Lake Travis moving to 5A

Its not like anyone was really surprised in the move but Lake Travis High School has moved to 5A.  They have won the last five 4A State Championships so no one was really in all that much shock when it was announced a couple of weeks ago.  Lake Travis will be in the same district as Westlake High School (Austin, Tx), Austin Bowie High School, and some other big time programs with lots of history.  The big question now is whether or not they are able to sustain the wave of momentum that has been the last 5 seasons.  Considering they beat Westlake High School on a regular basis the past few years, something tells me they will not be having that many problems.

2011 Texas High School Football State Champions

So I have been getting quite a few emails for lists of all the Texas High School State Champions this past year.  I personally watched both Lake Travis and Aledo win their state championships this season.  For Lake Travis I believe they beat a national record for 5 straight State Championships.  For Aledo it meant Jonathan Gray breaking the national record for number of rushing touchdowns in a high school career. I never thought I would say that Jonathan Gray was a disappointment but he only had 1 touchdown (which was consequently all he needed to break the record).  Aledo, however, was not a disappointment throwing all over the Alvin Manvel secondary.  As for the others, here is a list of all the State Champions from this past season of High School football in the State of Texas.

5A Division 1 – Southlake Carroll High School
5A Division 2 – Spring DeKaney High School

4A Divsion 1 – Lake Travis High School
4A Division 2 – Aledo High School

3A Division 1 – Tyler Chapel Hill High School
3A Division 2 - Wimberley High School

2A Division 1 – Melissa High School
2A Division 2 – Refugio High School

1A Division 1 – Mason High School
1A Division 2 – Tenaha High School

6Man Division 1 – Throckmorton High School
6Man Division 2 – Richland Springs High School

Dripping Springs 7-2 with one Conference Game Left.

With just one game left in the season, the Dripping Springs Tigers are living large.  The only losses they have for the season have come at the hands of two very good undefeated football teams.  Considering Lake Travis is considered the 5th best team in the entire nation (#1 in all levels in the State of Texas) that really says a lot about the level of competition that the Tigers have had to deal with this season.  Wimberley is technically 3A but still a top 25 overall team in the state of Texas which means they could beat most 5A schools in the state.  While Dripping Springs is almost certainly making the playoffs this season their last game of the season comes against a 7-1 hungry and powerful Cedar Park squad.  You can bet they are not going to want to give anything up with how large they are sitting right now in the district.  If the Tigers can pull off a win this would be the best possible scenerio going into the playoffs.  They have always played Lake Travis at the very end of the season in the past which has almost always been a dejecting loss.  Getting a win tonight would more than likely be the kind of confidence a team needs when going into the Texas High School Football Playoffs. 

“I can’t wait to see Gray”

Those are the words spoken by Dave Brown several months in an audio clip.  The full quote was, “”We’re going to follow the great players in the state. Obviously a kid like Johnathan Gray. I know people [Longhorn Network subscribers] are going to want to see Johnathan Gray, I can’t wait to see Johnathan Gray.”  Jonathan Gray is the senior running back for the Aledo High School Bearcats and so far this season has almost 600 yards in rushing with nine touchdowns.  He is also the kid that’s literally in the center of this whole (College Football Conferences completely shifting) debacle.  Ok, let me try to explain to you why this high school senior, in this writers opinion, has unknowingly sparked a forest fire that will change the face of College Football for the lifespan of the sport. 

Dave Brown is actually the Vice President of the Longhorn Network.  This prompted an NCAA investigation which led to them ruling that “School Networks” could not play high school games on them.  By the time the ruling came down (August 11, 2011) Texas A&M had already gone ballistic over everything because they felt that Texas was getting multiple unfair advantages by not only having their own TV network but they were going to be able to play Texas High School football games.  Once A&M overreacted to the situation and they had let it slip they had wanted to move away from Texas for a while now (August 10^th, 2011).  With A&M leaving the conference other Big 12 schools have been looking at moving out of the conference.  This is potentially dangerous for the rest of football…or really cool depending on whom you ask.  It looks like we will be headed towards super conferences light years before expected.

Lake Travis “Drive for Five” State Championships

Lake Travis takes on Aledo High School this Friday in a clash of the titans according to yours truly.  They may have lost a close one against Stephenville (lost 48-47), but I feel as if their early rankings were worth the fuss because they just punished Weatherford like there was no tomorrow.  Aledo has won two straight 4A Division II championships while Lake Travis is looking for their fifth straight 4A title (the past three being in Division I) .  These two champions meet tomorrow night at Aledo which SidelineBlog will have people in attendance.  We will try to get as many pictures and videos as we can for you.  With both on championship runs this season, this should make for one of the most interesting games in the nation this weekend.  We could not pass up on an attempt to see two great teams grit it out. 

With Texas almost completely on fire, this will be a great release for some of the anger, sadness, and stress.  Our thoughts and prayers are obviously on the residents of Central Texas today.  Aledo’s first test was Stephenville first game of the season and while they might not have come out with a victory, they certainly came out with some experience.  Aledo’s senior quarterback was interviewed by the Dallas Star-Telegram and was quoted as saying, “We’ve been practicing all summer for this. After losing to Stephenville, I can’t wait to play them again.  I’m sure Lake Travis is feeling the same way against us.”  He is going to have his hands full with a Lake Travis team that is coming off a 43-14 win over Pflugerville Hendrickson even with 4 starters out with injuries. While some would argue that Westlake was Lake Travis’ first test this season, I would argue that Westlake is not the Westlake (Austin) of old and their program has really slipped lately.  Aledo’s Running Back Jonathan Gray comes into the game with over 550 yards of rushing and 9 touchdowns and Lake Travis’ Quarterback Matthew Bishop comes in with 142 yards on the ground and 531 yards passing with 9 touchdowns.  Watching these two players go head to head will be something to watch if you ask me.  Our prediction is that Lake Travis comes out with the win 35-28.  Hope to see you at the game!

Here are some clips of the recent rivalry:

US High School Top 25 – MaxPreps

MaxPreps’ XCELLENT 25 has come out and it actually features 4 high schools from Texas.  Would you believe that once again California, Florida, and Texas account for nearly half the teams in the top 25?  Considering the best athletes tend to come out of those states, I’m not really surprised.  Aledo is the lone wolf of the group from Texas however, being the only team of 4A status in the group.  The others are much larger schools with more talent to choose from.  I look forward to seeing some of their games this season.  SidelineBlog will have members represented at a lot of these three teams games this season and will be posting video footage of most of them.  Here is the Top 25 High School Football teams brought to you by MaxPreps:

MaxPreps Preseason Top 25

Rank	School	State
1	Don Bosco Prep	Ramsey, New Jersey
2	Armwood	Seffner, Florida
3	De La Salle	Concord, California
4	St. Thomas Aquinas	Fort Lauderdale, Florida
5	Allen	Allen, Texas
6	Prattville	Prattville, Alabama
7	Trinity	Euless, Texas
8	Pleasant Grove	Elk Grove, California
9	St. Edward	Lakewood, Ohio
10	Bishop Gorman	Las Vegas, Nevada
11	Katy	Katy, Texas
12	South Panola	Batesville, Mississippi
13	Centennial	Corona, California
14	Glades Central	Belle Glade, Florida
15	Our Lady of Good Counsel	Olney, Maryland
16	Harrison	Farmington Hills, Michigan
17	Dwyer	Palm Beach Gardens, Florida
18	Warren Central	Indianapolis, Indiana
19	St. Xavier	Cincinnati, Ohio
20	Trinity	Louisville, Kentucky
21	Aledo	Aledo, Tx
22	Oaks Christian	Westlake Village, California
23	Bellevue	Bellevue, Washington
24	Chaparral	Scottsdale, Arizona
25	Grayson	Loganville, Georgia

Preseason picks done by MaxPreps.com

6th Football Related Death in the Past Week

Its not just Texas that is hot hot hot!  Apparently Arkansas is too right now as another student has died on the football field.  KATV in Arkansas is reporting that Montel Williams (15 years old of Gurdon, Arkansas) collapsed and died after practicing less than an hour.  Practice was started at 7:30PM to battle the hot temperatures in the past week.  They only practiced for about an hour and an ambulance was called at 8:40PM.  Being from Texas, I fully understand how bad the heat has been lately.  The average temperature in Fort Worth for the past week has been about 107 with 40 days in a row now of over 100 degrees.  Monday it becomes a record since the beginning of records.  There is no end in sight for us and you need to make sure that you are hydrated at all times.  The cause of death is still unknown for Montel Williams but I imagine the heat had something to do with it.  That marks the 6th player in the past week to die in the Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas area.

Lake Travis Ranked #8 in the Nation!

Yes, you saw that right.  Lake Travis high school in Lakeway, Tx (my biggest rival growing up in high school) is ranked in the Top 10 in both the Xcellent 25 (sports writers poll) and the Freeman Computer Rankings.  To be completely honest with you, I have never understood how the high school rankings really worked.  Last year they we never even close to the Top 25 but because they have won 3 State Championships in a row (07′, 08′ and 09′) they are now ranked in the Top 25.  What scares me though is that I really don’t think they have what it takes this season to win another Championship.  The one time they finally skirt the Top 25, they may not even stay there but for a few weeks.  If they can make it to District play undefeated, you can pretty much sew up the rest of the regular season because the only team I see stepping in there way might be Dripping Springs.  I will be reporting all future rankings through SidelineBlog if you are interesting in seeing what the future holds for these high school teams. Well, here you go with your rankings for the week.  This is a nationwide computer ranking system so if you do not see your school up there, its really not my fault.  I am open to ideas for my own High School poll if you guys want.

Freeman Computer Rankings

Ranking	School	City/State	Record
1	Shiloh Christian	Springdale, AR	1-0
2	Trinity	Euless, Tx	1-0
3	Westlake	Westlake Village, CA	0-0
4	South Panola	Batesville, MS	3-0
5	Abilene	Abilene, TX	1-0
6	Bingham	South Jordan, UT	3-0
7	Dwyer	Palm Beach Gardens, FL	0-0
8	Lake Travis	Austin, TX	2-0
9	DeMatha	Hyattsville, MD	0-0
10	Dorman	Roebuck, SC	2-0
11	Colerain	Cincinnati, OH	2-0
12	Hamilton	Chandler, AZ	3-0
13	West Monroe	West Monroe, LA	1-0
14	Grant	Sacramento, CA	1-0
15	Mullen	Denver, CO	1-0
16	Our Lady of Good Counsel	Olney, MD	1-0
17	Glenville	Cleveland, OH	1-0
18	Sierra	Gadena, CA	1-0
19	Servite	Anaheim, CA	1-0
20	North Gwinnett	Suwanee, GA	3-0
21	Highlands	Fort Thomas, KY	3-0
22	Rockhurst	Kansas City, MO	2-0
23	Catholic Central	Novi, MI	2-0
24	De La Salle	Concord, CA	0-0
25	St. Xavier	Louisville, KY	2-0

MaxPreps Computer Nationwide Top 25 Poll

Texas High School 4A Rankings – Pre-Season

This is personally my favorite league to watch because its what I group up on.  I have great respect for those who grew up in the 4A Texas football areas.  Some of the best football I have ever seen has been in the Dripping Springs-Lake Travis rivalry.  Anyways, I have posted the Pre-Season rankings below so enjoy (I will be posting week one rankings later on along with more than likely some of the week one scores):

1. Lake Travis Cavaliers

2. Longview Lobos

3. Friendswood Mustangs

4. Everman Bulldogs

5. Denison Yellow Jackets

6. Cibolo Steele Knights

7. Denton Guyer Wildcats

8. Texas High Tigers

9. Highland Park Scots

10. Corpus Christi CalAllen High School

11. San Antonio Alamo Heights Mules

12. Brenham Cubs

13. Ennis Lions

14. Dallas Carter Cowboys

15. Angleton Wildcats

16. Denton Ryan Raiders

17. Wolfforth Frenship Tigers

18. Dayton Broncos

19. Aledo Bearcats

20. Hays Consolidated Rebels

21. Crosby Cougars

22. Gregory Portland Wildcats

23. Alice Coyotes

24. Kerrville Tivy Antlers

25. Whitehouse Wildcats

Texas High School Football Preseason Rankings – 5A

So over the next few days I am going to be looking at the Texas High School Preseason rankings so you can get an idea of where your high school stands and whether or not its even going to be worth hitting those games up…because I have always been a fan of just going to the good games no matter who the team.  I know its already week one, but I thought I would give you my top 25 squads for high school football.   I have my pre-season favorites first:

1. Euless Trinity Trojans

2. San Antonio Clark

3. Katy Tigers

4. Cedar Hill Longhorns

5. Allen Eagles

6. Dallas Skyline Raiders

7. Southlake Carroll Dragons

8. Lufkin Panthers

9. GP Northshore Mustangs

10. Garland Owls

11. Round Rock Stony Point Tigers

12. San Antonio Madison Mavericks

13. Pearland Oilers

14. Midland Bulldogs

15. Odessa Permian Panthers

16. Austin Westlake Chaparrals

17. Pflugerville Panthers

18. The Woodlands Highlanders

19. Copperas Cove Bulldawgs

20. Abilene Eagles

21. Houston Chavez Lobos

22. Beaumont West Brook Bruins

23. San Antonio MacArthur

24. Converse Judson Rockets

25. Cedar Park Timberwolves

Tell me what you think!  If you have something different, by all means I am always down for debating.

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