Airlines could see more Preps during football season
Local attention could be the old and possibly one day be replaced by new national attention. Schools and fans are quickly jumping aboard out of state matchups more and more each year. National exposure is the is the new way.
After football season, schools throughout the country scramble to fill voids in their schedule. Local competition, doesn’t always work out for many sorts of differences. For that reason, schools take to the open roads as well as the friendly skies across the nation.
Top high school programs usually factor into this new wave of hot competition more often than the mediocre teams. Some games are set as a two year contract deal with each team playing a home game as well as a road game against each other. Some are one and done.
Some coaches see it as a take home experience that the kids will enjoy for the remainder of their lives, others use it as way of bettering their team, win or lose to prepare for the season ahead of them.
Here is an early list of matchups for next season.
August
Week Zero: Weekend of Friday, August 19
Friday: Scottsdale (Ariz.) Chapparal vs. Las Vegas (Nev.) Bishop Gorman *neutral site*
Buzz: A neutral site game between two games who could be in a battle for a national title will open the season out west. Both bring back a lot of players at key players. One will open the season with a loss but both could be teams that end in the Top 10.
Friday: Louisville (Ky.) Trinity at Brentwood (Tenn.) Brentwood Academy
Buzz: This is a fantastic kickoff to the season for both teams. Trinity has aspirations of winning a national title and BRentwood Academy is traditionally a team that challenges for a Tenessee Division II title. The trip down I-65 is easy to make so it shouldn’t be too taxing.
Week One: Weekend of Friday, August 26
Friday: Madison (Fla.) Madison County at Moultrie (Ga.) Colquitt County
Buzz: The Cowboys will get a good test traveling into South Georgia to take on Rush Propst’s squad. Propst has increased the success of the once laughable Colquitt County team in recent years but took some regular season lumps in 2010. Propst has admitted he learned a lot of things about himself in the last 12 months and expect a much more focused team this year.
Friday: Jacksonville (Fla.) First Coast at Duncan (S.C) Byrnes
Buzz: The Rebels are once again opening the season with an out-of-state game. First Coast was a program on the rise in 2010 but fell a little short of expectations. Both teams will have some rebuilding as well as some expectations entering the 2011 season.
Friday: Nashville (Tenn.) Montgomery Bell Academy at Louisville (Ky.) Trinity
Buzz: For consecutive weeks Trinity will take on a private school power out of the Nashville area. MBA has been in a transition the last few season but the level of competition has not taken a tumble and this squad is always expected to compete for a state title.
Saturday: Batesville (Miss.) South Panola at Hoover (Ala.) High
Buzz: Two of the flag-bearer teams from boardering states will square off near Birmingham. The Tigers are coming off of a national title while Hoover will be hungry after falling in the state finals to end 2010. Both teams will have major turnover but these programs do not rebuild.
Saturday: Murfreesboro (Tenn.) Riverdale at Louisville (Ky.) St. Xavier
Buzz: Riverdale is among the name brand teams in Tennessee since its rise under Gary Rankin and its enrollment (2130) is right on par with St. Xavier. This game is the closer to a four-game series to be played at Papa John’s Stadium and will test both teams early in the season.
September
Week Two: Weekend of Friday, September 2
Friday: Chesapeake (Va.) Oscar Smith vs. Baltimore (Md.) Gilman *neutral site*
Buzz: Smith has become a regular on the out-of-state game circuit while Gilman is venturing out again looking to build the reputation of Maryland football. Neither team ended 2010 the way it wanted and 2011 will be a shot at redeption for both.
Friday: Ventura (Calif.) St. Bonaventure at Corona (Calif.) Centennial
Buzz: Both teams will enter the 2011 season with a dream of a CIF Bowl. One of the perennial Southern California teams dreams could be dashed quickly with a loss. Centennial will be turning over a lot of the roster while St. Bonaventure should be building off a solid 2010 season.
Friday: Franklinton (La.) High at River Ridge (La.) John Curtis
Buzz: Franklinton is coming off of a state title victory, Curtis off a finals loss. Franklinton is losing a very talented class of players but coach Shane Smith should have the Demons ready to fight. Curtis has its usual turnover each year and will be phyisical as usual up front.
Saturday: Tulsa (Okla.) Union at Shreveport (La.) Evangel Christian
Buzz: The pair are coming off of state championship seasons and nothing less is expected for the 2011 season. This is the second year of the two year deal so the future of the series is up in the air. Union won in 2010 at home, 44-32, so Evangel will certainly look to defend its home turf.
Saturday: Bellevue (Wash.) High at Westlake Village (Calif.) Oaks Christian
Buzz: Bellevue did not travel in 2010 as it was a stated rebuilding year and 2011 is expected to be a special season for the Wolverines. The school made famous for beating De La Salle to end its win streak will make its way to take on Oaks Christian which should have one of its deeper teams in recent memory entering 2011.
Saturday: Long Beach (Calif.) Poly at Sacramento (Calif.) Grant
Buzz: Poly is in a tailspin and needs to rebound before it falls into the “just a name” category. Grant is a team that has been on the national rise recently and could use another big win to erase the memory of its tough playoff exits the previous two seasons. Both teams need a win to start the season and this should be a good one.
Week Three: Weekend of Friday, September 9
Friday: Tulsa (Okl.) Booker T. Washington at Abilene (Texas) High
Buzz: Booker T. Washington won the Oklahoma Class 5A state title last season and is expected to have a good team returning. Abilene fought through an injury plaqued 2010 and graduated a very talented senior class. Booker T. Washington has the enrollment of a middle range Class 4A team in Texas.
Friday: Broken Arrow (Okl.) High at Odessa (Texas) Permian
Buzz: Broken Arrow has been a team that has flirted with taking the next step in Oklahoma a number of times. This is a solid measuring stick game for both teams as Permian will have its hands full in the Little Southwest Conference.
Friday: Louisville (Ky.) Trinity at Cincinnati (Ohio) Elder
Buzz: A Friday night game at “The Pit” is tough for any team, but this is becoming a budding rivalry as the teams played a close game last year – in a down year for Elder and a young year for Trinity – both should be better teams this year and that could make for a great game.
Saturday: Mission Viejo (Calif.) High at Ramsey (N.J) Don Bosco
Buzz: Don Bosco has celebrated two consecutive Top 10 finished in the RivalsHigh 100 the last two seasons and have aspirations to win another National Title in 2011. Mission Viejo will ride the arm of Alex Bridgford into New Jersey for a major fight for respect.
Saturday: Cocoa (Fla.) High at Mt. Ulla (N.C) West Rowan
Buzz: Two of the longest winning streaks in the nation will be tested in early September. Both teams will be looking to reload from graduation losses but this should be a good game for both teams. Cocoa will make the trip to North Carolina for the contest.
Saturday: Oxford (Miss.) Lafayette at Shreveport (La.) Evangel
Buzz: Both Evangel and Lafayette are coming off of state title winning seasons and should be in contention again this year. Evangel will be playing against a larger school – 387 students versus 687 students – but that is nothing new as the Eagles love to be tested.
Week Four: Weekend of Friday, September 16
Friday: Louisville (Ky.) Trinity at Cincinnati (Ohio) St. Xavier
Buzz: This could be the biggest test of the season for Trinity as it was not able to beat St. X at home last year on a down year for St. Xavier. The Shamrocks will need this game if it wants to make a name as a true national power and not just a Louisville or Kentucky pack leader.
Week Five: Weekend of Friday, September 23
Friday: Indianapolis (Ind.) Cathedral at Louisville (Ky.) Trinity
Buzz: A first time matchup of teams with national rankings aspirations. Cathedral won the Indiana Class 4A title last year while Trinity took home the Kentucky 6A crown. This is a tricky game for Trinity as it is sandwiched between Cincinnati St. X and major rival, Louisville St. X.
Friday: Concord (Calif.) De La Salle at Ft. Lauderdale (Fla.) St. Thomas Aquinas
Buzz: Hard to get much bigger than this coast-to-coast game. Both teams have been among the top teir of high school football for the better part of the last decade and look to continue that run. Excitement will be at a fever pitch for fans of football not just the two programs.
Week Six: Weekend of Friday, September 30
Saturday: Anaheim (Calif.) Servite at Las Vegas (Nev.) Bishop Gorman
Buzz: Servite has been a power in Pac-5 football and a major player for CIF Bowl games. Bishop Gorman has circled 2011 as a year it is gunning for a national title. A good showing in its out-of-state games will provide a lot of ammunition for that arguement.
October
Week Seven: Weekend of Friday, October 7
No national games currently under contract for this week.
Week Eight: Weekend of Friday, October 14
No national games currently under contract for this week.
Week Nine: Weekend of Friday, October 21
Friday: Fort Thomas (Ky.) Highlands at Cincinnati (Ohio) Elder
Buzz: Highlands is 3-0 against Cincinnati area competition the last two seasons, including beating St. X on national television. The Bluebirds and Panthers have played two games against each other in the last decade with both being one-score games.
Week Ten: Weekend of Friday, October 28
Friday: Cincinnati (Ohio) Moeller at Louisville (Ky.) Trinity
Buzz: The close to the regular season for both teams should be fantastic. Trinity will have played three of the four teams in the vaunted GCL-South and by this time will have a true measurement of where the team stands nationally.