Max Preps: Top 100 HS FB

[Stalker]

Check out St. Ed's O-Line! It's interesting as always. Lakeland made it per a few transfers I'm sure.

The Preseason MaxPreps Top 25 high school football rankings were released Monday and we now expand our look at the next 75 best teams heading into the 2023 season.

No. 1 Mater Dei (Santa Ana), No. 3 St. John Bosco (Bellflower) and No. 15 Centennial (Corona) lead the list of 14 California teams in the expanded top 100. Texas, which also has 14 teams in the top 100, features No. 8 Duncanville, No. 13 North Shore (Houston) and No. 17 DeSoto from the preseason MaxPreps Top 25.

Five of the six Trinity League teams, including the top-ranked Monarchs and No. 3, are inside the top 100. Southern California's Trinity League has been among the toughest in the nation for the past decade.

Florida (13) and Georgia (12) were the only other states to hit double-digits. In total, 28 states along with the District of Columbia had at least one team represented.

No. 4 IMG Academy (Bradenton), No. 5 Miami Central (Miami), No. 7 Chaminade-Madonna (Hollywood), No. 9 St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale), No. 21 American Heritage (Plantation) and No. 23 Columbus (Miami) headline the six teams from the Sunshine State that were ranked in the Preseason MaxPreps Top 25.

The Peach State has the second-most teams in the MaxPreps Top 25 with four as No. 10 Buford, No. 12 Carrollton, No. 14 Langston Hughes (Fairburn) and No. 20 Colquitt County (Moultrie) all begin the season ranked.

1. Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.)
The Monarchs begin the season ranked No. 1 for the fourth time since 2017.

2. Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas)
Last year's MaxPreps National Junior of the Year Micah Alejado is back at quarterback for a very talented Gaels squad.

3. St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.)
The defending MaxPreps National Champions have to replace some key players on offense but will again have one of the best defenses in high school football.

4. IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.)
Ascenders enter 2023 season with 20 players rated as a four-star recruit or higher on 247Sports composite rankings.

5. Miami Central (Miami)
The four-time defending state champs will be loaded again this season led by Armondo Blount, LaWayne McCoy, Jamari Howard, T.A. Cunningham, Ezekiel Marcelin and Amari Wallace.

6. St. Frances Academy (Baltimore)
Baltimore power will have one of the toughest schedules of all-time with matchups against No. 1 Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.), No. 3 St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.), No. 4 IMG Academy (Brandeton, Fla.), No. 7 Chaminade-Madonna (Hollywood, Fla.) and No. 10 Buford (Ga.).

7. Chaminade-Madonna (Hollywood, Fla.)
Jeremiah Smith, Joshisa Trader, Davion Gause, Zaquan Patterson and Cedrick Bailey headline the list of talent for Dameon Jones.

8. Duncanville (Texas)
The Panthers won their first state title since 1998 last season and bring back a lot of key players led by Colin Simmons, Caden Durham, Dakorien Moore, Alex January, Ka'Davion Dotson and Keelon Russell.

9. St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)
Roger Harriott looks to lead the Raiders to a fifth consecutive state championship in 2023.

10. Buford (Ga.)
K.J. Bolden, Dylan Raiola, Eddrick Houston, Jadon Perlotte, Tyshun White and Devin Williams headline a stacked Wolves' roster.

11. St. Joseph's Prep (Philadelphia)
Philadelphia power goes for its eighth state title since 2013.

12. Carrollton (Ga.)
Class of 2026 quarterback Julian Lewis looks to lead the Trojans back to the AAAAAAA state championship game for second consecutive year.

13. North Shore (Houston)
Kaleb Bailey is back at quarterback after missing the final 11 games of 2022 with a knee injury and will have the Mustangs heavily in the mix to win their fourth state title since 2018.

14. Langston Hughes (Fairburn, Ga.)
Defending AAAAAA state champs broke the record for most points scored in a season with 792 and bring back 2022 MaxPreps Junior All-American quarterback Air Noland.

15. Centennial (Corona, Calif.)
Matt Logan enters 27th season as head coach and will have plenty of star power led by Husan Longstreet, Cornell Hatcher II, Cory Butler Jr., LaRue Zamorano, Wade Helton and Brent Helton.

16. St. Edward (Lakewood, Ohio)
Back-to-back Division 1 state champs will have one of the best offensive lines in the country with Ben Roebuck, Devontae Armstrong and Deontae Armstrong returning.

17. DeSoto (Texas)
Defending 6A Division 2 state champs bring back some key pieces led by Deondrae Riden Jr., Keylan Abrams, Darius Bailey, Brandon Booker, Jaden Trawick and Mario Buford.

18. Basha (Chandler, Ariz.)
Demond Williams, Miles Lockhart, Bryson Dedmon, Thomas Prassas and Jack Bleier are all back from last year's Open Division state championship squad.

19. Lipscomb Academy (Nashville, Tenn.)
Kevin Mawae takes over for Trent Dilfer as the new head coach and the Mustangs begin the season riding a 21-game winning streak.

20. Colquitt County (Moultrie, Ga.)
After making it to the AAAAAAA semifinals last season, expect another long playoff run for the Packers.

21. American Heritage (Plantation, Fla.)
The Patriots graduated a lot of talent but will be loaded again in 2023 led by Malachi Toney, Byron Louis, Jimmy Williams III, Dia Bell and Deandre Desinor.

22. Good Counsel (Olney, Md.)
The Falcons return three 2022 MaxPreps Junior All-Americans in Kyle Altuner, Aaron Chiles and Dilin Jones.

23. Columbus (Miami)
T.J. Capers, Dylan Stephenson, Willis McGahee IV, Alberto Mendoza, Jose Leon and Daylen Russell are all back for the defending 4M state champs.

24. Bergen Catholic (Oradell, N.J.)
The Crusaders won their 19th state title in school history last season and will be the favorites to win their third straight in 2023.

25. Belleville (Mich.)
Class of 2025 quarterback Bryce Underwood led the Tigers to their only two state titles in program history and has been named the MaxPreps Freshman and Sophomore Player of the Year in back-to-back years.

26. St. John's (Washington, D.C.)
The back-to-back WCAC champs have to replace some key players but return Tariq Hayer, Montay Weedon, Da'Juan Riggs, Isaiah French and Jordan Harrison.

27. Gainesville (Ga.)
Josh Niblett led Alabama power Hoover to six state titles and in his first season at Gainesville they went 14-1 and finished as the AAAAAA state runner-up.

28. Westlake (Austin, Texas)
Texas power has gone 72-4 over the last five years with three state titles during that span.

29. Serra (San Mateo, Calif.)
Padres have represented Northern California in the CIF Open Division state championship the last two years and have gone 44-5 since 2019.

30. Thompson (Alabaster, Ala.)
The four-time defending 7A state champs have been the best team in Alabama since 2019.

31. Mission Viejo (Calif.)
Will have one of the best offensive lines in California to go with a very talented defense.

32. Corner Canyon (Draper, Utah)
Chargers bring back a lot of talent led by recent Utah commit Isaac Wilson.

33. Southlake Carroll (Southlake, Texas)
Riley Dodge enters his sixth season as head coach and has gone 65-6 over his first five years.

34. Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.)
The defending CIF Southern Section Division 2 champs bring back a lot of talent and added some key transfers, led by 2024 USC commit Xavier Jordan.

35. Archbishop Moeller (Cincinnati)
Bert Bathiany takes over as head coach and with 2022 MaxPreps Junior All-American running back Jordan Marshall returning, expect the Fighting Crusaders to be one of the best teams in the state.

36. South Oak Cliff (Dallas)
The back-to-back 5A Division 2 state champs enter the 2023 season riding a 13-game winning streak.

37. Walton (Marietta, Ga.)
Jeremy Hecklinski, Daniel Calhoun, Wendell Gregory, Makari Bodiford and Ashton Woods give the Raiders one of the most talented teams in the Peach State.

38. Katy (Texas)
Gary Joseph has gone 255-24 as the head coach at Katy and has won at least 10 games in all 19 seasons.

39. Los Alamitos (Calif.)
After making it to the CIF Southern Section Division 1 semifinals last season, they added some big-time transfers in Davon Mitchell, Jett White and Kobe Boykin to go with some key returners.

40. Saguaro (Scottsdale, Ariz.)
Lat year's Open Division runner-up will have plenty of talent led by Jaedon Matthews, Dajon Hinton, Trey Morrison, Jakobi Spence, Joseph Clark IV and Mason Bray.

41. East St. Louis (Ill.)
The defending Class 6A state champs have to replace some key pieces on the offensive line but bring back plenty of talent led by Pops Battle, Leontre Bradford, TaRyan Martin, Jesse Watson and Dominique Dixon.

42. Homestead (Fla.)
Ronnie Thornton Jr. takes over at head coach and the Broncos return a lot of talent after playing in the school's first state championship game in 2022.

43. Liberty (Peoria, Ariz.)
After a MaxPreps Top 25 finish last season, the Lions bring back all-state quarterback Navi Bruzon.

44. Milton (Ga.)
The Eagles made the AAAAAAA semifinals last year and return a lot of key players led by Debron Gatling, Luke Nickel, Ryan Ghea, Jack Lawson and Jacorey Stewart.

45. Dutch Fork (Irmo, S.C.)
Tom Knotts has led the Silver Foxes to seven state titles since becoming head coach in 2011.

46. Parkview (Lilburn, Ga.)
Former standout safety Joey Sturdivant takes over as head coach and inherits a loaded roster headlined by five-star wide receiver Mike Matthews.

47. Orange Lutheran (Orange, Calif.)
The Trinity League is as good as any league in the country and the Lancers should be the third-best team behind Mater Dei and St. John Bosco.

48. Center Grove (Greenwood, Ind.)
The three-time defending Class 6A state champs have gone 40-2 since 2020.

49. Chandler (Ariz.)
Last year was the first time since 2015 the Wolves did not make it to the state championship game but expect the six-time state champs to be heavily in the mix this fall.

50. Long Beach Poly (Long Beach, Calif.)
The Jackrabbits bring back a lot of key players after a 10-1 season and making it to the CIF Southern Section Division 1 quarterfinals.

51. Atascocita (Humble, Texas)
The only three losses for the Eagles last season came against Katy and North Shore. Tory Blaylock, Braylon Conley, Zion Brown and Nate Kibble are all back after the 11-3 season.

52. Grayson (Loganville, Ga.)
Tyler Atkinson, Waltclaire Flynn Jr., Kylan Fox, Jaylen Bell and John Cineas are just a handful of the key players returning for the Rams.

53. Aledo (Texas)
The Bearcats added a state-best 11th state championship in 2022 and will be in the mix for No. 12 with Hauss Hejny, Chris Johnson Jr., Davhon Keys and Jaden Allen all back.

54. Carlsbad (Calif.)
Elite 11 MVP Julian Sayin is one of the best players in the country and the 2024 Alabama commit has led the Lancers to a 21-3 record throwing for nearly 5,500 yards and 61 touchdowns over the last two years.

55. Hamilton (Chandler, Ariz.)
Toby Mealer, Layton Firestone and Carson Keim lead the way for one of the best offensive lines on the West Coast.

56. Lakeland (Fla.)
Marvin Frazier takes over as head coach after the legendary Bill Castle retired after 47 years and will have one of the most loaded teams in the Sunshine State.

57. Mill Creek (Hoschton, Ga.)
Last year's AAAAAAA state champs have to replace a lot of key players led by the 2022 MaxPreps National Player of the Year in Caleb Downs but expect the Hawks to still be in contention in Georgia's largest classification.

58. Guyer (Denton, Texas)
Losing Jackson Arnold to graduation will be impossible to replace but Reid Heim will have plenty of talent led by Eli Bowen, Josiah Martin, Willie Goodacre, Pelumi Olanipekun, Trey Joyner III and Xavier Ukponu.

59. Central (Phenix City, Ala.)
Cam Coleman, Jayden Coleman, Rydarrius Morgan, Isaia Faga, Zackariah Simmons-Brown and Jiquan Sanks will have the Red Devils in contention to win their first state title since 2018.

60. Cherry Creek (Greenwood Village, Colo.)
The four-time defending Class 5A state champs have gone 47-4 since 2019.

61. Kahuku (Hawaii)
The back-to-back Open Division state champs have gone 22-2 over the last two years with the only losses coming against St. Frances Academy (Baltimore, Md.) and St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.).

62. Parish Episcopal (Dallas)
The four-time defending TAPPS Division 1 state champs are loaded with talent, headlined by Sawyer Anderson, Parker Meese, Caleb Mitchell Irving, Maddux Reid and Bryson Fields.

63. Hoover (Ala.)
Wade Waldrop led the Buccaneers to an 11-2 record in his first season as head coach and will have his team in contention to win its first state title since 2017.

64. De La Salle (Concord, Calif.)
Justin Alumbaugh has led the Spartans to a 113-16 record through his first 10 years as head coach.

65. Vandegrift (Austin, Texas)
Last year's 6A Division 2 state runner-up is coming off a 14-2 season and has plenty of talent led by Blake Frazier, Deuce Adams, Miles Coleman, Jase Skoglund and Alex Foster.

66. Ware County (Waycross, Ga.)
The defending AAAAA state champs won the school's first state title and bring back some key pieces.

67. Folsom (Calif.)
The Ryder Lyons era gets underway as the Class of 2026 quarterback has already reached double-digit offers that include Oregon and Washington.

68. Cardinal Gibbons (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)
Matt Dubuc always has the Chiefs in contention and has gone 73-14 over his first seven years winning three state titles.

69. DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.)
Bill McGregor has won over 300 games and 17 WCAC championships in two stints as the Stags head coach.
70. Highland Springs (Va.)
The defending Class 5 state champs are coming off a 15-0 season and have won five state titles under head coach Loren Johnson, who enters his 10th season.

71. Providence Day (Charlotte, N.C.)
Jadyn Davis, David Sanders Jr., Channing Goodwin, Jordan Shipp and Brody Barnhardt are all returning after leading the Chargers to their second consecutive NCISAA Division 1 state title.

72. Christian Brothers (St. Louis)
Scott Pingel prepares for his 16th season as head coach and led the Cadets to their second straight state title last season and fifth since 2014.

73. Yelm (Wash.)
Fresh off winning the school's first-ever state title they bring back plenty of talent led by Brayden Platt, the 2022 MaxPreps Washington Player of the Year.

74. Freedom (Woodbridge, Va.)
The defending Class 6 state champs are coming off a 15-0 season and bring back Tristan Evans, the 2022 MaxPreps Virginia Player of the Year.

75. Saraland (Ala.)
K.J. Lacey and Ryan Williams are one of the best quarterback/wide receiver duos in the country and led the Spartans to their first state title in 2022.

76. Edgewater (Orlando, Fla.)
Despite losing Cedric Baxter Jr. to graduation, the Eagles will still have plenty of talent led by Cai Bates, Damon Troutman, Kaden Shields-Dutton, Josh Alexander-Felton and Semaj Fleming.

77. Longview (Texas)
The Lobos are coming off a 14-1 season and return 2022 MaxPreps Junior All-American running back Taylor Tatum.

78. Grimsley (Greensboro, N.C.)
Last year's 4A state runner-up returns a lot of key pieces headlined by Alex Taylor, Terrell Anderson, Mitchell Summers, Bryce Davis and Faizon Brandon.

79. Norland (Miami)
The Vikings will be one of the most talented teams in the Sunshine State with Ennio Yapoor, Dimitry Nicolas, Tomauri Johnson, Jeremiah Marcelin and Tycoolhill Luman leading the way.

80. John Curtis Christian (River Ridge, La.)
J.T. Curtis has won 615 games and is six away from breaking the late John McKissick's record of 620 wins.

81. Frederick Douglass (Lexington, Ky.)
The defending Class 5A state champs are coming off a 15-0 season and bring back a lot of key players.

82. Springfield (Ohio)
Finished as the Division 1 state runner-up for the second consecutive year and have to replace some key players but four-star cornerback Aaron Scott headlines the talent returning.

83. Booker T. Washington (Miami)
Tim 'Ice' Harris returned to the Tornadoes last season going 9-3 and expect another successful year in 2023.

84. Catholic-B.R. (Baton Rouge, La.)
Hudson Fuller takes over as head coach and don't expect any drop off for one of the premier programs in Louisiana.

85. Westlake (Atlanta)
Rico Zackery will have a loaded roster as he gets ready for his second season as head coach.

86. Western (Davie, Fla.)
The Wildcats have plenty of talent this season after adding some marquee transfers in Davi Belfort, Tovani Mizell, Daijon Calimon and Keyveon Johnson.

87. Edna Karr (New Orleans)
Brice Brown has to replace a lot of key players but will still be in the mix to win their fifth state title since 2016 with John Johnson taking over at quarterback with a bevy of talented wide receivers in TaRon Francis, Rahji Dennis and Tyrone Wilson.

88. Central Catholic (Toledo, Ohio)
The defending Division II state champs are coming off their first state title since 2014 with the only loss came against the Division 1 champs, St. Edward (Lakewood).

89. Baylor (Chattanooga, Tenn.)
Erik Kimrey led the Red Raiders to their first state championship since 1973 in his first year as head coach and has a lot of key players returning led by Whit Muschamp, Cameron Sparks, Max Leblanc and Amari Jefferson.

90. Bixby (Okla.)
The five-time defending state champs have gone 61-2 over the last five years.

91. JSerra Catholic (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.)
Victor Santa Cruz takes over as head coach after 25 years of coaching at the college level and will have plenty of talent headlined by Madden Faraimo, Butter Tollefson and Jake Flores.

92. Cathedral (Indianapolis)
Danny O'Neil headlines the key returners for Bill Peebles as they go for their third state title in four years.

93. Starkville (Miss.)
The defending 6A state champs return one of the best quarterback/wide receiver tandems in the country in Trey Petty and Braylon Burnside.

94. Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, N.J.)
Last year's Non-Public Group A runner-up will be in contention to win their first state title since 2015.

95. Santa Margarita (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.)
Eagles are fifth team from Southern California's Trinity League featured in top 100.

96. Eastside Catholic (Sammamish, Wash.)
The Crusaders only loss in 2022 was a heart-breaking 20-13 loss against Yelm in the 3A state championship.

97. Skyridge (Lehi, Utah)
The defending 6A state champs have to replace a lot of talent but will be in the mix to win their second straight state title with Jackson Stevens, La’akea Kalama, Darius Afalava and Trent Call on the roster.

98. Westfield (Houston)
The Mustangs are coming off a 12-2 season with the only two losses coming against Duncanville and North Shore (Houston).

99. Bishop McDevitt (Harrisburg, Pa.)
Last year's MaxPreps Pennsylvania Player of the Year Stone Saunders is back under center for the defending 4A state champs and has thrown for 6,620 yards and 100 touchdowns through his first two years.

100. Lee's Summit North (Lee's Summit, Mo.)
Williams Nwaneri, Isaiah Mozee, Chase Pearsall and Elijah Leonard headline the talent returning after playing in the school's first state championship game last season.

​

 

[CAMoleskinner]

Interesting list (it's getting to be that anybody on this Board could have named 50 of those 100 schools without knowing another thing - a select bunch at the top each year).

Check it -- St. Joe's is like the second coming this season (in PA) and they didn't even make the Top Ten.

Cool seeing McDevitt slip in there at 99.

Then how about that Trinity League with five teams out of the six that play football -- I think there are 7 schools in all and one doesn't line up on the gridiron - plus SoCal as whole with Centennial and Sierra Canyon from greater LA and then Long Beach, Los Alamitos, Mission Viejo and Carlsbad from their namesake cities (I love when the Jackrabbits make noise). If I'm correct that's 11 from SoCal in the Top 100 (10 in total in LA and Orange Counties -- Carlsbad is down in North SD just south of the Marine base of Camp Pendleton). Then three more up in North Cali.

This state may be a mess but not when it comes to schoolboy football!!!

That's something.

 

[newport]

3 top 100 teams in the first 4 weeks for Prep. We will find out real quick if they are the 2nd coming or not

 

[tulla]

3 top 100 teams in the first 4 weeks for Prep. We will find out real quick if they are the 2nd coming or not

I counted 25 Catholic schools among the 100--plus a few other Christian schools--and 6 of the top 10 are Catholic schools. I don't think there's just one reason for this and no doubt there are different reasons from region to region, but it does seem to indicate that the SJP phenomenon that's been so extensively discussed on here is just part of a larger one that goes way beyond PA. My sense is that most states do not separate public and non-public schools in the playoffs, but of course the issue doesn't arise in a serious way in many if not most states. There's a heavy concentration of schools from Jersey, Ohio, Georgia, Texas, Florida, and most of all California (why not with its population, climate, etc.?) on the list.

 

[Fletchster1]

I counted 25 Catholic schools among the 100--plus a few other Christian schools--and 6 of the top 10 are Catholic schools. I don't think there's just one reason for this and no doubt there are different reasons from region to region, but it does seem to indicate that the SJP phenomenon that's been so extensively discussed on here is just part of a larger one that goes way beyond PA. My sense is that most states do not separate public and non-public schools in the playoffs, but of course the issue doesn't arise in a serious way in many if not most states. There's a heavy concentration of schools from Jersey, Ohio, Georgia, Texas, Florida, and most of all California (why not with its population, climate, etc.?) on the list.

Boundary vs non-boundary, it doesn't matter the religion involved.

 

[tulla]

Boundary vs non-boundary, it doesn't matter the religion involved.

I agree boundaries/no boundaries has a lot to do with it, but Catholic schools haven't had boundaries for 30 years--or more, but this big disparity when it comes to football has become much greater in several--not all--parts of the country in more recent years. Plus, as Sammy would note, in many parts of the country public schools are not nearly as bound by boundaries as they are in much of PA. There are other things going on.

 

[BradlyPitt]

3 top 100 teams in the first 4 weeks for Prep. We will find out real quick if they are the 2nd coming or not

they could lose all 3 games and still mercy rule every PA team

 

[newport]

Do non Prep fans/Prep "haters" root for SJ when these play these national games to support Pa football? Or do they just want to see Prep lose no matter the game?

I have absolutely no ties to Prep whatsoever but I will always root for Pa teams/players to do well

 

[Fletchster1]

Those national games are usually somewhat apples to apples as both squads are non-boundary. Not sure any non-boundary school really represents a state as they're pulling from such a varying geographic area - level setting competitive balance is almost impossible.

 

[CAMoleskinner]

I'm a "rooter" for/of St. Joe's when they play out-of-state clubs (I loved when they were out here in SoCal a few years back).

And although I am not a "hater" it is getting a bit boring watching the same ending pretty much for ten years now or so (with exceptions).

I have - to the extent it means anything - said it ought to be "open borders" for everybody (however that might be accomplished). Be a lot more fun having 10 to 15 or so teams on either side of the state going at it instead of pretty much one at the end with the occasional "upstart".

PS I was posting on the other topic that SoCal has like ten Top 100 teams pre-season with PA having two. I did check that SoCal has about twice the population of PA (I'll ballpark 24 million and 12 million) so based on rough math PA should have 5 instead of two. I don't know exactly what that means except maybe SoCal has a better/broader football mentality and more boys (something is going on). I kinda liked it in the '60s when PA played the "US All Stars" (or Texas) in the Big 33 (took the whole country or "Tejas" to match up with the Keystone Kids).

Didn't mean to steal a thread.

 

[tulla]

Those national games are usually somewhat apples to apples as both squads are non-boundary. Not sure any non-boundary school really represents a state as they're pulling from such a varying geographic area - level setting competitive balance is almost impossible.

But the three nationally ranked schools the Prep is playing in the first month of the season are very different when it comes to boundaries. IMG gets players from all over the country. I noticed in the spring, for instance, that they were getting senior transfers in from Alabama and Arizona. Lakeland is a public school in Florida. I don't know how porous their boundaries are, but I am assuming nearly all the players come from a fairly well-defined geographic area. Bosco in North Jersey draws from a radius of about 25 miles that includes a bit of New York State that is very nearby--the state line is about 5 miles away. Bosco, of course, competes for students/players not just with local (generally well-funded) public schools but with Bergen Catholic (ranked about Bosco), Paramus Catholic, St. Peter's Prep, etc. So I think the "somewhat" should be emphasized in "somewhat apples to apples."

 

[Fletchster1]

But the three nationally ranked schools the Prep is playing in the first month of the season are very different when it comes to boundaries. IMG gets players from all over the country. I noticed in the spring, for instance, that they were getting senior transfers in from Alabama and Arizona. Lakeland is a public school in Florida. I don't know how porous their boundaries are, but I am assuming nearly all the players come from a fairly well-defined geographic area. Bosco in North Jersey draws from a radius of about 25 miles that includes a bit of New York State that is very nearby--the state line is about 5 miles away. Bosco, of course, competes for students/players not just with local (generally well-funded) public schools but with Bergen Catholic (ranked about Bosco), Paramus Catholic, St. Peter's Prep, etc. So I think the "somewhat" should be emphasized in "somewhat apples to apples."

Agreed on the varying levels of non-boundary which is why I stated that level setting competitive balance is almost impossible. Non-boundary near a high population density center vs a non-boundary in a rural area is night and day. Non-boundary near shitty boundary schools/football programs have an advantage over a similar program that is surrounded by great boundary schools/football programs.

 

[BradlyPitt]

Do non Prep fans/Prep "haters" root for SJ when these play these national games to support Pa football? Or do they just want to see Prep lose no matter the game?

I have absolutely no ties to Prep whatsoever but I will always root for Pa teams/players to do well

nope don't care whether they win or lose when they play out of state, with all their non PA kids they aren't really representing PA anyways

 

[tulla]

nope don't care whether they win or lose when they play out of state, with all their non PA kids they aren't really representing PA anyways

Does Erie Cathedral "represent PA" when they play a team from Ohio or New York? Will PCC "represent PA" when they play St. Ignatius? SJP is three miles from New Jersey. They represent the Philadelphia area, the area which from which they have drawn their students for 172 years.

 

[Fletchster1]

Does Erie Cathedral "represent PA" when they play a team from Ohio or New York? Will PCC "represent PA" when they play St. Ignatius? SJP is three miles from New Jersey. They represent the Philadelphia area, the area which from which they have drawn their students for 172 years.

It's hard to represent PA with out-of-state kids - I don't know the make-up of ECP or PCC in regards to player's home states, but I assume ECP is more likely to have kids from another state due to proximity. As stated above in this thread, it's almost impossible to level-set competitive balance with non-boundary schools from different areas. All of these high school football all-star teams are like travel baseball or club soccer; the team pulling from a greater population density has a distinct advantage over a team pulling from just their home town.

 

[lilromeo]

nope don't care whether they win or lose when they play out of state, with all their non PA kids they aren't really representing PA anyways

I never heard a word about your issue until the Prep started winning consistently. They have ALWAYS had students from New Jersey attend their school.

 

[tulla]

It's hard to represent PA with out-of-state kids - I don't know the make-up of ECP or PCC in regards to player's home states, but I assume ECP is more likely to have kids from another state due to proximity. As stated above in this thread, it's almost impossible to level-set competitive balance with non-boundary schools from different areas. All of these high school football all-star teams are like travel baseball or club soccer; the team pulling from a greater population density has a distinct advantage over a team pulling from just their home town.

My point is that the only team that "represents PA" is the team that plays in the Big 33 game against the team from Maryland. High school teams represent their schools and, to some extent, their communities. In some cases, the communities are towns or neighborhoods. Catholic schools and other private schools have communities of a different kind. There is an SJP community, a Haverford School community, a Bishop McDevitt community, etc. Fine with me if people want to think Easton "represents PA" when they play Phillipsburg or PCC "represents PA" when they play St. Ignatius. Just a different view.

 

[Fletchster1]

I never heard a word about your issue until the Prep started winning consistently. They have ALWAYS had students from New Jersey attend their school.

They can win all they want on a national stage; the concern is a non-boundary school "competing" for a state championship against boundary schools.

 

[Fletchster1]

My point is that the only team that "represents PA" is the team that plays in the Big 33 game against the team from Maryland. High school teams represent their schools and, to some extent, their communities. In some cases, the communities are towns or neighborhoods. Catholic schools and other private schools have communities of a different kind. There is an SJP community, a Haverford School community, a Bishop McDevitt community, etc. Fine with me if people want to think Easton "represents PA" when they play Phillipsburg or PCC "represents PA" when they play St. Ignatius. Just a different view.

Boundary teams of a certain size from PA playing against boundary schools of the same size from another state is way more apples-to-apples than any non-boundary school playing any other non-boundary school. Building a roster from a populous area has distinct advantages over another non-boundary school in a rural area - this advantage becomes even more prominent if the surrounding boundary schools are a mess.

 

[RCH13co18]

Prep is about 3 miles from Jersey. Roman is even closer. Can we agree that considering jersey out of state is a bit misleading ? Or are the boundary schools pulling from within 3 miles?

 

[BradlyPitt]

Does Erie Cathedral "represent PA" when they play a team from Ohio or New York? Will PCC "represent PA" when they play St. Ignatius? SJP is three miles from New Jersey. They represent the Philadelphia area, the area which from which they have drawn their students for 172 years.

it depends does ECP have non PA kids on the team?

I think Central Catholic is all Pittsburgh area kids, so yes to your question regarding them

 

[BradlyPitt]

I never heard a word about your issue until the Prep started winning consistently. They have ALWAYS had students from New Jersey attend their school.

well they didn't become relevant in the PIAA until relatively recently

it's been 10 years now of dominance, the last 10 years have been more glorious for them than 99.9% of schools could have in 1000 years

 

[BradlyPitt]

Prep is about 3 miles from Jersey. Roman is even closer. Can we agree that considering jersey out of state is a bit misleading ? Or are the boundary schools pulling from within 3 miles?

how many of those awesome Roman basketball teams we've seen over the past decade have out of state kids?

 

[tulla]

it depends does ECP have non PA kids on the team?

I think Central Catholic is all Pittsburgh area kids, so yes to your question regarding them

So PCC players think they're "representing PA" when they play an Ohio team? Maybe they do, but I find that odd. I'll look for photos of the state flag when I see coverage of their game against St. Ignatius.

You say PCC has all "Pittsburgh area kids." SJP has all "Philadelphia area kids." I was wondering about one of their new players who was at Salem High School last year. You could say Salem is on the fringes of the Philly area or even outside it, but another poster said the player actually lives half way between Salem and Philly-so very much in the Philly area.

You give the game away when you focus on SJP's dominance in the last ten years. PCC, Erie Cathedral, Bishop Guilfoyle, Bishop McDevitt, Scranton Prep, LaSalle, etc. are every bit as much non-boundary schools as SJP, but rarely do we hear complaints about their unfair advantage. And rarely do we hear complaints from Philly-area posters (though some have complaints about boundary vs non-boundary) about SJP having Jersey kids on their team. They know the geography and the history.

You could say comparing SJP to, say, PCC or McDevitt is apples and oranges because of the different populations of the metropolitan areas, but SJP competes for students and players against a very long list of private schools (not just other PCL schools, but the six Inter-Ac schools and several private schools in Jersey) as well as against some very good suburban public schools. Not the same with PCC and McDevitt.

 

[BradlyPitt]

So PCC players think they're "representing PA" when they play an Ohio team? Maybe they do, but I find that odd. I'll look for photos of the state flag when I see coverage of their game against St. Ignatius.

You say PCC has all "Pittsburgh area kids." SJP has all "Philadelphia area kids." I was wondering about one of their new players who was at Salem High School last year. You could say Salem is on the fringes of the Philly area or even outside it, but another poster said the player actually lives half way between Salem and Philly-so very much in the Philly area.

You give the game away when you focus on SJP's dominance in the last ten years. PCC, Erie Cathedral, Bishop Guilfoyle, Bishop McDevitt, Scranton Prep, LaSalle, etc. are every bit as much non-boundary schools as SJP, but rarely do we hear complaints about their unfair advantage. And rarely do we hear complaints from Philly-area posters (though some have complaints about boundary vs non-boundary) about SJP having Jersey kids on their team. They know the geography and the history.

You could say comparing SJP to, say, PCC or McDevitt is apples and oranges because of the different populations of the metropolitan areas, but SJP competes for students and players against a very long list of private schools (not just other PCL schools, but the six Inter-Ac schools and several private schools in Jersey) as well as against some very good suburban public schools. Not the same with PCC and McDevitt.

hey I hate all of those schools, don't think that i'm just out to get SJP

all of them could fall off the face of the earth and we would all be better off, bunch of dirty crooks all of them

but yeah SJP will get more criticism because their last 10 years are better than the entire histories of those other schools, so yeah they are public enemy number one

 

[Hausmann1978]

So PCC players think they're "representing PA" when they play an Ohio team? Maybe they do, but I find that odd. I'll look for photos of the state flag when I see coverage of their game against St. Ignatius.

You say PCC has all "Pittsburgh area kids." SJP has all "Philadelphia area kids." I was wondering about one of their new players who was at Salem High School last year. You could say Salem is on the fringes of the Philly area or even outside it, but another poster said the player actually lives half way between Salem and Philly-so very much in the Philly area.

You give the game away when you focus on SJP's dominance in the last ten years. PCC, Erie Cathedral, Bishop Guilfoyle, Bishop McDevitt, Scranton Prep, LaSalle, etc. are every bit as much non-boundary schools as SJP, but rarely do we hear complaints about their unfair advantage. And rarely do we hear complaints from Philly-area posters (though some have complaints about boundary vs non-boundary) about SJP having Jersey kids on their team. They know the geography and the history.

You could say comparing SJP to, say, PCC or McDevitt is apples and oranges because of the different populations of the metropolitan areas, but SJP competes for students and players against a very long list of private schools (not just other PCL schools, but the six Inter-Ac schools and several private schools in Jersey) as well as against some very good suburban public schools. Not the same with PCC and McDevitt.

A lot of those schools were forced up in the success formula or will get forced up. Ecp hasn't been to a title game since going up to 5A. What can you do to SJP playing in 6A. Geographically sjo is able to grab talent from well populated areas from Philly and new Jersey. They are also a non boundary school that is playing a national schedule against other nation teams like img whos a team of D1 kids and will have college coaches in the stands. Then playing on ESPN will bring more attention to these kids looking for college offers. D1 kids will come to sjp because of it. These are just some of the biggest differences between prep and the schools you listed and why no else is doing what prep is doing. I feel bad for the schools like Garnett valley and Harrisburg. It's not fair to those kids.