^ST

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.

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

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.

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

California High School Leads the Way with Three 2011 NFL Draftees

by Jeff Fisher
High School Football America

Colton High School isn't known as a football factory, but maybe it will be from now on.

The town of 50,000 about an hour outside of Los Angeles had three players selected in the 2011 NFL, according to USA Football. Former Yellow Jackets drafted in April were Colorado cornerback Jimmy Smith was taken in the first round by the Baltimore Ravens; USC running back Allen Bradford went to Tampa Bay in the sixth round; and USC safety Shareece Wright was selected in the third round by San Diego.

“Our staff is very proud” said Colton head coach Rick Bray. “It is great for the school, the city of Colton, and our program. We are happy for their chance to keep playing a sport that all three young men have played since childhood. This starts a new tradition for Colton football, one that others will try to carry on.”

In the past six years, only De La Salle (Concord, CA) and Long Beach Poly (California) in 2006, and St. Thomas Aquinas (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) in 2010 have had three players selected in one NFL draft.

In all, 243 schools in 40 states, the District of Columbia and Canada were represented in the 2011 draft. Ten schools had at least two players selected.  Seven of those schools produced at least one first-round pick.

California was the leading state with 42 players selected. Florida was second with 36 and Texas was third with 29 players.

Here are the schools with multiple players drafted...

Colton (Colton, CA) - Allen Bradford (Tampa Bay), Jimmy Smith (Baltimore), Shareece Wright (San Diego)
Aliquippa (Aliquippa, PA) - Jonathan Baldwin (Kansas City), Tommie Campbell (Tennessee)
Blanche Ely (Pompano Beach, FL) - Patrick Peterson (Arizona), J.T. Thomas (Chicago
East Ridge (Clermont, FL) - Chimdi Checkwa (Oakland), Greg Lloyd (Philadelphia)
Fort Dorchester (Charleston, SC) - Byron Maxwell (Seattle), Robert Quinn (St. Louis)
Gwynn Park (Brandywine, MD) - Rashad Carmichael (Houston), Phil Taylor (Cleveland)
John Leonard (Greenacres, FL) - Kenrick Ellis (NY Jets), Markus White (Washington)
Kaiser (Fontana, CA) - Chris Carter (Pittsburgh), David Carter (Arizona)
Lakeland (Lakeland, FL) - Ahmad Black (Tampa Bay), Mike Pouncey (Miami)
Rancho Verde (Moreno Valley, CA) - D'Aundre Reed (Minnesota), Tyron Smith (Dallas)
St. Thomas Aquinas (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) - Marcus Gilbert (Pittsburgh), Leonard Handerson (Washington)

For more information, click here to read the news release from USA Football

Bray was a recent guest on the NHSCA Sports Hour, the nation's premiere high school sports radio show on the internet.  You can listen to my interview with Coach Bray by clicking here.

Back-to-Back-to-Back-to-Back-to-Back-to-Back-to-Back-to-Back...That's What Alcoa High School is Going After

by Jeff Fisher
High School Football America

We're now under the 75 days to go mark until the start of the 2011 season.  Yep...74 days and counting right now.

Today's fun fact comes from Tennessee, where the Alcoa Tornadoes will be seeking their 8th straight state championship.   Now one might think that eight straight would be close to a national record...but that's not the case.

If Alcoa can grab another title in 2011, the Tornadoes would move into a fourth place tie for the most consecutive championships in America.  St. Louis High School in Hawaii and Washington High in Sioux Falls, South Dakota hold the record with an incredible 14 state championships.

Another incredible stats...Massillon Washington in Ohio has had two seven year streaks from the mid 30's to the mid 50's.

One school that will be trying to move a step closer to the national list is Don Bosco Prep in New Jersey.  The Ironmen have won five straight New Jersey Group 4 Non-Public titles.

Consecutive State Championships
**from National Federation of State High School Associations' Record Book

1. (tie) St. Louis (Hawaii) 1986-1999
1. (tie) Washington (South Dakota) 1951-1964
3. Union (Arizona) 1920-1928
4. (tie) Independence (North Carolina) 2000-2007
4. (tie) Salt Lake (Utah) 1898-1905
6 (tie) Alcoa (Tennessee) 2004-present
6. (tie) Driscoll (Illinois) 2001-2007
6. (tie) Animas (New Mexico) 1984-1990
6. (tie) Washington Massillon (Ohio) 1935-1941
6. (tie) Washington Massillon (Ohio) 1948-1954
6. (tie) Sidney (Montana) 1987-1993
6. (tie) St. Joseph's Montvale (New Jersey) 1999-2005

Can Johnathan Gray Break America's 57-Year Old Rushing Record?

by Jeff Fisher
High School Football America

Eight touchdowns and 323 yards...that's what I witnessed last December when I saw Aledo High's (Texas) Johnathan Gray lead his school to the Texas Class 4A Division II championship.

Yes, Gray put-up those numbers in a championship game against La Marque in a 69-34 Aledo victory inside Cowboys Stadium.  You can check-out those first half highlights below.

Today, Gray decided to stay "in-state" by giving his verbal commitment to play his college ball at the University of Texas.  However, before putting-on the burnt orange, Aledo fans still have a full-year of the 5-star running back.

That got me to thinking about whether Gray can improve on last year's numbers, and whether he'll be able to touch a national record that has stood for more than 50 years.

Last season Gray, who's father was a running back at Texas Tech, rushed for 3,221 yards and 57 touchdowns.  The 57 TDs broke Kenneth Hall's state record for entering the end zone in a season.



Now, Gray sets his sights on another Hall's record.  The all-time U.S. rushing record of 11,232 yards that Hall accomplished between 1950 and 1953.

Gray needs an incredible 4,240 in his senior season to catch Hall.  He's also 3,295 yards short of Texas' #2 guy Traylon Shead of Cayuga, who was the last guy to attack Sims' incredible record.  Shead ended-up with 10,290 yards and a state record 141 touchdowns.

Shead is also on the Texas roster after redshirting last year as a freshman.

Now for those of you that don't know about Hall, who was known as the "Sugar Land Express", here's a little background....

Hall was a running back in Sugar Land's single-wing offense.  In 1953, he became just the second running back in U.S. high school football history to rush for more than 4,000 yards in a game.  He finished his senior season averaging 337.1 yards per contest.

According to the National Federation of State High School Athletic Associations' record book, Hall's best game was on October 9, 1953 when he carried the ball only 11 times for 520 yards!  He also returned a kickoff 64 yards; ran back a punt 82 yards; and returned an interception 21 yards while scoring seven touchdowns.

He graduated high school with 17 national records.  After high school, Hall played three years for Texas A&M under Paul "Bear" Bryant.  Professional he played in the NFL, AFL and Canadian Football Leagues, but never reached the epic status he did as a high schooler.

What will it take for Gray to pass Hall?

Hard to say, but I do know that it will be one incredible season to watch, if Gray does break the record!

Most Rushing Yards (Career)
Source: National Federation of High School Athletic Associations

1. Ken Hall (Texas) 11,232 yds.
2. Michael Hart (New York) 11,045 yds.
3. Traylon Shead (Texas) 10,290 yds.
4. Toney Baker (North Carolina) 10,241 yds.
5. Terrance Wilkes (Alabama) 9,668 yds.
6. Toby Gerhart (California) 9,662 yds.
7. Troy Fleming (Tennessee) 9,442 yds.
8. Tyrell Sutton (Ohio) 9,426 yds.
9. Brad Hocker (Missouri) 9,193 yds.
10. Demetrius Summers (South Carolina) 9,076 yds.

Spring is in the Air & So Far Footballs at Stony Point HS in Texas

by Jeff Fisher
High School Football America

The weather has been absolutely miserable in Chicago recently...snow last week and the temperature hasn't gone above 50 degrees in over a week.

However, this clip of spring football practice in Texas warmed me up!



Spring football practice is underway at Stony Point High School in Round Rock, Texas. The Tigers are coming-off a 14-1 season that ended in a loss in the Class 5A state semifinals.