Taking a few days before the season starts

Starting tomorrow, I will be taking a few days off with my family before the prep football season really gets cranked up. So, there will be no more updates on the site until next week.

My wife has threatened challenged me to not even bring my laptop with me on our upcoming vacation. So, for the sake of matrimonial harmony, I have no choice decided to oblige.

My battery should be well-charged come next Monday.

See you then.

Thanks
Jamie

P.S. If you do need to get a hold of me before Monday, call and leave me a message at 816-746-6056.

PrepNation Film Room: QB Tajh Boyd

The 2008 season could be special in the state of Virginia. There are five teams from the Old Dominion State in the PrepNation 101 preseason rankings, including three in the Top 30.

Hampton Phoebus begins the season ranked No. 30, just one spot behind No. 29 Ashburn Stone Bridge, the team that beat the Phantoms, 38-24, in last year's Division 5 state semifinals.

Phoebus has 18 total returning starters including its field general, all-state quarterback Tajh Boyd. The West Virginia recruit is one of the top-rated "dual-threat" quarterbacks in the country and was selected to participate in the prestigious Elite 11 quarterback camp this summer. As a junior, Boyd had over 2,000 yards passing and 500 yards rushing for 32 total touchdowns.

Here is a look at some of Boyd's junior film, courtesy of The Forbes Report.

New book spotlights 12 of America's top programs

Take it from me, it's a tough enough task narrowing down the top 25 (or top 101) teams in the country each year for the National Prep Poll.

I can only imagine how hard the final cuts were for author Gavin Kralik when he began writing his new book "Gridiron Dynasties."

The book, which goes on sale later this month, takes a closer look at a dozen of the top high school football programs from the last decade.

The list includes four teams that have won National Prep Poll titles since 1999: Shreveport (La.) Evangel Christian, Concord (Calif.) De La Salle, Southlake (Texas) Carroll, and Lakeland (Fla.). USA Today's 2007 champion Miami Northwestern is also profiled.

"The process of narrowing down the 12 programs was difficult," said Kralik in an email. "I began with counting the number of times each school has finished the season ranked in the top 25 in the nation, according to USA Today.

"I wanted to also represent a variety of states. I researched the last five or six years in each state to see how many state championships were won by schools from the individual states. For example Valdosta (Ga.) Lowndes and Pittsburgh Central Catholic each finished in the top 25 only twice the last 10 years (according to USA Today), which was the fewest of any of the 12 schools in the book. However, Central Catholic has won two of the last four large classification state titles in Pennsylvania, and Lowndes has won three of the last four large classification titles in Georgia."

The final 12 that made the cut for the book were (alphabetically by state): De La Salle, Lakeland, Miami Northwestern, Lowndes, Evangel Christian, Batesville (Miss.) South Panola, Charlotte (N.C.) Independence, Cincinnati Colerain, Jenks (Okla.), Pittsburgh Central Catholic, Carroll and Katy (Texas).

"There were many schools that I would have loved to write about," said Kralik. "But I felt that to do a complete and extensive job the quality of my research and work would be compromised if the number of schools got too big."

Kralik listed 10 more schools that just missed the cut for the book: Long Beach (Calif.) Poly, Tulsa (Okla.) Union, Cincinnati St. Xavier, Warner Robins (Ga.) Northside, Duncan (S.C.) Byrnes, Hyattsville (Md.) DeMatha, Ramsey (N.J.) Don Bosco Prep, Prattville (Ala.), Bellevue (Wash.), and River Ridge (La.) John Curtis.

Other than the obvious -- winning a lot of games -- Kralik said his book presents some common denominators, as well as differences, between the top programs.

"I have a chapter on each of the 12 schools where I show the reader high school football through the lens of each respective school," said Kralik. "I show what the unique formula for building a dynasty is for each of the 12 programs.

"Part two of the book shows common denominators among the 12 and also things aren't (in common) that one would think are. Also, I compare the programs on a variety of levels such as the amount of Division I players in the past seven years, booster clubs, coaches work days, head coaches roles, etc."

The book contains nearly 100 color photos of stadiums, weight rooms, facilities, and game shots.

"I wanted to show people how high school football compares around the nation," Kralik said.

I think one of the other unique things about "Gridiron Dynasties" is the author. Kralik is neither a journalist or writer by trade.

He is a football coach.

In fact, Kralik is entering his fourth year as head coach at Spanaway (Wash.) Bethel, a Class 4A playoff team last season.

"I think the only way I was able to do the job I think I did in the book was because I am a head coach at a large classification school in my own state," he said. "I feel this helped me ask questions that someone who isn't a head coach wouldn't think of asking.

"I also believe it helped me to get more out of the coaches in their limited time in interviews because of the natural connection and understanding coaches have with one another."

"Gridiron Dynasties" goes on sale on August 29. Copies can be ordered online at www.GridironDynasties.com or amazon.com.