whiteshoes Posted December 5, 2021 Share Posted December 5, 2021 I realize that to most high school football fans the season ended after the Center Grove - Westfield game. However, for this guy it is just a start to the "best time of the year". Starting with Wednesday nights Alabaster (AL) Thompson - Phenix City (AL) Central game, I must have watched all of or portions of twenty plus high school games on NFHS. For those of you who don't want to watch Army-Navy next weekend, I suggest you fork down $10 for a subscription and watch all the high school football you want. Once the season is over, it is easy to cancel your subscription. A few thoughts as I wind down the weekend: - Some states, Arizona being the most prominent, have created an "Open" Division playoff system. What I mean is that they take the best eight teams in that state and those teams are in a separate playoff while all others play in the tournament based on enrollment. For years Arizona would have several teams in different classes claiming to be the best in the state, now they actually settle it on the field. Rhode Island, which has four teams in its "Open Division", takes it a step further by allowing the losing teams in the first round to drop into the Division I tournament. May sound crazy but they do not have any arguments who the best team is at the end of the season. - Santa Ana (CA) Mater Dei is two touchdowns better than anyone in the country. They play this coming weekend in the Open Championship against a very good San Mateo Serra team, but it should be a formality for the team that has beaten Anaheim Servite (twice), St. John Bosco and Corona Centennial. And if you thought Byrce Young was good for Alabama yesterday, wait until you see sophomore starting quarterback they have this year. - Congrats to Bobref, as his Eagles won the Division 1 tournament in Ohio. They beat some very good teams along the way in one of the nations' toughest tournament brackets. - For some reason, Texas teams just appear to be bigger and faster than teams in other states. Caught a few minutes of the Duncanville-DeSoto game last night and was really impressed with Duncanville' size and speed. By the way, Mater Dei beat them 45-3 earlier in the season in Texas. - Finally, how do I think Center Grove would fare against these teams. I think their defense could hold their own, but don't know if their offense is powerful enough to win a shootout against teams like Collins Hill (GA), Austin (TX) Westlake and others that are ranked in the Top 20 in the country. It would have been great to see them against a Lakewood St. Edwards team, but it never came to fruition, so we will never know. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foxbat Posted December 5, 2021 Share Posted December 5, 2021 30 minutes ago, whiteshoes said: I realize that to most high school football fans the season ended after the Center Grove - Westfield game. However, for this guy it is just a start to the "best time of the year". Starting with Wednesday nights Alabaster (AL) Thompson - Phenix City (AL) Central game, I must have watched all of or portions of twenty plus high school games on NFHS. For those of you who don't want to watch Army-Navy next weekend, I suggest you fork down $10 for a subscription and watch all the high school football you want. Once the season is over, it is easy to cancel your subscription. A few thoughts as I wind down the weekend: - For some reason, Texas teams just appear to be bigger and faster than teams in other states. Caught a few minutes of the Duncanville-DeSoto game last night and was really impressed with Duncanville' size and speed. By the way, Mater Dei beat them 45-3 earlier in the season in Texas. If you get a chance, take a look at Texas state finals; not so much for the game ... although they are entertaining ... but for the crowd. Unfortunately, last season, with COVID, they capped the games at 17,000 attendance per game. Back in 2019, the 6A DI game attracted over 47,000 which eclipsed attendance totals at almost 3/4 of the college bowl games played that season leading up to the national championship game. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whiteshoes Posted December 5, 2021 Author Share Posted December 5, 2021 1 hour ago, foxbat said: If you get a chance, take a look at Texas state finals; not so much for the game ... although they are entertaining ... but for the crowd. Unfortunately, last season, with COVID, they capped the games at 17,000 attendance per game. Back in 2019, the 6A DI game attracted over 47,000 which eclipsed attendance totals at almost 3/4 of the college bowl games played that season leading up to the national championship game. The great thing about the Texas finals are they all are televised on Bally Sports. Have not got a chance to watch Austin Westlake play this year, but they must be loaded and will be interesting to watch them play. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TigerFan20 Posted December 5, 2021 Share Posted December 5, 2021 (edited) 2 hours ago, foxbat said: If you get a chance, take a look at Texas state finals; not so much for the game ... although they are entertaining ... but for the crowd. Unfortunately, last season, with COVID, they capped the games at 17,000 attendance per game. Back in 2019, the 6A DI game attracted over 47,000 which eclipsed attendance totals at almost 3/4 of the college bowl games played that season leading up to the national championship game. Texas Football is a religion down there, Allen High School has an 20,000 seat state of the art football stadium. It looks way better than most colleges’ stadiums. There is plenty of stadiums that exceed over +10,000 capacity too Edited December 5, 2021 by TigerFan20 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foxbat Posted December 5, 2021 Share Posted December 5, 2021 8 minutes ago, TigerFan20 said: Texas Football is a religion down there, Allen High School has an 20,000 seat state of the art football stadium. It looks way better than most colleges’ stadiums. There is plenty of stadiums that exceed over +10,000 capacity too I know Allen well ... some of my tax dollars, I lived in Allen before moving to Indiana, are tied up in that stadium. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psaboy Posted December 6, 2021 Share Posted December 6, 2021 11 hours ago, whiteshoes said: I realize that to most high school football fans the season ended after the Center Grove - Westfield game. However, for this guy it is just a start to the "best time of the year". Starting with Wednesday nights Alabaster (AL) Thompson - Phenix City (AL) Central game, I must have watched all of or portions of twenty plus high school games on NFHS. For those of you who don't want to watch Army-Navy next weekend, I suggest you fork down $10 for a subscription and watch all the high school football you want. Once the season is over, it is easy to cancel your subscription. A few thoughts as I wind down the weekend: - Some states, Arizona being the most prominent, have created an "Open" Division playoff system. What I mean is that they take the best eight teams in that state and those teams are in a separate playoff while all others play in the tournament based on enrollment. For years Arizona would have several teams in different classes claiming to be the best in the state, now they actually settle it on the field. Rhode Island, which has four teams in its "Open Division", takes it a step further by allowing the losing teams in the first round to drop into the Division I tournament. May sound crazy but they do not have any arguments who the best team is at the end of the season. - Santa Ana (CA) Mater Dei is two touchdowns better than anyone in the country. They play this coming weekend in the Open Championship against a very good San Mateo Serra team, but it should be a formality for the team that has beaten Anaheim Servite (twice), St. John Bosco and Corona Centennial. And if you thought Byrce Young was good for Alabama yesterday, wait until you see sophomore starting quarterback they have this year. - Congrats to Bobref, as his Eagles won the Division 1 tournament in Ohio. They beat some very good teams along the way in one of the nations' toughest tournament brackets. - For some reason, Texas teams just appear to be bigger and faster than teams in other states. Caught a few minutes of the Duncanville-DeSoto game last night and was really impressed with Duncanville' size and speed. By the way, Mater Dei beat them 45-3 earlier in the season in Texas. - Finally, how do I think Center Grove would fare against these teams. I think their defense could hold their own, but don't know if their offense is powerful enough to win a shootout against teams like Collins Hill (GA), Austin (TX) Westlake and others that are ranked in the Top 20 in the country. It would have been great to see them against a Lakewood St. Edwards team, but it never came to fruition, so we will never know. Would/could the travel rule(s) for Indiana hIgh schools ever be changed? What would happen if a school such as CG, Cathedral, Warren, etc said the heck with the rule, I'll schedule teams anywhere I want? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irishman Posted December 6, 2021 Share Posted December 6, 2021 2 minutes ago, psaboy said: Would/could the travel rule(s) for Indiana hIgh schools ever be changed? What would happen if a school such as CG, Cathedral, Warren, etc said the heck with the rule, I'll schedule teams anywhere I want? The rule has been waived for a handful of basketball games over the years. I get the issue with the rule, but there are inconsistencies in it. Angola HS could play a game in Northern Alabama, but a team in Evansville would only be able to go the same distance in that direction. I could see adjustments to it. About 15 years ago, Cathedral was in the Herbstreit Classic at Nippert Stadium. There was a team from Mission Viejo, CA that was part of it as well. The people in charge wanted the two teams to play. Even though MV had traveled to Cincinnati, the rule still applied and Cathedral could not play them. Things like that I do not get. Maybe someday we will see changes, especially considering a team could potentially travel 300 miles and stay in State to play a game. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whiteshoes Posted December 6, 2021 Author Share Posted December 6, 2021 12 hours ago, psaboy said: Would/could the travel rule(s) for Indiana hIgh schools ever be changed? What would happen if a school such as CG, Cathedral, Warren, etc said the heck with the rule, I'll schedule teams anywhere I want? This has to be the most ridiculous rule in any association in the country. What really makes it illogical is that if Allen (TX) wanted to come to Indiana to play, they would be denied. Another reason the IHSAA is twenty years behind the times when dealing with high school football. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobref Posted December 6, 2021 Share Posted December 6, 2021 1 hour ago, whiteshoes said: This has to be the most ridiculous rule in any association in the country. What really makes it illogical is that if Allen (TX) wanted to come to Indiana to play, they would be denied. Another reason the IHSAA is twenty years behind the times when dealing with high school football. The questions as to the use of school funds for such purposes, student absences, etc., are legitimate questions to be asked when looking at traveling to play HS sports. But those questions, and others like them, should be asked and answered at the local level, not by statewide mandate. Questions about experiences that enrich the student experience, but require allocation of resources, are answered every day by the schools. This type of decision is no different. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonecrusher Posted December 6, 2021 Share Posted December 6, 2021 On 12/5/2021 at 7:40 AM, whiteshoes said: I realize that to most high school football fans the season ended after the Center Grove - Westfield game. However, for this guy it is just a start to the "best time of the year". Starting with Wednesday nights Alabaster (AL) Thompson - Phenix City (AL) Central game, I must have watched all of or portions of twenty plus high school games on NFHS. For those of you who don't want to watch Army-Navy next weekend, I suggest you fork down $10 for a subscription and watch all the high school football you want. Once the season is over, it is easy to cancel your subscription. A few thoughts as I wind down the weekend: - Some states, Arizona being the most prominent, have created an "Open" Division playoff system. What I mean is that they take the best eight teams in that state and those teams are in a separate playoff while all others play in the tournament based on enrollment. For years Arizona would have several teams in different classes claiming to be the best in the state, now they actually settle it on the field. Rhode Island, which has four teams in its "Open Division", takes it a step further by allowing the losing teams in the first round to drop into the Division I tournament. May sound crazy but they do not have any arguments who the best team is at the end of the season. - Santa Ana (CA) Mater Dei is two touchdowns better than anyone in the country. They play this coming weekend in the Open Championship against a very good San Mateo Serra team, but it should be a formality for the team that has beaten Anaheim Servite (twice), St. John Bosco and Corona Centennial. And if you thought Byrce Young was good for Alabama yesterday, wait until you see sophomore starting quarterback they have this year. - Congrats to Bobref, as his Eagles won the Division 1 tournament in Ohio. They beat some very good teams along the way in one of the nations' toughest tournament brackets. - For some reason, Texas teams just appear to be bigger and faster than teams in other states. Caught a few minutes of the Duncanville-DeSoto game last night and was really impressed with Duncanville' size and speed. By the way, Mater Dei beat them 45-3 earlier in the season in Texas. - Finally, how do I think Center Grove would fare against these teams. I think their defense could hold their own, but don't know if their offense is powerful enough to win a shootout against teams like Collins Hill (GA), Austin (TX) Westlake and others that are ranked in the Top 20 in the country. It would have been great to see them against a Lakewood St. Edwards team, but it never came to fruition, so we will never know. Because they are. Bigger, faster, stronger, meaner!! Lol JK BTW, I had to do a double take when I saw the Mater Dei score - until I figured out it was the Cali MD. CG v. Austin Westlake or similar would be an interesting matchup. Too bad IN teams can't do that kind of traveling. The Arizona "Open" deal sound interesting but I can't imagine a 2A or 3A team duking it out with a 5A or 6A team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobref Posted December 6, 2021 Share Posted December 6, 2021 2 minutes ago, Bonecrusher said: Because they are. Bigger, faster, stronger, meaner!! Lol JK BTW, I had to do a double take when I saw the Mater Dei score - until I figured out it was the Cali MD. CG v. Austin Westlake or similar would be an interesting matchup. Too bad IN teams can't do that kind of traveling. The Arizona "Open" deal sound interesting but I can't imagine a 2A or 3A team duking it out with a 5A or 6A team. So, why don’t the ADs of the (no more than a dozen) schools that might conceivably take advantage of a liberalized travel rule get together, propose a change, and then lobby their fellow ADs to support it, since they don’t have a dog in the fight? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonecrusher Posted December 6, 2021 Share Posted December 6, 2021 1 hour ago, Bobref said: So, why don’t the ADs of the (no more than a dozen) schools that might conceivably take advantage of a liberalized travel rule get together, propose a change, and then lobby their fellow ADs to support it, since they don’t have a dog in the fight? I think it's a great idea. I'll bet the players would lie to do something like that, as well. Indiana school plays a Texas school, in Texas, one year - then they flip the following year. Might be a bit of a job working out the travel logistics, but if the western states can do it.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobref Posted December 7, 2021 Share Posted December 7, 2021 Congratulations to 2021 Division I State Champion Lakewood St. Edward! This marks the first state title since 2018 and the Eagles’ 70th overall state championship in school history.🏆 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonecrusher Posted December 7, 2021 Share Posted December 7, 2021 18 hours ago, Bonecrusher said: I think it's a great idea. I'll bet the players would lie to do something like that, as well. Indiana school plays a Texas school, in Texas, one year - then they flip the following year. Might be a bit of a job working out the travel logistics, but if the western states can do it.... "like" not lie. I don't know, maybe some of them would lie to be able to have a travel game lol. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ragdoll Posted December 9, 2021 Share Posted December 9, 2021 St. X beat Male in KY. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basementbias Posted December 10, 2021 Share Posted December 10, 2021 So how does the California playoff system work? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whiteshoes Posted December 11, 2021 Author Share Posted December 11, 2021 11 hours ago, Basementbias said: So how does the California playoff system work? The have regional play with the winners advancing to a "bowl" type final. They have an open division and seven other divisions with two classes in each division. Those divisions and classes are based on a group of individuals who create all the match-ups. The biggest downfall to this system is that the best teams in the state are eliminated in regional play. This year, the best four teams in the state, Mater Dei, Servite, Bosco and Cen10 were in the same regional. Made for some great games in that regional but the bowl games are somewhat anticlimactic. Santa Ana Mater Dei won the Southern Section Division 1 Regional beating both Servite and Cen10. In the final game of the season, the "Open" championship, they play San Mateo Serra. Serra is a good team, but Mater Dei wins this game without much trouble. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basementbias Posted December 11, 2021 Share Posted December 11, 2021 57 minutes ago, whiteshoes said: The have regional play with the winners advancing to a "bowl" type final. They have an open division and seven other divisions with two classes in each division. Those divisions and classes are based on a group of individuals who create all the match-ups. The biggest downfall to this system is that the best teams in the state are eliminated in regional play. This year, the best four teams in the state, Mater Dei, Servite, Bosco and Cen10 were in the same regional. Made for some great games in that regional but the bowl games are somewhat anticlimactic. Santa Ana Mater Dei won the Southern Section Division 1 Regional beating both Servite and Cen10. In the final game of the season, the "Open" championship, they play San Mateo Serra. Serra is a good team, but Mater Dei wins this game without much trouble. Thanks for breaking it down. I was looking at it to see how the team in a town I'd like to winter in for retirement in 30 years did. Believe they were in 7A or 7AA. They lost in the semis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whiteshoes Posted December 11, 2021 Author Share Posted December 11, 2021 9 hours ago, Basementbias said: Thanks for breaking it down. I was looking at it to see how the team in a town I'd like to winter in for retirement in 30 years did. Believe they were in 7A or 7AA. They lost in the semis. No problem. California has been changing their tournament over the last several years hoping to find something that works. They like North vs South angle so most likely will keep this format for a while. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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