4_tattoos Posted August 4, 2019 Share Posted August 4, 2019 This has been a fun thread the last couple of years, so let's keep the party going this year. This is the place for all things related to the upcoming high school football season. Predictions, players to watch, highlights, trash talk, etc. So when does practice/camps start around the country? According to the twitter page of my alma mater's football team, practice in Maryland starts on August 14th, and the regular season begins September 6th. Hotter Than July > Thriller Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJWalker45 Posted August 4, 2019 Share Posted August 4, 2019 1 hour ago, 4_tattoos said: This has been a fun thread the last couple of years, so let's keep the party going this year. This is the place for all things related to the upcoming high school football season. Predictions, players to watch, highlights, trash talk, etc. So when does practice/camps start around the country? According to the twitter page of my alma mater's football team, practice in Maryland starts on August 14th, and the regular season begins September 6th. Texas begins on Monday. Ohio started last week. For Texas, all championship games will again be at AT&T Stadium. Houston and San Antonio have asked for the UIL to rotate championship games but that's probably not happening soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dfwabel Posted August 4, 2019 Share Posted August 4, 2019 We've had at least one player death during summer conditioning. https://usatodayhss.com/2019/details-florida-football-death-hezekiah-walters And Hillsborough County (aka Tampa) schools all don't have certified athletic trainers. Third Tampa death in the last 5 years. Yep, so fun! This week was the official start of practice in many states. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4_tattoos Posted August 4, 2019 Author Share Posted August 4, 2019 53 minutes ago, MJWalker45 said: Texas begins on Monday. Ohio started last week. For Texas, all championship games will again be at AT&T Stadium. Houston and San Antonio have asked for the UIL to rotate championship games but that's probably not happening soon. How many divisions/classes does Texas have for it's championships? Just going by the states large population I would assume at least 6. If so, why play all the championship games at one venue? There's more than enough stadiums in Texas worthy of being a championship host. Hotter Than July > Thriller Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4_tattoos Posted August 4, 2019 Author Share Posted August 4, 2019 Maryland's (public schools) championships are held at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis. The private school's in Maryland play in several different leagues. The one I'm most familiar with is the DC area based Washington Catholic Athletic Conference, which features nationally ranked DeMatha. Hotter Than July > Thriller Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJWalker45 Posted August 4, 2019 Share Posted August 4, 2019 42 minutes ago, 4_tattoos said: How many divisions/classes does Texas have for it's championships? Just going by the states large population I would assume at least 6. If so, why play all the championship games at one venue? There's more than enough stadiums in Texas worthy of being a championship host. They spread games out over a week. 6 11-man divisions and 2 8-man divisions play through the week. With artificial turf it's easy to support every division on the same field. Most states have at least 4 divisions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seadragon76 Posted August 4, 2019 Share Posted August 4, 2019 Everything in Washington, Oregon and Iowa are pretty much the same. Next year will see change in Washington and Iowa as this is the final season of the current alignment in both states. Iowa begins practice on Monday for schools playing in Week 0 (those playing in Week 1 start the following week). Oregon follows with a start date of the 19th and then Washington starts right after that on the 21st Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SFGiants58 Posted August 4, 2019 Share Posted August 4, 2019 14 hours ago, dfwabel said: We've had at least one player death during summer conditioning. https://usatodayhss.com/2019/details-florida-football-death-hezekiah-walters And Hillsborough County (aka Tampa) schools all don't have certified athletic trainers. Third Tampa death in the last 5 years. Yep, so fun! This week was the official start of practice in many states. I hate to like this post, but it does bear repeating for how generally dreadful the sport is for developing brains and young bodies. MLB: Project 32 (Complete), MLB: The Defunct Saga (Complete) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dfwabel Posted August 4, 2019 Share Posted August 4, 2019 51 minutes ago, SFGiants58 said: I hate to like this post, but it does bear repeating for how generally dreadful the sport is for developing brains and young bodies. Seven weeks later, no official cause of death has been announced. One noticeable item is the lack of participation in HS football in California. Lastly, AB1, the California Youth Football Act , was signed into law on August 1. It will take effect on January 1, 2021. Quote It prohibits a youth tackle football team from conducting more than two full-contact practices per week during the preseason and regular season. It also prohibits a youth tackle football team from holding a full-contact practice during the offseason. It limits the full-contact portion of a youth football team practice from exceeding 30 minutes in any single day. The bill also requires a youth football team coach to annually receive a tackling and blocking certification from a nationally recognized program that emphasizes shoulder tackling, safe contact and blocking drills. The techniques are designed to minimize the risk of head injuries by removing the involvement of a player’s head from all tackling and blocking techniques. The bill also requires each parent or guardian of a youth tackle football player to receive concussion and head injury information for their athlete and the Opioid Factsheet for Patients, as required under existing law. The bill requires each football helmet to be reconditioned and recertified every other year, unless stated otherwise by the manufacturer. It restricts the people who can perform the reconditioning and recertification to only those licensed by the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment. The bill also requires every reconditioned and recertified helmet to display a clearly recognizable mark or notice in the helmet indicating the month and year of the last certification. It requires a minimum of one state-licensed EMT, paramedic or higher-level licensed medical professional to be present during all preseason, regular season and postseason games. It requires the medical professional to have the authority to evaluate and remove any participant from the game who exhibits an injury, including, but not necessarily limited to, symptoms of a concussion or other head injury. The bill also requires at least one independent nonrostered individual, appointed by the youth sports organization, to be present at all practice locations. The individual must hold current and active certification in first aid, CPR, the use of an automated external defibrillator and concussion protocols. The individual will have the authority to evaluate and remove any youth tackle football player from practice who exhibits an injury, including, but not limited to, symptoms of concussion or other head injury. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WJMorris3 Posted August 4, 2019 Share Posted August 4, 2019 New Jersey starts practice Wednesday for those schools who have a waiver to play Week 00; next Wednesday for schools that open on Week 0, which is the weekend of September 7 this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sykotyk Posted August 5, 2019 Share Posted August 5, 2019 On 8/3/2019 at 10:38 PM, 4_tattoos said: How many divisions/classes does Texas have for it's championships? Just going by the states large population I would assume at least 6. If so, why play all the championship games at one venue? There's more than enough stadiums in Texas worthy of being a championship host. On 8/3/2019 at 11:21 PM, MJWalker45 said: They spread games out over a week. 6 11-man divisions and 2 8-man divisions play through the week. With artificial turf it's easy to support every division on the same field. Most states have at least 4 divisions. Just to be clear, Texas main association is the UIL and has 12 championships for football. 2 6-man and 10 11-man. Each class has two championships. Division 1 and Division 2. All twelve are at one site. Three games a day for four days. Pennsylvania hosts their six titles at Hersheypark Stadium in Hershey. Ohio will hold there seven titles at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton. One on Thursday night and three games in Friday and Saturday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrimalCookie Posted August 6, 2019 Share Posted August 6, 2019 Practice started late July in Florida. The season starts for most schools on the 16th, but some (including mine) won't play until the 23rd. Championships were previously held in the Citrus Bowl, but have been moved to smaller venues in Tallahassee and Daytona this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dfwabel Posted August 6, 2019 Share Posted August 6, 2019 Quote Parents vented their frustrations to the Fairbanks North Star Borough school board last night in a special meeting called to review the investigation into the near-drowning of three West Valley High School football players Friday, July 26. Investigators have spoken with about 25 people so far, but cannot release details to the public yet. Parents repeated their children’s accounts of a traumatic team practice gone wrong. The West Valley High School football team was in the second day of a three-day pre-season training camp. “So he was definitely intimidated by the mandatory “crucible camp;” three hours a day for three days, to earn his pads.” On Friday July 26th, the coaching staff had rented the swimming pool at University of Alaska Fairbanks, and those that wanted to be on the team were told to bring a sweatshirt or hoodie and come to the pool. Various witness accounts describe all the team members getting into the pool fully clothed, then helping each other remove the hoodie while in the water. ”My son said the coach asked who couldn’t swim, and five boys raised their hands. Then instructed the other team members that they hand to take care of them.” At some point in the exercise, swimmers needed help, and before the coaching staff and the one lifeguard on duty could get all the players out of the pool, three had sunk to the bottom, unconscious. They were pulled out, given CPR by UAF EMTs, and taken to Fairbanks Memorial Hospital by ambulance. https://fm.kuac.org/post/parents-recount-traumatic-stories-wvhs-football-players Yep, the now former head coach is a retired Marine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dfwabel Posted August 7, 2019 Share Posted August 7, 2019 Lee County (FL) football officials not registering for this season over pay Quote Friday night lights could go dark in Lee County if game officials aren’t paid more this season. Members of the local officials organization have decided not to referee games this fall unless the 20 schools they cover in Lee County agree to raise their pay. At a South Gulf Football Officials Association meeting Monday night, around 70 members voted unanimously not to register with the Florida High School Athletic Association this season. Officials must be registered with the FHSAA to work games. The FHSAA sets the maximum pay rate officials can receive in all sports. It is $65 in football, but officials can negotiate travel stipends. Lee County pays $60 travel to be split among the officiating crew, while Collier County Public Schools gives $12 per person for travel. The FHSAA’s officials pay is well behind Florida’s neighboring states and among the lowest in the Southeastern U.S. Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Texas pay varsity football officials $100 a game, while Tennessee pays $105. Louisiana ($90), North Carolina ($76) and South Carolina ($73-$99) pay more than Florida as well. 1 Officials in Palm Beach County are also considering going on strike as well. Quote As reported by The Post last week, Palm Beach County had yet to finalize the 2019 football schedule amid a shortage of officials. With only 12 officiating crews at their disposal for Friday nights, the county was asking teams to volunteer to move one of their scheduled games to either Thursday or Saturday. “A continuing shortage of officials is likely, as many officials have chosen not to register for the upcoming football season, citing the FHSAA’s continued refusal to negotiate game fees on a par with those paid in neighboring states,” said John Mantica, President of the South Gulf Football Officials Association, in a press release. “Several football officiating associations from around the state have reached the conclusion that unless the FHSAA makes an acceptable response to the situation, they are prepared to sit out August 14-17, starting with the Preseason Kickoff Classics.” In Palm Beach County, officials are hoping to receive a temporary max game fee increase from $65 to $75 while the FHSAA works on a long-term pay solution. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dfwabel Posted August 9, 2019 Share Posted August 9, 2019 FYI... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4_tattoos Posted August 10, 2019 Author Share Posted August 10, 2019 I was wondering why my alma mater only had 9 games scheduled for this season (10 games has long been the norm in Maryland). So I decided to look at the MPSSAA website for any news regarding the upcoming season. To my surprise I saw a release from the state originally posted during last season's championships. https://www.mpssaa.org/assets/1/6/FB_Bulletin_19_FINAL_web.pdf My question was answered. Maryland has switched to a 9 game regular season starting this year. This was done in order to expand the number of playoff teams (in each class) from 16 to 32. Now the top 8 teams from each region (4 regions in each class) will make the playoffs. Prior to this only the top 4 teams in each region made the playoffs. I understand why this move might have been made. In 4A and 3A (sometimes in 2A) there's usually some good teams on the outside looking in. Quite a few 7-3 teams ended up seeded 5th and had to turn in their equipment early during the top 4 era. Hell when I was in high school Maryland only allowed 8 playoff teams in each class and there would be times when an 8-2 team didn't qualify, which led to the expansion to 16 teams in 2004 I believe. On the flipside, I have a feeling we're going to start seeing bad teams "qualify" for the playoffs. That's already been an issue in some of the 1A regions under the top 4 format. Seems like every season the number 4 seed in one particular region had a losing record. I don't like that. I'll be honest not a fan of playoff expansion in Maryland, because I didn't think it was necessary. Those 7-3 teams seeded 5th in the final regional standings should have won more games!!! With that said if my alma mater benefits from this, I will look the other way (they're in a 10 team region BTW) lol. I'd just grit my teeth if they made the playoffs with a losing record lol. Hotter Than July > Thriller Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dfwabel Posted August 10, 2019 Share Posted August 10, 2019 Hooray Football!!! Hazing is still cool. https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/north-fulton-county/attack-on-high-school-football-player-caught-on-camera/974581932 Fulton County Schools also had a cheer hazing issue last year. https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/north-fulton-county/hazing-scandal-rocks-local-hs-several-cheerleaders-kicked-off-squad/808998788 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4_tattoos Posted August 10, 2019 Author Share Posted August 10, 2019 Towards the end of last season a JV team in Maryland had a hazing episode which has led to a sexual assault case. This investigation is still going on. http://wjla.com/news/local/damascus-football-players-accused-of-hazing-rape-indicted Hotter Than July > Thriller Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dfwabel Posted August 11, 2019 Share Posted August 11, 2019 The 11th ranked player in Michigan*, verbally committed to Northwestern and plans to enroll in January 2020, ruled ineligible by MHSAA because he took too many accelerated classes while home schooled. Quote Northwestern wide receiver commit Abdur-Rahmaan Yaseen, one of the state’s top players, will miss action this season after being ruled ineligible by the Michigan High School Athletic Association. The Walled Lake Western star could miss the season, although coach Alex Grignon said the school has appealed the decision on behalf of Yaseen, ranked the No. 16 player in the state for 2019 by The Detroit News. Grignon said Yaseen was home-schooled until arriving at Walled Lake Western for his freshman year in 2016. However, Grignon said prior to that, he took too many credits above grade level, and his classification level was changed by the MHSAA. “So when he came in as a freshman, they counted him as a sophomore, and then they changed it, but never said anything,” Grignon said. “Well they treated it as him getting held back and not fixing his grade, so his high school clock started the year before high school.” Grignon said an initial appeal has been turned down, but the school is going through a second appeals process. The coach does not expect Yaseen to be eligible for the team’s opener against White Lake Lakeland on Aug. 29 *-Apparently, he's only listed as a 3-Star player, but that's another story for how far HS talent in Michigan has fallen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dfwabel Posted August 12, 2019 Share Posted August 12, 2019 Add Illinois to the list of states with a shortage of officials and younger people aren't filling the gap for those who retire. Quote “This is just the beginning.” That’s what Westville athletic director Mike Waters said about being required to move the annual Coal Bucket Game, a football rivalry between his Tigers and Georgetown-Ridge Farm, from Friday night to Saturday afternoon this school year. The reason was simple. The officiating crew Waters had slated to work the game retired, and Waters couldn’t find a replacement for Friday night. But it also exposes an underlying issue that’s recognized by many associated with Illinois high school football. “There’s certainly a shortage (of officials),” said Sam Knox, an IHSA assistant executive director. “We continue to hear feedback from athletic directors and officials and assigners, who assign officials to those games, that they need more people. They need more officials to help cover all levels.” The IHSA keeps track of all its licensed officials, which are required for any event — varsity, junior varsity or freshman/sophomore — to officially take place. That includes a breakdown by age. In the IHSA’s last statistical update, tallied in April 2019, the organization recorded just 215 licensed football officials between the ages of 17 and 29 — out of 2,480 total throughout the state. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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