Florida vs. Texas: Booker T. Washington set to play Cedar Hill

Texas vs. Florida is always a debatable topic between high school football fans from both states.

When Washington (Miami, Fla.) travels to Texas on September 15 to take on Dallas-area power Cedar Hill (Texas), the interstate discussion will leave the realm of hypothetical and move to the gridiron, as part of the Lone Star Classic tripleheader.

Washington, which was Class 4A runner up in Florida last season, returns a whopping 18 starters and could be ranked as high as the Top 10 in preseason national rankings.

With so much experience on offense and defense, Washington thinks it will be well-equipped to handle the speed and athleticism it expects to face against Cedar Hill.



"With nine starters back on both sides, when we get back into spring practice, it's going to feel like we never stopped practicing," offensive coordinator Tim Harris Jr. told MaxPreps. "That's the most exciting part."

Leading the way on offense is quarterback Treon Harris, son of Washington head coach Tim "Ice" Harris, and brother to both Harris Jr. as well as Texas cornerback Brandon Harris, who starred on the school's outstanding 2007 squad.

Defensively, linebacker Matthew Thomas is a difference maker. He's a national recruit who can line up at linebacker or defensive end.

"I would describe him as an exceptional athlete," Harris Jr. said. "He's 6-4, runs a 4.6 40, has a vertical jump of 34 inches. The kid is a freak athlete."

With a preseason game against Northwestern and an early season match-up with Central, Washington should be battle-tested even before it takes on Cedar Hill.

Cedar Hill head coach Joey McGuire is also optimistic about his team, which, like Washington, will face a brutal schedule.



"We're really excited," McGuire said. "We've got nine guys coming back that started 12 games and another two that started some games. I think we've got a legitimate 5-6 BCS Division 1 football players on offense."

Electric running back Laquvionte Gonzalez is one of those blue-chip recruits.

The 5-foot-11, 170-pounder has offers from around the country. He can also play the slot and excels in special teams. McGuire said that Notre Dame has Gonzalez pegged as the No. 1 punt returner in the nation.

"I'm going to tell you right now - in space, I will put him up against anyone in the nation," McGuire said. "He's 5-11, 170 pounds, and he'll high jump seven feet this year. He's the real deal."

With four starters back on defense, McGuire said that the unit will be young, but very talented.

Allen (Texas) and Guyer (Denton, Texas) will provide a great barometer for how good Cedar Hill will be in 2012.



If both teams enter the game undefeated, the match-up could be the most anticipated since Northwestern (Miami, Fla.) played Carroll (Southlake, Texas) in 2007.

Northwestern won that epic showdown 29-21 and in the four years since that game, Florida and Texas schools have only locked horns 16 times.

Both Booker T. Washington and Cedar Hill recognize the significance of a Florida vs. Texas affair.

"What I like about it is that it's going to be an experience for both teams that they're going to remember for the rest of their lives," McGuire said.

"We felt like this team could really make a run to get into the national championship conversation," Harris Jr. said. "We were looking for a game that would help us."

The other two games of the tripleheader will feature all Texas teams Ozen (Beaumont) versus Stephenville and DeSoto against Trinity (Euless), a game with national implications in its own right. The event is scheduled to take place at Dallas Kincaid High School, with a seating capacity around 15,000, McGuire said.