10 high school football teams with something to prove this fall

Every high school football team should be fired up for the season, no matter how its 2013 season came to a close.

However, some teams will be playing with a little extra motivation this fall.


Union (Tulsa, Okla.)
Union rattled off four consecutive state titles from 2008-2011 after winning three out of four between 2002-2005. It elevated itself from rival Jenks as the clear alpha dog on the Oklahoma high school football scene.

Now, the proverbial tables have turned a bit, as Jenks has beaten Union in each of the last two Class 6A title games by a combined 47 points and has asserted itself as the area's top program.

With quarterback Mason Farquhar and leading running back Tyler Adkins among those returning, it looks promising for Union to attempt to reclaim its dominance, but it will likely need to get past Jenks to do so.

St. Peter's Prep (Jersey City, N.J.)
With Penn State commit Brandon Wimbush back behind center and running back/receiver/defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick back all over the field, many are pegging St. Peter's Prep as the team to beat in the Garden State.

Since its last state title in 2004, St. Peter's Prep has arguably been a state title favorite twice: in 2005 and 2010. But both of those seasons ended in blowout playoff losses to Don Bosco Prep.

This year, it enters the season behind Don Bosco Prep in the Preseason Top 25 Early Contenders, but the buzz around the team is undeniable. St. Peter's Prep needs to fend off not only Don Bosco Prep, but Paramus Catholic and Bergen Catholic if it hopes to reach its potential and win a state title.

Our Lady of Good Counsel (Olney, Md.)
The talent-rich Washington, D.C. area is always hyper-competitive, especially in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC), which is comprised of 10 football-playing schools from D.C., Maryland and Northern Virginia area which do not belong to traditional state governing bodies and play by their own rules.

Good Counsel dominated the landscape from 2009-2012, capturing four consecutive WCAC crowns and churning out numerous high level recruits such as Jelani Jenkins and Stefon Diggs.

Last season, a resurgent DeMatha squad handed Good Counsel two of its five losses, more losses than it had in the previous four seasons combined. This fall, head coach Bob Milloy and Good Counsel are out to prove 2013 was a fluke, not the start of a slide.

Oscar Smith (Chesapeake, Va.)
Heading into last year's Division 6 title game, Oscar Smith was undefeated, nationally ranked and expected to win its third state title in six years.

The outcome was decidedly not in Oscar Smith's favor: a 35-6 loss to first-time state champion Centreville.

Despite the loss of Gatorade StatePlayer of the Year Andrew Brown, Oscar Smith still has an impressive roster of talent, including fellow blue-chip recruit Josh Sweat. Anything short of exacting revenge and capturing a state title would be a disappointment.

Folsom (Calif.)
At this point, Folsom is nothing short of a juggernaut.

It has won a CIF Sac-Joaquin Section title in three of the last four seasons and is nationally known for its innovative, explosive offense. However, since the CIF Bowl Games shifted their format two years ago, Folsom has endured back-to-back season-ending losses to high school football titan De La Salle.

De La Salle's loss last year to St. John Bosco, coupled with the transfer of its star player, Kahlil McKenzie, seemingly have created a chink in the Spartan armor. Folsom should be out to exploit it.

Highlands (Fort Thomas, Ky.)
Last year, something happened in Kentucky that hadn't occurred since 2006: Highlands did not win a football state title.

In head coach Dale Mueller's final game, Highlands fell just short, losing 37-34 in the Class 4A title game.

With new head coach Brian Weinrich at the helm and quarterback Beau Hoge now under center, Highlands will set out to make it seven state titles in eight seasons.

Bergen Catholic (Oradell, N.J.)
Perhaps no team is hungrier this fall than Bergen Catholic, which went from being state runner up (and very nearly, state champion) in 2012 to a two-win team in 2013.

Granted, the 2-7 season came against a very challenging schedule, but it was still a tough pill to swallow for the proud Bergen Catholic program.

There are plenty of optimistic signs heading into 2014. Quarterback Jarrett Guarantano, one of the country's top signal-callers in the Class of 2016, returns behind center. Transfer Sal Mauro is back behind a defense that returns five starters. Bergen Catholic has the pieces in place to be a major surprise story this fall.

Plant (Tampa, Fla.)
It's difficult to find a more well-run, well-coached program than Plant, the Tampa powerhouse that has been home to both state champions as well as future NFL players. With such an impressive track record comes great expectations, and Plant has fallen short of taking home the hardware in each of the last two seasons.

Robert Weiner's squad finished 11-2-1 last season, dropping a Class 8A semifinal matchup to Apopka. Armwood, ranked No. 25 in the MaxPreps Preseason Top 25 Early Contenders, is getting most of the preseason attention in Tampa.

That's fine with Plant, which will have no problem quietly proving it has the pieces for another deep playoff run.

Eastern Christian Academy (Elkton, Md.)
Early on, Eastern Christian Academy needed to prove it was a legitimate team. In 2011, it struggled to land games as state governing bodies were unsure of whether to deem it as a suitable high school football opponent.

Last year, it took on a full slate of games and finished 9-3, notching some impressive victories and performing admirably in losses to St. Peter's Prep, St. Edward and Friendship Collegiate.

It has demonstrated that it is a legitimate team. This fall, with three games on the road against top Texas programs and star quarterback David Sills entering his senior year, Eastern Christian is setting out to prove it is also a national power.

Trinity (Euless, Texas)
In the mid-late 2000s, Euless Trinity was on a state-title-every-other-year pattern, winning titles in 2005, 2007 and 2009.

After a stunning loss to Pearland in 2010 in the state finals, Trinity's state title pattern was snapped in 2011 thanks to a loss to Arlington Martin.

Since then, Allen and DeSoto have emerged as the dominant forces in Dallas/Fort Worth-area high school football. In 2014, Trinity will seek to remind the Metroplex not to forget about the Trojans.