Across the PrepNation: Weekend Warmup 10-10-2008

The vice-presidential candidacy of Gov. Sarah Palin is giving Alaska more national media attention than the state previously received in its almost 50 years of existence combined.

The Last Frontier State is on a roll, man.

And never one to be left behind by today's trends (yeah, right), I'm going to lead off this edition of Weekend Warmup with an update on the Alaska prep football playoffs.

There's a chance of rain and temperatures are expected to be in the low 40s in Anchorage Friday afternoon when the state small-school semifinal between Barrow and Kodiak kicks off.

Barrow (8-1), which made the playoffs for the first time this season, is led by QB Albert Gerke. According to the Anchorage Daily News, Gerke needs only 125 passing yards to break the single-season state record for small-school passers. A pretty impressive feat for a guy dealing with the weather conditions that come with playing for only the high school football team in the world located north of the Arctic Circle.

On the other side of the small-school bracket sits two-time defending champ Soldotna. The Stars (8-0), who have won 27 consecutive games, play Eielson (6-3).

The large-school division favorite appears to be North Pole (9-0), which seeks its first state championship since 2004. The Patriots play Service (6-3) in one semifinal while defending champ Juneau-Douglas (5-4) takes on Anchorage South in the other.

This weekend's TV slate
No. 4 Lowndes gets its second consecutive national television exposure Friday night. The Vikings take on crosstown rival Valdosta -- the winningest prep football program in history -- at 8:00 PM EDT on ESPNU.

On Thursday night, viewers of FOX Sports Net North and FSN Midwest will see regionally ranked Rockhurst (Mo.) hosting Minnetonka (Minn.) at 7:00 CDT. Minnetonka brings a 4-2 record into the game, with both losses coming to regionally ranked Minnesota powers Eden Prairie and Wayzata.

Speaking of Eden Prairie, the Eagles have a CBS College Sports TV date Friday night at 7:00 PM CDT with their 34-game winning streak on the line against Bloomington Kennedy.

Altitude has a Friday night game that promises to very entertaining between traditional Denver-area powers Cherry Creek and Mullen Prep. Cherry Creek is unbeaten while Mullen's only loss came to regionally ranked Rockhurst (Mo.). Kickoff is 7:00 PM MDT.

This weekend's Top 3 list
The Top 3 online newspaper high school sports sections in the country:
1) Dallas Morning News
2) Cincinnati Enqurier
3) Orange County Register

This weekend's UPSET ALERT

No. 3 Euless Trinity vs. Colleyville Heritage: The Trojans, who have been offensively challenged at times this season, must either slow down or keep up with a Heritage offense that is averaging over 400 yards and 40 points per game this season.

No. 4 Lowndes vs. Valdosta: Valdosta enters the game against their rival at 4-2 and hoping for a Lowndes hangover following the Vikings' nationally televised 24-7 win over Warner Robins Northside last week. On paper, Lowndes has a chance to blow out the Wildcats. But pride and emotion for the black and gold should keep this one close -- at least for awhile.

No. 8 Gateway at Erie McDowell: The Gators are beating opponents by an average score of 46-6, but McDowell is the first foe they will face with a record north of the .500 mark. The Trojans are led by Wisconsin-bound bruising tailback A.J. Fenton.

No. 10 Long Beach Poly vs. No. 18 St. Bonaventure: This one would not even be an upset, in my opinion, should the Seraphs pull out the victory. Poly has a dominant defense and a strong rushing attack but St. Bonaventure has the playmakers to put points on the board against any defense. Look for Bonnie to pull off one of the biggest wins in the history of its program. Something like 31-20.

No. 25 Maine South at Glenbrook South: The Titans, led by scrappy senior QB Ryan Hopkins, enter the game with a 6-0 record and smelling the upset. The game has special meaning for Hopkins, who grew up around the Maine South program when his father, Phil, led the Hawks to a state championship in 1995.

Preseason Team to Watch: Duncanville (Texas)

We are now less than one month away from the start of high school basketball season in some parts of the country. Naturally, that means in less than a month the first National Prep Basketball Poll of the season will be released.

Over the last several weeks, PrepNation.com Basketball Contributor Jeremy Plowman and I have been analyzing top teams and players, and collecting information from high school coaches across the country.

Today, we begin giving readers a sneak peak at the preseason rankings with the first of several "Team to Watch" capsules.

Duncanville (Duncanville, Texas)
Coach: Phil McNeely (675-163, 24 years at Duncanville)
2007-08 record: 35-2 (lost in 5A region finals), No. 16 in final National Prep Poll
Top players: G/F Shawn Williams, Sr. (6-7, 17 pts, 9 reb.); F Roger Franklin, Sr. (6-5, 14 pts, 8 reb.); F Julian Washburn, Jr. (6-7, 9 pts, 6 reb.); PG Reger Dowell, Sr. (6-1), C/F Perry Jones, Jr. (transfer from Dallas Wilson)
Team strength: Size, shooting, defense
Question mark: Experience with three new starters
Outlook: The Panthers, who lost only to Top 15 teams last season, feature a blend of experience and highly talented newcomers. All five projected Duncanville starters are high Division I college prospects. Williams (a Texas commit) and Franklin (OKlahoma St.) have been mainstays since cracking the starting lineup in their freshman seasons. Dowell (formerly committed to both Alabama and Arizona) has good quickness and handles the ball well. Washburn and Jones are both committed to Baylor and ranked among the Top 10 juniors in Texas. Duncanville will play a schedule that, if successful, should certainly put it in position for a high national ranking. The Panthers will play stand-alone games versus national powers St. Bendict's (N.J.), Brooklyn (N.Y.) Lincoln, and LeFlore (Ala.) in addition to playing in the City of Palms Classic and T-Mobile National High School Federation tournaments.

Across the PrepNation: Weekend Rewind 10-6-2008

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

Week 7 National Prep Football Poll Reax

1. St. Thomas Aquinas 35, Hollywood Hills 7: Raiders built 35-0 halftime lead

2. Byrnes 38, Pahokee (Fla.) 12: Rebels every bit as good as advertised, if not better

3. Euless Trinity 45, Fossil Ridge 3: Trojans get offense clicking again

4. Lowndes 24, SE No. 9 Northside 7: Vikings end Northside's streak 

5. South Panola 21, Olive Branch 13: Huge win for Tigers whose win streak grows to 81 

6. Corona Centennial 34, Corona 19: Huskies hope to play for state title again

7. Armwood 41, Jefferson 0: Hawks have allowed just one TD

8. Gateway 42, Hempfield 0: Gators impressive but none of six foes have winning record 

9. Oscar Smith 48, Western Branch 7: Tigers making minced meat of Southeastern District 

10. Long Beach Poly 32, Lakewood 15: 74th straight Moore League win

11. North Shore 28, Lufkin 21: State-record 73rd straight regular season win 

12. Bastrop 60, Rayville 31: Rams score 46 second-half points

13. Louisville Trinity 6, Louisville St. Xavier 30: Best team in the Ville is settled ... for now

14. Glenville 30, John Marshall 6: Tarblooders' 11th straight league crown almost clinched

15. Skyline 35, Garfield 2: Spartans equally dominant on both sides of ball

16. Camden County 50, Beach 13: Wildcats feasting on overmatched region foes

17. Lakeland 27, Killian 21: Second straight win over tough South Fla. foe

18. St. Bonaventure was idle: Seraphs eyeing upset of No. 10 Poly this week

19. Colerain 39, Middletown 42: Cards' 61-game league win streak is history 

20. St. Ignatius 49, Warren Harding 7: Back-to-back Cincinnati Catholic League foes up next

21. Stone Bridge 51, South Lakes 6: Bulldogs turn another opponent into chew toy

22. Quince Orchard 35, Gaithersburg 0: Cougars starting to hit stride

23. Maryville 42, Central 17: Win streak hits 67

24. Carmel 31, Warren Central 17: Greyhounds now 4-0 vs. state-ranked teams

25. Maine South 48, Waukegan 0: Big weekend for QB Charlie Goro and his future school, Vanderbilt

REGIONAL RUNDOWNS

NORTHEAST

Wayne Hills (N.J.) extended the region's longest active win streak to 44 games by beating Mahawah, 38-14. The Patriots entered the game ranked No. 7 in the Newark Star-Ledger's state Top 20 poll . . . The longest winning streak in New York continues to belong to Long Island's top-ranked club, William Floyd. The Colonials got win No. 37 in a row with a 31-7 blowout of Patchogue-Medford . . . St. John's Prep's stay atop the Boston Globe Top 20 rankings didn't even last a full week. Just four days after the Eagles stunned then-No. 1 Everett -- and ended its 63-game regular season win streak -- they were the upset victim. The Boxers of Brockton, still reeling from a 34-6 loss the week before to Xaverian, picked themselves off the mat and beat SJP, 28-13. 

Five teams knocking on the regional rankings door: Dartmouth (Mass.), McKeesport (Pa.), Floyd (N.Y.), Wayne Hills (N.J.), Ansonia (Conn.) 

EAST COAST

The nation's No. 2-ranked team extended its home winning streak to 50 games. An ESPNU television audience watched Byrnes run away from defending Florida 2B champ Pahokee, 38-12. It was the the Rebels' third win over an out-of-state opponent this season . . . On Thursday, ESPN2 was on hand as No. 21 Good Counsel whipped its nemesis, DeMatha, 42-21. Good Counsel has beaten the Stags three times in their last six regular season meetings. But DeMatha has topped Good Counsel in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference championship game four times in the last five years . . . This chapter in the Battle for Rock Hill, S.C., went to regionally ranked upstart South Pointe. The Stallions scored 21 straight points after fumbling away the game's opening kickoff to beat then-regionally ranked crosstown rival Northwestern, 28-7. Highly recruited QB Stephon Gilmore scored three touchdowns for South Pointe, which is in only its third year as a varsity program. 

Five teams knocking on the regional rankings door: River Hill (Md.), Westfield (Va.), Oakton (Va.), Loyola (Md.), South Charleston (W.Va.) 

SOUTHEAST

Twenty-two time state champion John Curtis entered the regional rankings after a much easier than expected 48-0 rout of North Miami Beach (Fla.). Patriots QB Evan Ingram ran for three touchdowns and passed for another two. North Miami Beach, which routed defending Florida 6A champ Miami Northwestern in the spring and began the season No. 75 in the PrepNation 101 preseason rankings, dropped to 2-2 while John Curtis improved to 4-1 . . . A CBS College Sports television audience watched No. 4 Lowndes topple Warner Robins Northside, 24-7. The loss ended Northside's 35-game winning streak . . . Two-time defending Alabama 6A champ Prattville now has five consecutive shutouts since losing its opener in Cincinnati to St. Xavier. The Lions blanked Jefferson Davis, 42-0, to improve to 5-1 on the season. 

Five teams knocking on the regional rankings door: Wayne County (Miss.), Prattville (Ala.), Madison County (Fla.), Newnan (Ga.), Chamberlain (Fla.) 

MIDWEST

The Cincinnati suburb of Middletown is still buzzing after Friday night's 42-39 upset of then-No. 19 Colerain. It ended Colerain's 61-game winning streak in the Greater Miami Conference and 35-game regular season win streak. Middletown, which lost to regionally ranked Elder and Indiana power Warren Central to open the season, improved to 5-2 while Colerain slipped to 6-1 . . . Meanwhile, No. 13 Glenville's league winning streak is alive and well. The Tarblooders, who beat John Marshall 30-6 on Friday, have dominated the Senate League the last decade with 10 titles and 76 straight conference wins . . . Loyola Academy,  which was ranked No. 16 in the city by the Chicago Tribune last week, stunned regionally ranked St. Rita, 24-0. It was the third consecutive shutout for the Ramblers, who improved to 5-1. 

Five teams knocking on the regional rankings door: Pickerington Central (Ohio), Lincoln-Way East (Ill.), Trinity (Ky.), Coldwater (Ohio), Muskegon (Mich.) 

MIDLANDS

Silver Lake (Kan.) coach C.J. Hamilton collected his 300th victory with a 34-16 defeat of St. Marys. According to the Topeka Capital-Journal, only two other coaches in Kansas history have reached the 300-win plateau . . . Senior running back Dorian Brown rushed for 439 yards and five touchdowns but it wasn't enough to give Thompson Valley (Colo.) its first victory of the season. Fossil Ridge (2-4) outgunned the Eagles, 54-50, dropping them to 0-6 on the season. Brown's rushing total was good enough to rank as the sixth best in state history for an individual and Thompson Valley's 566 team rushing yards is seventh best -- but neither were good enough to earn a victory. 

Five teams knocking on the regional rankings door: Olathe East (Kan.), Cherry Creek (Colo.), Cretin-Derham Hall (Minn.), Alta (Utah), Bettendorf (Iowa)

SOUTHWEST

Defending Texas 5A/II champ Katy is starting to look more like the team that went 16-0 and was ranked No. 3 in the final National Prep Poll last season. The Tigers started the season 0-2 after losing 10-6 to No. 11 North Shore and 47-0 to regionally ranked The Woodlands. They are 3-0 since, including an impressive 31-6 win against state-ranked Cypress Bay (Fla.) on Saturday . . . Senior running back Shawn Jackson of Tulsa McLain had 390 rushing yards and five touchdowns in a 40-10 rout of Jay. Jackson is 5-foot-11, 245 pounds and is begin recruited as a linebacker and fullback . . . Bentonville might find itself atop the Arkansas Class 7A state rankings this week after upsetting last week's No. 1 team, Fort Smith Southside, 14-7. It was career win No. 175 for coach Barry Lunney, who previously spent 16 seasons coaching on the other side of the field at Southside. 

Five teams knocking on the regional rankings door: Permian (Texas), Lake Travis (Texas), Pearland (Texas), Bentonville (Ark.), Tulsa Union (Okla.)

WEST COAST

All-everything quarterback Matt Barkley of then-regionally ranked Mater Dei was sacked four times and pressured into two interceptions in a 24-14 loss to Huntington Beach Edison. Barkley, a USC recruit, now has 11 interceptions in five games this season after throwing only nine interceptions all of last season . . . Regionally ranked Bellarmine Prep throttled St. Ignatius, 50-14, in the first night high school football game ever played within the city limits of San Francisco. Stanford recruit Usua Amanam had 237 rushing yards and four touchdowns for the Bells . . . Veteran Westlake (Calif.) coach Jim Benkert says he has video evidence that an attempted field goal that would have given his team the win in a 23-22 loss Aguora was good. The Los Angeles Times' website has the video and the story, which appears to support Benkert's case. 

Five teams knocking on the regional rankings door: Huntington Beach Edison (Calif.), Servite (Calif.), Fresno Edison (Calif.), Sherman Oaks Notre Dame (Calif.), Oaks Christian (Calif.)

Week 8 National Prep Football Poll released

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Week 8 National Prep Football Poll features a pair of teams making their season Top 25 debuts.

No. 15 Louisville (Ky.) St. Xavier entered the national rankings for the first time since last season. The Tigers beat arch rival Louisville Trinity, 30-6, in front over 38,000 fans at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium. Trinity, the defending 6A champion, was ranked No. 13 in last week's poll.

No. 21 Olney (Md.) Good Counsel also moved into the Top 25 after beating its main rival. The Falcons beat DeMatha, 42-21, in a game televised by ESPN2. DeMatha has won five consecutive Washington Catholic Athletic Conference championships, with four of the championship game wins coming against Good Counsel.