A few reasons why I think think HS football is more entertaining now
1: Offense is more creative. Watching games from the 70s up until around 2005, it’s very different from 2023. QBs back in the day were really game managers. You generally didn’t need an “elite” passing QB to win. Elite teams now pretty much needs a QB who can throw well.
2: film study. This one’s pretty easy and shows how technology has progressed. I know North Allegheny uses Hudl to prepare for opponents. Defensive coaches can categorize plays based on offensive personnel. Back when I played, we watched games on tapes. That was pretty good, but it’s much more efficient now. I think players are smarter/more prepared now. I think the first two reasons go hand in hand
3. Players on average are much bigger now than in the past, particularly in the lineman positions. This more so has to do with weight. Height I think has mostly stayed the same. This has to do with better weight training/ nutrition I believe.
Decent argument for sure.
For me (replying to your pts)
1. I think offense is now more bland then it's ever been. The offensive game is now more simplistic then it's ever been. 80-90% of the teams are in the gun with 3-4 WR's. The overall main reason for this is to do what the good teams could do in yesteryear - run the ball. I disagree on the QB manager thing. Whether you're in the modern game or you were playing in 1987, if you can run the ball at will - you don't need a QB who is some type of prototype. If you can't win the LOS consistently - you probably need a QB who can make some throws. This is true in both eras.
I think if you go back to the mid 90's you see so much offensive variety. Case in point -
Just examples
You had coaches like -
George Curry - multiple pro-style offense with more scheme then probably any coach I've seen before or since in the state of PA. He was a nightmare to defend.
Jim Cantafio - he probably the 1st real passing guru in PA. He was a multiple pro-style guy in the 90's at Conestoga valley and kept it going at Wilson and Wyoming Valley West but you saw his spread elements at all of his programs.
Mike Williams - reinvented himself from being a classic split back veer team to a gun spread read option type offense to running the Cam Newton power-read spread stuff we see today.
Joe Hamilton/Jim Roth - classic wing t guys who beat you to death through physicality and discipline.
George Smith/Phil Kauffman - 2 of the best triple option coaches not just in PA but the country.
Yacino - at P/T was running the run-n-shoot
I have many friends in Texas who never see under center attacks. They never see wing t, flexbone, double wing, etc. They tell me all the time, it would be a nightmare if they had to defend those offenses beacuse what they see is the same week to week.
Point #2 -
Film study is easier to access but I'm not sure it's any "better." The biggest technology help is the use of IPADS for coaches and players in game. You can make adjustments instantly. I played in the 80's and 90's and we had film study everyday and had detailed scouting reports.
Point #3
Players might be bigger in many cases but I'm not sure the line play has improved. In fact, I think it has drastically gotten worse as a whole. I've yet to see OL's like the '95 Penn Hills, '97-'99 CB West, 02 Hopewell, '14 Archbishop Wood, etc.. Now they're a few program that always have outstanding lines - Thomas Jefferson and Southern Columbia come to mind. If you just look at the caliber of OL that our state used to produce 20-30-40 years ago compared to today, it's like 2 different levels of players.
