Going the distance: The 10 longest prep football road trips

Neither time, distance nor challenge of transporting 50-plus teens have discouraged or prevented these national football showdowns.

Thursday, September 22, 2011
By: | MaxPreps.com
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The De La Salle (Concord, Calif.) football team – 62 strong – along with 30 coaches, administrators and parents, boarded an American Airlines flight in San Francisco on Wednesday and almost eight hours later, they landed in an uncharted region - South Florida, some 3,078 miles from home.

It would have taken them more than 45 hours to drive.

On Friday, they’ll be quite at home, on the gridiron, taking on host St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) in another showdown of national powers from opposite regions of North America.

“It’s exciting to go to a faraway place you haven’t been to see exactly where you stand,” De La Salle coach Bob Ladouceur said.

It's not the only long-distance showdown this weekend. A pair of Florida teams — Central (Miami) and Jefferson (Tampa) — are headed north to Ohio to face powers Elder (Cincinnati) and St. Edward (Lakewood), respectively.

It’s becoming a growing trend, these cross-country and cross-region journeys. Here are 10 of the longest trips taken by high school football teams and players this season, ranked by distance and not time.

10. Bethel (Spanaway, Wash.)

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