No. 14 Trinity coach: Rankings are 'poison'

This might explain why I've always had such a difficult time trying to get a preseason questionnaire back in the mail or a phone call returned from Louisville Trinity head coach Bob Beatty.

According to a story in Friday's Louisville Courier-Journal, Coach Beatty is just not a fan of national high school football rankings.

Said Beatty in the story: "The rankings and things like that, that stuff is poison ... You try to teach kids that you can't believe everything you read."

Certainly not the first time I have heard a high school coach say that.

It's actually an opinion that I respect very much.

Beatty made some other strong statements in the story, which previewed No. 14 Trinity's game against defending Prep Poll champ Cincinnati St. Xavier.

Trinity brings a 2-0 record into the game while the Bombers are now 2-1 after defeating then-No. 20 Don Bosco Prep (N.J.) last Saturday, 17-10.

"No disrespect to Don Bosco, but I'll play them today with no game plan," said Beatty, who attended the game last Saturday with members of his coaching staff. "I'm not saying that to sound cocky; I'm saying that with confidence. … I read and heard so much about Don Bosco Prep, then I saw them in real life."

Wow.

Well, at least our poll got it right in Beatty's eyes.

The other five major national polls tracked by calpreps.com shows had Don Bosco Prep ranked no worse than No. 6 in the nation.

We had the Ironmen ranked No. 20 to start the year -- five spots below Trinity, which was No. 15.

Across the PrepNation: Weekend Warmup 9-18-2008

No. 5 South Panola (Batesville, Miss.) has put together the third longest winning streak in high school football history.

The Tigers have prevailed in 78 straight games, trailing only Concord (Calif.) De La Salle (151) and Charlotte (N.C.) Independence (109) for the the national record.

But on Friday night, with a national ESPNU television audience watching and No. 18 Apopka (Fla.) the opponent, the Tigers could put a huge exclamation point at the end of consecutive win No. 79.

Apopka is the first Top 25 team South Panola has faced during the streak. By comparison, De La Salle defeated eight nationally ranked foes during its run. Independence did not face or defeat any nationally ranked teams.

Playing at home is definitely a plus for the Tigers. Traveling by airplane to Mississippi is one of many concerns for Apopka.

Outside of intangibles, South Panola's biggest task will be slowing down Apopka's fleet-footed "slash" QB/RB/WR/RS Jeremy Gallon. The future Michigan Wolverine has already scored a touchdown rushing, passing, receiving and on a 97-yard kickoff return through two games this season.

Could it be a huger weekend in Louisville?

Defending Prep Poll champion Cincinnati St. Xavier travels to town Friday to play reigning Kentucky 6A champ and 14th-ranked Trinity.

That's on top of Wednesday night's ESPN2-televised win for Louisville against Kansas St., and this weekend's Ryder Cup matches being held at Valhalla.

Trinity has revenge on its mind after losing to the Bombers last season in Cincinnati, 47-31. The Shamrocks led the game 24-13 in the third quarter before St. X scored 34 of the game's final 41 points.

Trinity was the only foe to score more than 14 points against St. Xavier last season.

So far in 2008, no opponent has put more than 13 on the board against the Bombers.

The game was moved from Trinity's home field to Papa John's Cardinal Stadium because last week's remnants of Hurricane Ike still have many parts of town without electricity.

St. Xavier will be the first out-of-state high school team to play a game at Cardinal Stadium.

Trinity has played there 15 times since 1998, winning nine of those games including seven against archrival St. Xavier of Louisville. Over 38,000 fans attended that matchup in 2005.

Only a limited schedule of high school football games will be played this weekend in and around Houston following last week's devastating landfall of Hurricane Ike.

No. 10 Houston North Shore's attempt to set a state record with 73 consecutive regular season wins is on hold for at least another week.

If the Mustangs are able to make their scheduled trip to play regionally ranked Southlake Carroll next weekend, they will have a chance to establish the new record against the program with whom they currently share the record.

Two win streaks are on the line and something's got to give when defending Florida 6A champion Miami Northwestern meets defending 4A titlist Booker T. Washington Friday night.

Northwestern (2-1) carries into the game a 32-game winning streak against in-state opponents.

Booker T. Washington (1-2) has not lost to a fellow Dade County team since the 2003 season.

The game will shown to a national audience on CBS College Sports.

It's just a shame these two did not meet last season, when both were ranked in the Top 10 of the National Prep Poll.

On UPSET ALERT this weekend: No. 1 Euless Trinity, No. 3 Byrnes, No. 5 South Panola (see above), No. 8 De La Salle, No. 9 Centennial, No. 14 Trinity (see above) and No. 20 Colerain.

Obviously, the top-ranked Trojans have their work cut out for them when they travel to No. 21 Allen on Friday night. The Eagles have a lot of speed and experience to throw at Trinity -- especially on defense -- plus a good enough home-field advantage to make this one very interesting down to the end.

No. 3 Byrnes' matchup with Tallahassee Lincoln is the first of two games for the Rebels against Florida opponents and it's the second of three out-of-state games this season overall. Lincoln was a regular state-title contender earlier this decade and is always chocked-full of Division I-caliber players. This could end up being an equal or even tougher test for Byrnes than what it will get from defending Florida 2B champ Pahokee next month.

No. 8 De La Salle had better take its game up a notch when it travels to face traditional Los Angeles power Loyola on Saturday. The Spartans needed a late touchdown and two-point conversion to knock off Serra of San Mateo in Week One. Loyola, which is 2-0 and ranked 17th in the Los Angeles Times Southland Top 25, will be looking to avenge a 55-14 loss to the Spartans last season.

Elsewhere in SoCal this weekend, No. 9 Centennial will be hoping to stop -- or at least slow down -- regionally ranked Mater Dei. It's a tall order for the Huskies, who allowed 623 yards and were beaten by the Monarchs 51-37 last season. Of course, Centennial also had over 600 yards in the game, but the Huskies have new starters at QB and RB: Taylor Martinez (Nebraska) and Arthur Burns (a Division I prospect). FYI for anyone who has been living under a rock, Mater Dei returns four-year starting QB Matt Barkley (USC) and last year's leading rusher Jaron Hytche.

No. 20 Colerain has thus far exceeded nearly everyone's expectations this season. In order for that to continue, the youthful Cardinals will need to contend with a more veteran and equally dangerous rushing attack posed by Sycamore. The Aves enter this week's game following a 21-14 upset loss to Hamilton. Inexplicably, Hamilton held Sycamore's star RB Bud Golden to only 12 yards on 14 carries (a -1 yard average). Golden, an Illinois recruit, had run for 352 and 239 yards and six total touchdowns in Sycamore's two previous games. The blue print for stopping Golden exists on tape from the Hamilton game. If Colerain is able to follow it, they should continue to roll.

The End Game

• Am I the only one who could not care less that Ashton Kuchar is supposedly assistant coaching the freshman football team at Harvard-Westlake HS?

• I wonder how long it will be until St. Anthony (N.J.) becomes a national power in high school football. The defending Prep Poll basketball champion played its football game EVER last weekend and won 45-0.

(More notes to come in this space as they come to me over the weekend.)

Across the PrepNation: Weekend Rewind 9-15-08

Some regional news, notes and rankings that just missed the cut when compiling this week's National Prep Football Football.

Week 4 National Prep Poll Top 25 Reax

1. Euless, Texas, Trinity 37, Cedar Hill 14: Trojans dominate '06 5A/II champ
2. Fort Lauderdale, Fla., St. Thomas Aquinas was idle. Another week off upcoming for Raiders
3. Duncan, S.C., Byrnes 63, Greer 0: Rebels win 48th straight home game
4. Valdosta, Ga., Lowndes 30, Ware County 0: Vikings flattening everything in their way
5. Batesville, Miss., South Panola 40, Grenada 2: After 78 straight wins, Tigers will finally get a crack at a Top 25 foe
6. Concord, Calif., De La Salle 29, Serra (San Mateo) 28: Spartans' win streak against Bay Area opponents nearly ends
7. Monroeville, Pa., Gateway 42, Latrobe 0: Gators chomp another outmanned opponent
8. Seffner, Fla., Armwood 52, Wharton 10: Hawks allowed only four first downs
9. Corona, Calif., Centennial 26, Chaparral 16: Will Husky secondary fare better against Barkley and Mater Dei this time around?
10. Houston, Texas, North Shore vs. Cy Falls canceled due to Hurricane Ike: Prep sports in Golden Triangle on hold while Ike cleanup continues
11. Jenks, Okla. 17, Tulsa Union 24 (OT): Another memorable finish in the Backyard Bowl
12. Chesapeake, Va., Oscar Smith 46, Indian River 14: Tigers barely break a sweat against area-ranked opponent
13. Long Beach, Calif., Poly was idle: Jackrabbits resume season this week.
14. Cleveland, Ohio, Glenville 19, South 0: Tarblooders might not allow a point to any league foe this year
15. Bastrop, La. 42, Dollarway (Ark.) 6: Rams dominate on the road and on ESPNU
16. Louisville, Ky., Trinity 65, Butler 12: 'Rocks head to Cincy St. X with revenge on their mind
17. Orange, Calif., Lutheran 39, Bishop Amat 47: Lancers blow 24-0 lead in shocker
18. Sammamish, Wash., Skyline 56, Ballard 6: Spartans led 35-0 in first quarter
19. Kansas City, Mo., Rockhurst 21, Blue Springs 28 (OT): Rock's third consecutive game vs. regionally ranked foe ends in loss
20. Ramsey, N.J., Don Bosco Prep 10, MW No. 7 St. Xavier 17: One week to regroup before trip to No. 8 DLS
21. Chicago, Ill., Mount Carmel 3, Providence 6: Caravan upset in a quagmire
22. Apopka, Fla. 57, Freedom 21: Blue Darters can now focus on No. 5 SP
23. Lakeland, Fla. 40, South Dade 3: Most intimidating team in America? Perhaps
24. Cincinnati, Ohio, Colerain 42, Princeton 27: Young but talented Cards continue to impress
25. Carmel, Ind. 48, Terre Haute South 0: 'Hounds averaging 40 points per outing


REGIONAL RUNDOWN

NORTHEAST
While New Jersey's preseason No. 1 team, Don Bosco Prep, was opening the season in Ohio against St. Xavier, the rest of the state kicked off the season in the Garden State. The week 1 slate included a double-header at Giants Stadium, where regionally ranked Montvale St. Joseph's Regionally blanked St. Peter's Prep, 14-0, and Bergen Catholic stymied Southington (Conn.), 27-6 . . . Wayne Hills (N.J.) extended its region-best winning streak to 41 with a 30-6 blowout of Northern Highlands . . . Despite slipping out of the Northeast Top 10 this week, Dartmouth (Mass.) opened the season with a 9-7 win against state-ranked Mansfield. Do-everything QB/S/K Sean Sylvia ran for over 100 yards and kicked the game-winning field goal in the closing seconds of the game.

Five knocking on the regional rankings door: McKeesport (Pa.), Bonny Eagle (Maine), Dartmouth (Mass.), St. Joseph's Prep (Pa.), Floyd (N.Y.).


EAST COAST
Regionally ranked Charlotte (N.C.) Independence is starting to look like its old dominant self again. The Patriots have hammered back-to-back area opponents to open the season. Last Friday, West Charlotte was on the short end of a 49-3 rout, in which Indy rolled up more than 500 yards of total offense . . . Rock Hill (S.C.) Northwestern continued to strengthen its case for a regional ranking with a 20-0 shutout of rival Rock Hill. The Trojans have an experienced and talented defense that has blanked its last two foes . . . Baltimore's most dominant private football power knocked off its D.C. area counterpart DeMatha for the fourth time in nine tries, 21-14. QB Davey Emala had over 200 yards on the ground for the Greyhounds.

Five knocking on the regional rankings door: Northwestern (S.C.), Millbrook (N.C.), River Hill (Md.), Gilman (Md.), Butler (N.C.)


SOUTHEAST
Regionally ranked Warner Robins (Ga.) Northside extended its winning streak to 33 games -- but just barely. The Eagles, who won the 4A title the last two years, scraped past Carver, the defending 3A champ, by a narrow count of 7-6. It was the 30th time during the streak that Northside has held its opponent to less than 20 points . . . Senior RB Trent Richardson of Escambia (Pensacola, Fla.) exceeded 400 rushing yards in a game for the second time in his prep career. The Alabama recruit ran 29 times for 419 yards and six touchdowns in a 41-7 wipeout of Milton. Last season, Richardson had 407 rushing yards against Tate . . . Defending Florida 4A champion Miami Booker T. Washington got its first win of the season. The Tornadoes erased a 25-point deficit to defeat Miami Central, 44-39. BTW, which opened the year with out-of-state losses to Hamilton (Ariz.) and Northside (Ga.), has not lost to a fellow Dade County opponent since 2003.

Five knocking on the regional rankings door: Deerfield Beach (Fla.), Madison County (Fla.), Montgomery Bell Academy (Tenn.), Memphis University (Tenn.), West Monroe (La.)


MIDWEST
Romeo (Mich.) not only snapped Macomb Dakota's 24-game winning streak, they threw it to the ground and stomped on it. The Bulldogs (3-0) throttled the defending Division I champion, 35-7 . . . Warren Central (Ind.) continued its recent domination of league rival and fellow state power Ben Davis. The Warriors doubled up on the Giants, 42-21, for their eighth consecutive win in the series . . . Coldwater (Ohio) avenged its only loss from last season, scoring 33 unanswered points to beat Marion Local, 33-14. Coldwater lost to the Flyers last season, 35-14, in week 2 before bouncing back to beat nationally ranked Cardinal Mooney in the Division 4 state championship. Marion Local, which saw its 30-game winning streak snapped, ended last season as Division 5 state champion.

Five knocking on the regional rankings door: St. Xavier (Ky.), Rochester Adams (Mich.), Warren Central (Ind.), St. Edward (Ohio), Pickerington Central (Ohio)


MIDLANDS
Three wins and one loss is the best record that Rockhurst (Mo.) can have in its four straight games against regionally ranked opponents to open the season. But that's only if the Hawklets can win Saturday in Denver against power Mullen Prep. The Rock was defeated by Blue Springs in overtime, 28-21, in a game that was moved from Friday night to Saturday morning because of severe weather. It was only the second win in six outings against Rockhurst for the Wildcats, who have two Missouri large-school state championships this decade . . . The best team on the other side of the state sure looks like Hazelwood East. The perennial St. Louis area power blasted rival Hazelwood Central, 24-2, over the weekend and has allowed only one offensive score in three games . . . Idaho State University's Holt Arena hosted the Rocky Mountain Rumble, a quadruple-header featuring some of Idaho's best teams against some of the best squads from the Sacramento, Calif., area. The Gem State went 2-2 including '06 5A champ Lake City's come-from-behind 34-33 defeat of Del Oro.

Five knocking on the regional rankings door: Hazelwood East (Mo.), Olathe East (Kan.), Wayzata (Minn.), Bettendorf (Iowa), Columbine (Colo.)


SOUTHWEST
Peoria (Ariz.) Centennial's emphatic 35-16 defeat of Chandler Hamilton was all the more impressive given that Hamilton defeated defending Florida 4A champ Miami Washington earlier in the year. Hamilton, which was regionally ranked last week, had also shut out Brophy Prep, which defeated Nevada's defending big-school champion Bishop Gorman to open the season . . . Speaking of the Sagebrush State, three Las Vegas-area foes matched up with southwestern Utah clubs over the weekend and went 2-1. But the most interesting result was Las Vegas' 41-13 blowout home loss to last year's 4A runner-up Pine View . . . Norman (Okla.) North entered the regional Top 10 this week after its 26-15 defeat of Muskogee. It snapped a four-game losing streak for the Timberwolves against the Roughers over the last two seasons.

Five knocking on the regional rankings door: Broken Arrow (Okla.), Tulsa Union (Okla.), Westfield (Texas), Lake Travis (Texas), Lufkin (Texas)


WEST COAST
Honolulu Punahou was swept briskly out of the regional Top 10 by perennial power St. Louis, 40-19. Punahou's all-state RB Dalton Hilliard was held to only 10 rushing yards on eight carries. It was Punahou's fifth consecutive loss to St. Louis, who they will play again later this season . . . Malcolm Jones scored a touchdown rushing and on an interception and fumble return to lead Oaks Christian (Calif.) to a 43-14 rout of Muir. Nick Montana struggled a bit in his second varsity start, completing 13 of 28 passes for 158 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions . . . A national television audience on CBS College Sports watched a back-and-forth thriller between Oregon 6A powers Lake Oswego and Jesuit. Led by QB Jack Lomax -- who passed for 304 yards and three touchdowns -- the Lakers won, 36-33, after scoring the game-winning touchdown with 1:37 left to play.

Five knocking on the regional rankings door: Los Alamitos (Calif.), St. Bonaventure (Calif.), Oaks Christian (Calif.), Valley Christian (Calif.), Lake Oswego (Calif.).

Week 5 National Prep Football Poll released

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Five teams in last week's national rankings were upset victims, paving the way for five new teams to enter this week's National Prep Poll Top 25.

Among the debut teams is No. 19 Kingsland (Ga.) Camden County, which scored a surprisingly easy 44-16 win at Alabama 6A power Hoover over the weekend . . . No. 21 Allen (Texas) could rapidly shoot up the poll or see its stay in the Top 25 be brief, depending on how the Eagles fare on Saturday against top-ranked Euless Trinity . . . No. 23 Cleveland St. Ignatius begins its second stint of the season in the national rankings. It's only loss came in week 1 to No. 15 Glenville . . . Defending Virginia D-5 champ Ashburn Stone Bridge is in at No. 24 after outscoring its first three opponents by a combined 154-35 . . . No. 25 Maryville (Tenn.), which owns the nation's second longest current win streak (64), is in the national rankings for the third consecutive season.