By: Dave Krider
MaxPreps.com
High school football games matching teams from different states are becoming more and more popular and Labor Day weekend has become the premier period for major kick-off showcases. There are at least five big-time events – in Ohio, West Virginia, Florida and Texas – that will be held during Labor Day weekend. Three of them will be making their debuts.
The marquee event is the fourth annual Burger King Kirk Herbstreit Varsity Football Series in Ohio, which will be held Aug. 30-31 in Cincinnati and Canton. On Aug. 30 there will be four games in Canton and four in Cincinnati, while there will be three in Cincinnati on Aug. 31.
The most intriguing match-up will pit defending Ohio Division I state champion Cincinnati St. Xavier (15-0) against two-time defending Alabama Class 6A state champion Prattville (16-0) at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati. St. Xavier finished No. 2 and Prattville No. 8 in the 2007 MaxPreps national rankings and both are projected to be top-25 this year.
St. Xavier, which is 40-2 over the last three years, will rely on rising junior quarterback Luke Massa (6-5, 205), who passed for over 1,200 yards and 11 TDs. Coach Steve Specht calls Massa “as good as anybody in the country. He’s going to be a great one. He’s athletic, can run and is an outstanding basketball player.” Pat Muldoon, a 6-4, 255-pound end, and linebacker Luke Kuechly (6-3, 210), who led the team in tackles, will anchor the defense.
Specht says that Prattville “is going to be as good as anybody we play. The great thing about the Herbstreit is that you get to play great, great competition.” In previous years the Bombers have played two other national powers, losing to Lakeland, Fla., and beating DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.).
Prattville posted a 42-1 record during the past three seasons. The Alabama power will have a strong defense, anchored by safety Zach Brownell, end Alex Page, linebacker La’angelo Albright and tackle Hunter Powell. Transfer Justin Thomas, a rising freshman, is an exciting young wide receiver, who should see plenty of action under new coach Jamie Dubose.
Elder (Cincinnati, Ohio) will play Florida’s defending Class 5A state champion, Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas, which posted a 14-1 record last year. In 2007 Elder (7-4) stunned Independence (Charlotte, N.C.) – ending a huge 109-game winning streak – and has at least four returnees being heavily recruited by Division I colleges.
St. Thomas returns an exciting pitch-and-catch duo in quarterback Ryan Becker (6-0, 180) and receiver Duron Carter (6-3, 185). Becker passed for 1,714 yards and 26 touchdowns last year. Carter, son of NFL standout Cris Carter, is expected to greatly expand on last year’s 22 catches for 361 yards and eight touchdowns. The catalyst is veteran coach George Smith, who has a sparkling 318-65 record and four state titles in 31 seasons.
The field also includes East St. Louis, Ill., which has a brilliant rising sophomore runner, Vincent Arterbridge (6-2, 215), who used his great speed to run for over 1,300 yards as a freshman.
FRIENDS OF COAL PREP CLASSIC
This brand new event will include three games on Sept. 1 at Wheeling Island Stadium in Wheeling, W.Va. The most intriguing game will pit Pennsylvania’s defending Class AAAA state champion, Pittsburgh Central Catholic (16-0), against Florida power Lakeland (10-2), which had a 53-game winning streak snapped in 2007.
Central Catholic will rely on running back D.J. Meyers (5-11, 180), who runs 40 yards in 4.48 seconds, on offense. The defensive stopper is hard-hitting linebacker Sam Loughrey (6-1, 220), who will be a three-year starter. Lakeland has a veteran quarterback, Jarred Haggins (6-2, 180), who compiled 1,275 yards of total offense last season and six touchdowns. Linebacker Jordan Jones (6-2, 220) recorded 112 tackles (52 solos) last season.
Central Catholic coach Terry Totten says, “We’re honored to be selected. To play on a national stage is what we really aspire to. But we’re a very young team. At one time we could have 16 sophomores in the lineup. I hope tradition sinks in and we can battle.”
Other games will pit four-time West Virginia defending Class A state champion Wheeling Central Catholic (14-0, 33 straight wins) against Steubenville (Ohio) Catholic and Ohio power Cleveland Glenville (10-3) against Pennsylvania’s defending Class AAA state champion, Jefferson Hills Thomas Jefferson, which posted a perfect 16-0 record last year.
TEXAS GRIDIRON CLASSIC
The first annual Texas Gridiron Classic will include four games on Aug. 30 and three on Sept. 1 at Texas Stadium in Irving, Texas. The headliner will take place on Sept. 1 when Texas’ top-ranked team, Euless Trinity, takes on perennial Louisiana powerhouse River Ridge John Curtis Christian.
Trinity (15-1) is the defending Class 5A-Division I state champion and should contend for the national championship this fall. Trinity, which has won 40 of its last 43 games and two state titles, returns 11 starters. Denarius McGhee (5-11, 180) passed for 1,706 yards and 14 touchdowns a year ago, while 6-2, 212-pound Dontrayevous Robinson ran for 885 yards and 17 touchdowns. Robinson is one of four Trojans who already have committed to Division I colleges.
Trinity coach Steve Lineweaver, who has an eight-year record of 89-16, already has a target on his back as a defending state champion and a team that is figuring prominently in preseason national rankings. “My take on rankings,” he noted, “is that they create a great deal of interest. If you look at it that way, it’s a nice compliment. But it doesn’t mean too much in getting a first down,” he laughed.
John Curtis (12-2) notched its 22nd Class 2A state title last year and returns 10 starters. Running back Kenny Cain (6-1, 200) averaged 8.5 yards per carry and scored 15 touchdowns. Defensive back Jonathan McKnight (6-0, 170) is the younger brother of University of Southern California star Joe McKnight. J.T. Curtis is the second winningest coach in prep football history with a tremendous record of 455-48-6 in 36 years.
Other out-of-state teams in the field include Buford, Ga., which was 15-0 last year, Ruston and Mandeville, La., Cincinnati LaSalle and Trotwood-Madison from Ohio and northern California power Clovis East.
NIKE FOOTBALL KICK-OFF CLASSIC
This inaugural event will be held at Traz Powell Stadium in Miami and will spread three games over two days. On Aug. 29, Florida’s defending Class 4A state champion, Miami Booker T. Washington (14-0), will play Arizona’s Chandler Hamilton (12-1). The Tornadoes, who posted eight shutouts last year, will return five defensive and four offensive starters and will count heavily on 6-0, 170-pound defensive back Nat Turner Harris.
New Booker T. Washington coach Earl Tillman predicts, “If we have the same hunger that we ended up with last year, we’ll have a good team. It’s a national game and the exposure could put us in contention for a possible national championship.”
On Aug. 30, Florida’s two-time defending Class 6A state champ, Miami Northwestern (15-0), will take a 30-game winning streak against California’s powerful Long Beach Poly (13-1).The other game will pit Florida’s defending Class 2B state champion, Pahokee (14-0), against Olive Branch, Miss. (11-3).
Poly has an outstanding runner, Melvin Richardson, who gained 1,316 yards last year, and quarterback, Morgan Fennell, who passed for 1,013 yards. Northwestern’s Daquan Hargrett (5-9, 180) ran for 882 yards and 12 touchdowns as a junior, even though he only played part-time.
Pahokee will count heavily on standout wide receiver Nu’Keese Richardson, who also could play quarterback.
TEXAS FOOTBALL CLASSIC
Though it includes only in-state teams, the 10th annual Texas Football Classic appears to be the “granddaddy” of these early-season events. Five games will be played over three days at the Alamodome in San Antonio.
On Aug. 28, San Antonio Southwest will take on Georgetown. On Aug. 29 Austin Lake Travis will play Round Rock Westwood. Saturday’s tripleheader will match Katy Cinco Ranch against San Antonio Reagan, Burnett against Brownwood and Mercedes against Port Lavaca Calhoun.
Lake Travis is the glamour team in the field, having won the Class 4A-Division II state title last year with a 15-1 record and returning a spectacular quarterback. New coach Chad Morris will build his first team around Garrett Gilbert (6-4, 190), who threw for a state-record 4,827 yards last year with 52 touchdown passes. He is the son of Gale Gilbert, who played in five Super Bowls, and he already has made a commitment to the University of Texas.
Morris, who is coaching at his fifth high school, concedes that Gilbert “is getting a lot of attention and deservedly so. We could repeat as state champions, but at any level it’s hard to do that.”