MitchMash: Frankly speaking from Texas

ARLINGTON, Texas – Man, I'll say it. I love Texas.

That ain't easy coming from a California-bred kid, one raised on the three S’s: sand, surf and sunshine, which frankly never helped with me getting down the three R's: reading, writing and arithmetic, which frankly never made much sense to me anyway considering 66 percent of them educational foundations don't even start with R (I was always pretty good with numbers).

Now, frankly, that's what a good Texan would point out because everything here is pretty darned straight forward. No pulling punches, no convoluted mixed messages and certainly no fancy incorrect alliteration.

What you see is what you get down here and I'm pretty certain the phrase “it is what it is” was born down yonder somewhere near Abilene or Fort Worth or Odessa.

With that said, this life-long prep sports junkie is just gonna say what's on his mind:

Nobody does high school football like Texas.

OK, not such an original thought, but over the last three years I've been lucky enough to travel around to see some of the national hotbeds, and I could mention all the runner-ups and honorees for California political correctness sake, but when it comes to the whole package – play, pageantry and pulling guards (hey, sorry I needed another P for correct alliteration's sake) – Texas indeed is the lone star.

Other states have proven they can compete on the field – Florida and its recent success in big showdowns with Texas teams – comes quickly to mind, but from A to Z, the marching bands, the coaching, the media coverage, the uniforms, the tackling, the PATs – all the minute details to putting on the uber-elaborate event and game of football, nobody can hold a pylon to Texas.

The state kicks Tex-as(s).

I know the state gets flak because teams don't generally travel outside the region to play and well, frankly, I get it. What's the point? Why travel to the Mohave when you live and play in football paradise?

That's all fresh on the brain because, frankly, I just witnessed the best day of high school football I've witnessed in 27 years of journalism – Monday's Herbstreit Kickoff Classic.

Don't get me wrong, the last four years of the California State bowl games have been ridiculously competitive and well played, but those were played in Carson in front of often a smattering of folks and ridiculously little pageantry.

They had more than 66,000 high school sports nuts out for the four games and frankly, though not a big fan of the glitz and glamour of these high-rise pro sports monstrosities for prep games, wow. How do you compete with Cowboys Stadium?

The thing is, enough Texans are interested in the high school game to make some noise and give it some juice, even in the pristine glitter and vastness of Jerry Jones' house.

There were more than 20,000 for the Trinity (Euless, Texas) versus Shiloh Christian (Springdale, Ark.) contest alone. And the game was on national television to boot. Players from the Guyer (Denton, Texas) vs. Cedar Hill (Texas) game said it was the largest and loudest crowd they've ever played in front of.

The Texas kids paid the merchants back with a 42-41 humdinger.

I'll admit I'm also an offensive football junkie, which made this 17-hour day zip by faster than Trinity scatback Terrrence Tusan hits the edge.

The four games featured 293 points, 148 first downs, 3,230 yards and 38 touchdowns. Though Trinity's 80-26 pinball win over Shiloh skewed the charts, there were 15 touchdown plays of 39 yards or longer.

Those weren't gimmes folks. There were seven others of 50 yards or more where players were chased down inside the 10.

I'm afraid no state or region can catch the Texas kids when it comes to putting on a football show.

Other "quite frankly" thoughts and observations from this sprawling metropolis of wide roads, friendly folk and unmatched barbecue:

* Texas will get a chance to further its football case this weekend when it hosts the Florida vs. Texas High School Football Showcase at Eagle Stadium in DeSoto.

Defending Class 5A-2 state champion Abilene (Texas) takes on defending Florida 2A champ Cocoa (Fla.) on Friday, followed by three games on Saturday: Denison (Texas) versus Glades Central (Belle Glade, Fla.), Madison (Dallas) versus Central (Miami) and DeSoto (Texas) versus Miramar (Fla.).
 
* We asked St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) coaching legend George Smith, a shoot-from-the-hip sort whose team handled a talented but inexperienced Skyline team 31-3, to weigh in on Florida-Texas. He didn't really bite but did offer this: “Obviously we have two states who pride themselves on high school football. Obviously if you went through those two states and found how many Division I players there were, there would be quite a bit. When you get all the Internet postings and national rankings there's naturally some comparisons. There's some good football in both places, you guys saw Trinity and obviously they're a real good team."

* Frankly, that's the game, in hindsight, everyone really wanted to see: Trinity vs. Aquinas. That's an even game among the skill kids – Aquinas has the more polished quarterback and more depth at receiver – but Trinity's line play would give them the overall edge. That said, folks thinking that Aquinas is significantly down after two remarkable seasons is wrong. That's a Top 10 or 15 team in the country.

* Another matchup I'd pay to see is Grant (Sacramento, Calif.) versus Trinity. Watching Grant's Villiami Moala and Puka Lopa take on Trinity's hogs would be momentous.

* Could there have been better play at quarterback at Herbstreit? The numbers were staggering. In order of performance:

1. DeSoto’s Ryan Polite - 18 of 30, 313 yards, five TDs, no interceptions.

2. Guyer's J.W. Walsh - 21 carries, 184 yards, five touchdowns, 135 yards passing, 1 TD.

3. Cedar Hill's Driphus Jackson - 17 of 25, 270 yards, four touchdowns, team-high 62 yards rushing.

4. Aquinas' Jacob Rudock - 10 of 14, 230 yards, two touchdowns passing, one running.

5. Shiloh's Kiehl Frazier - 227 yards passing, two touchdowns, 58 yards rushing, touchdown.
 
6. Bowie's Sergio Cantu - 12 of 18, 246 yards, two touchdowns.

* If I had to pick a quarterback to lead a team, an incredibly hard choice, I'd go: 1. Oklahoma State-bound Walsh; 2. Auburn-bound Frazier; 3. Iowa-bound Rudock; 4. Uncommitted Polite; 5. Uncommitted Jackson.

* It's insane that Polite has yet to land any solid offers. He's a four-year starter, has good size (6-2, 200) and feet, a strong, accurate arm and a track record: he threw for 4,056 yards and 39 touchdowns last year. … Jackson reportedly has offers from Rice, Navy, Air Force and Boise State. Beyond being a great athlete he's a fantastic leader by all accounts.

* I feel bad for Shiloh Christian and stand up coach Josh Floyd. The Saints simply didn't have enough beef or depth to match up with Trinity, but I'm frankly not sure anyone does. No matter how talented they are and how well-coached they are, players from a school of 712 students (according to 2007-08 figures) from grades 1-12 shouldn't be expected to compete with a school of 3,063 (grades 10-12).

* That said, the Saints were ranked nationally in almost every poll, including No. 1 in our MaxPreps Freeman computer rankings. As Floyd said afterward, "nobody is coming down here from Arkansas to play these guys."

* And after seeing what happened, nobody in their right mind would want to.

* By the way, baring an injury to Frazier, Shiloh won't lose again this season.

* Though everyone buzzed about Trinity's hogs afterward, what flabbergasted me was the quality of backs coach Steve Lineweaver kept inserting into the game. Granted, the line certainly made all of them look better, but beyond a pair of 1,000-yard backs in Tevin Williams and Terrence Tusan – well known commodities – perhaps more impressive was No. 3 back Sivad Boykin (5-4, 200), a transfer from Ohio, who is the definition of a bowling ball back.

Shiloh simply couldn't wrap around his huge Maurice Jones-Drew type thighs and he continually bounced off defenders. His 32-yard TD scamper, the 13th and last one for the Trojans, was the definition of man-against-boys, as two defenders absolutely had him to rights and he just bowled them right over.

"When he gets going, he just runs people over," Williams said. "I wouldn't want to try to tackle him. He's a strong, compact dude."

* Lost in Trinity's win was their best all-around player Brandon Carter, who didn't need to do much. The 6-foot, 167-pound receiver-defensive back who is headed to Oklahoma, had just two catches for 27 yards and didn't reach the end zone. However, he had two of the event's most memorable plays, on double-reverse pass completions for 98 yards. On the latter he escaped a couple tacklers and fired a jump pass about 50 yards in the air to Garland Rader to set up a short touchdown.

* There were a pair of extremely talented receiving teams, led by Aquinas' Rashad Greene (Florida State) and Phillip Dorsett (Miami), perhaps the best tandem in the country. Dorsett's 67-yard punt return in the second quarter was one of many spectacular plays that didn't go for a touchdown.

He fearlessly caught a high booming punt and actually gave a half pivot to give him a half step to avoid a large rush of tacklers. He then zoomed laterally, jetted to the left sideline and was gone down the sideline before being caught on the angle at the Skyline 10.

* DeSoto also has a terrific receiving squad led by Bowie transfer Cameron White (6-2, 190) and David Porter (6-0, 185), both headed for TCU. The Eagles also showed off Demarcus Thompson (6-0, 180) and Austin Vincent (6-2, 175), who combined for six catches and 119 yards.

White caught two touchdowns against his former team and he thinks the Eagles can win the state title with a little focus and execution. Much will be learned this weekend when DeSoto faces Miramar, which has already defeated highly-touted and defending Florida state champion Plant in a preseason game.

Polite isn't making a state title promise by any means, but he did say this: "I have the best receivers in the state of Texas."

Frankly, it's hard to imagine any quartet any better.

* Speaking of, there just can't be any better guy at what he does than the event's Sports Information Director, Bo "The Lasso" Carter. A legend in his field, the 2005 Hall of Fame inductee of the College Sports Information Directors of America put in a 17-hour day with little to no fanfare, making sure all 60 or so working media got their stats and quotes on time and on point.

Beyond that, Carter, a jewel of a gent with an uncanny memory, wry wit and heart larger than his native state, makes everyone in the press box somehow feel important, which believe me, isn't easy. The former Big 12 Conference SID Carter does much more important work than crunching sports numbers. He's been a volunteer with the Texas Special Olympics since 1994 and his wife of 30 years, Dr. Joanne Pryor-Carter, is a bereavement counselor for hospice in the Dallas-Fort Worth Area.

* Speaking of behind the scenes, the best story of the entire Herbstreit event we've saved for last, which is opposite what you learn in journalism school. But frankly, we learned after the fact unfortunately. We'll follow up on this at a later date.

Ryan Sparkman, a placekicker and soccer player who booted the game-winning extra point in the Cedar Hills thriller over Guyer, was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma on Feb. 2. He received encouraging news last week that after eight months he is cancer-free.

A part time football player, on a field with some of the state's and nation's best, he was probably the most important figure of the entire extravaganza.

The game-winning kick, he said, was icing on a rich week of good news. It also finished off almost poetically a flavorsome morning, afternoon and evening of football at its finest.  
 
"This is greater than anything," he told the Dallas Morning News. "It's indescribable."

MitchMash is a weekly rambling of news, observation and fun from MaxPreps senior writer and columnist Mitch Stephens. E-mail him at mstephens@maxpreps.com with your own inspirational and informative ramblings.




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