By Jason Hickman
MaxPreps.com
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Mayo Headed Home
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It's official. O.J. Mayo is headed home.
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According to Herald-Dispatch, Mayo - regarded by some as the No. 1 player in the class of 2007 - enrolled at Huntington High School in West Virginia Tuesday.
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Mayo grew up in Huntington before attending Rose Hill Christian in Kentucky, and then North College Hill, Ohio. The latter finished No. 15 in the final MaxPreps National Rankings a year ago, and while the star guard is walking away from one powerhouse, he is joining another.
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Huntington's Highlanders are the two-time defending state champions at the AAA level, and recorded a 25-2 mark in 2006. The team already featured a national top 100-caliber player in 6-8 forward/center Patrick Patterson, and fellow forward Chris Early, already committed to Oklahoma.
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The Herald-Dispatch also reported that there will be another Mayo to watch over the next four years, O.J.'s brother, Todd, who will be a freshman at South Point High in Ohio.
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Football Festivals Dot Weekend Lineup
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Oregon, Texas, and Washington will be among the sites for football "festivals" being played all over the country this weekend.
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The idea of bringing multiple teams to a prominent venue for two, three, four, or even five game extravaganzas was popularized eight years ago with the advent of the Texas Football Classic - and the original is still among the best.
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The event, produced by Dave Campbell's Texas Football, is in its eighth installment and will be played Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at the Alamodome in San Antonio.
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Five games are on the slate this year, with Smithson Valley and The Woodlands locking horns in the most high-profile clash Saturday at noon. The Texas Football Classic is also this week's stop on the MaxPreps USA Football Tour.
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That isn't the only festival being played in Texas this weekend, as the Trinity Mother Frances Football Classic will feature eight teams over three days in Tyler.
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Bishop Gorman, Nev., meets Gilmer in the opener Thursday, while Tyler Lee takes on Lake Highlands at 8 p.m. Friday. Saturday's double-header kicks off with Forney vs. Whitehouse at 10 a.m., followed by John Tyler and Texas High of Texarkana at 8 p.m.
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Moving West, Friday's Les Schwab Kickoff Classic, played at PGE Park in Portland, is billed as a showdown between top programs from Oregon and Washington.
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In the 5:30 p.m. opener, Portland's Central Catholic will face Vancouver (Wash.) power Evergreen. The Plainsmen won the 2004 Class 4A title in Washington, while Central Catholic is a perennial power that current Miami Dolphin quarterback Joey Harrington once called home.
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Lake Oswego (Ore.) meets Seattle's Bothell High in the 8 p.m. game.
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The Northwest will also be the site for the Emerald City Kickoff Classic, a 10-team event played at Seattle's Qwest Field, home of the NFL's Seahawks.
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The 8 p.m. Eastlake-Punahou, Hawaii game will say a lot about the quality of football being played in both states, while the 5:30 p.m. Southridge-Prosser match-up has the potential to be a shootout of epic proportions between two of Washington's best players.
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Southridge quarterback Jason Munns (committed to Brigham Young) and Prosser signal caller Kellen Moore, both seniors, combined for over 7,000 passing yards and almost 100 touchdown passes, leading their teams into the 4A and 3A state playoffs, respectively.
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McNutt Living Out Storybook Ride
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Six games into his junior season at Hazelwood Central High in Florissant, Mo., Marvin McNutt was a second-string quarterback on a team that was 3-3.
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A year later, the 6-4, 190-pound senior is the leader of a team expected to compete for a title, committed to play football next fall for the University of Iowa, and the subject of an inspirational lead story for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's 2006 high school football preview edition.
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McNutt was named Hazelwood Central's starting quarterback halfway through the 2005 season, and promptly led the Hawks to six-straight wins before losing in the Class 6 title game, according to the Post-Dispatch.
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The future Hawkeye didn't come out for football until his sophomore season, and always envisioned himself as a basketball player at the next level. McNutt's story should serve as inspiration for student-athletes participating in high school sports this fall, and throughout the 2006-2007 academic year.
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Before We Go: Seattle's Rainier Beach High School is going to have a big advantage over opponents on the gridiron this season. Key word: Big. The Vikings, expected to compete for Washington's 3A title, will go to battle up front with 6-6, 320-pound Emeka Iweka (committed to the University of Washington), 6-3, 330-pound Alameda Ta'amu, 6-3, 357-pound Romeo Semo, and the baby of the bunch, 6-2, 300-pound Chris Patu. Rainier Beach opens Saturday at Pasco, the state's top-ranked 4A club.
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Mascot of the Week: This week's state is Alaska, and the Ketchikan Kings have earned the nod for best school mascot. The nickname "Kings" isn't all that unique across the country, except Ketchikan's "Kings" are named after the king salmon, and the city itself is known as the "King Salmon Capital of the World".
Jason Hickman: jason@maxpreps.com
Interested in becoming a MaxPreps contributor? We are looking for writers to help expand our coverage of high school sports nationwide. Contact Jason Hickman at jason@maxpreps.com.
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