Which school will be next to get a P5 invite?

[billybud]

Texas...$60 million HS stadium

1. Unbelievable
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl...RYuUoS3Danl4AO7v4HwAg&ved=0CEEQ9QEwAw&dur=597

 

[SouthronCross]

I have never been to a high school football game down south, thus I am not maybe way out of my depth here; but, growing-up in CT, the annual Thanksgiving game between Ansonia and Naugatuck was and still is nuts. They have been playing since 1895 and can draw crowds of 10K plus, which is crazy since Ansonia only has 19,000 residents. The Derby/Ansonia game used to also be intense as my Mom would not let me go to the game as fights were very common (driven by the only guard Irish from Ansonia and the Italians from Derby); but, the series took a pause after 80+ games in the late 1990’s/2000’s as dwindling attendance at Derby HS (less than 70 a graduating class) hit the football program hard.

Dude, that is awesome. I like reading and hearing stuff like this. From what you described, it sounds every bit like Friday night HSFB down South.

The playoffs are the best. I like going to the games, even if it means a road trip. The crowds are larger, the statewide media come out, and, the state's university coaches are there scouting. Plus, the leve of play is so much better.

The biggest rivalry that I know of in eastern NC is Scotland Co-Richmond Co. Richmond won something like five 4-A titles in six years not too long ago, and, Scotland has won a couple recently. Its nothing for their games to draw 25,000+. In western NC, I think its Waynesville Tuscola-Canton Pisgah. Crowds over 20K are regular occurences there, too. There may be others, but, those are the ones I've personally read or heard about.

Just an aside, a few weeks ago, one of our local kids received an offer from, and, committed to, Penn State. Penn Freaking State. I never in my lifetime thought any kid from here would get an offer from a school like them.

 

[SouthronCross]

Texas...$60 million HS stadium

1. Unbelievable
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl...RYuUoS3Danl4AO7v4HwAg&ved=0CEEQ9QEwAw&dur=597

Thats Allen HS, right? Have you seen the school itself? It has like 5,700 students. 5,700! Thats just plain nuts. Thats not a high school, its a small college.

Then, the marching band has like 700+ kids.

I know they do things big Texas, but, man, thats beyond big...LOL.

 

[NickyNewark]

Dude, that is awesome. I like reading and hearing stuff like this. From what you described, it sounds every bit like Friday night HSFB down South.

The playoffs are the best. I like going to the games, even if it means a road trip. The crowds are larger, the statewide media come out, and, the state's university coaches are there scouting. Plus, the leve of play is so much better.

The biggest rivalry that I know of in eastern NC is Scotland Co-Richmond Co. Richmond won something like five 4-A titles in six years not too long ago, and, Scotland has won a couple recently. Its nothing for their games to draw 25,000+. In western NC, I think its Waynesville Tuscola-Canton Pisgah. Crowds over 20K are regular occurences there, too. There may be others, but, those are the ones I've personally read or heard about.

Just an aside, a few weeks ago, one of our local kids received an offer from, and, committed to, Penn State. Penn Freaking State. I never in my lifetime thought any kid from here would get an offer from a school like them.

Me too as I remember in NJ about half the town's of Belleville and Nutley would show up at our yearly rivalry usually Thanksgiving and fights would break out ANYWHERE!!Even after the games were over if you were over 12 and under 26 or so and waving a maroon shirt,pom pom or anything maroon at us (esp to the loser) we'd rip car antennas off cars and thump!!Both towns populations were about 35G and 12/15G(which is pretty good in the NE) would be at the games and many were even related!Friday night games were the wildest though as drinking was more prevelant(even among HS kids)!When I was coming up though (50s/60s) Saturday was customary(obviously excluding Thanksgiving Day)!It was all about town and HS pride!

 

[DarthGrumpy]

Thats Allen HS, right? Have you seen the school itself? It has like 5,700 students. 5,700! Thats just plain nuts. Thats not a high school, its a small college.

Then, the marching band has like 700+ kids.

I know they do things big Texas, but, man, thats beyond big...LOL.

Just my own opinion; but, I like high schools around 1,000 to 1,500 students, which is actually large for the Northeast. Big enough to offer everything (sports, marching band, AP classes, etc.); but not overwhelming.
My high school at the time was about 1,200. We had 2 guys in my class play D-1-FBS football (Virginia, Army) and 2 more went the following year (Syracuse & ND [the ND kid apparently confused the lucky four leaf clover with too much of a different green plant and washed out ,guess he should have gone to Florida). I played soccer; but, was not good enough to play at UConn.

 

[billybud]

I played football in a Florida HS with an enrollment of 600 9-12th grade. My wife is a Texan and her senior class graduated 1,374 (mine was 102).

 

[upstater]

Texas spends $8,600 per student for public education. But here's the kicker: only $4,000 of that comes from the state. So, the average of $8,600 means that some districts with high property taxes fund education more or less like the rest of the country, while poorer districts spend basically little to nothing on education. Only $1,000 of that $8,600 goes to employee salary and benefits, so that means in a class of 30 students, the average instructor is making less than $30k. What kind of outcomes can you expect under these conditions?

Compare to Connecticut. It spends $14,700 per student. But Connecticut has problems as well. Consider, because of its high per capita income, it receives the least amount of federal funding for primary/secondary public education, just 4%. Also, Conn. like Texas does not contribute much to each school in the way of state funding. Conn. is right there with Texas when it comes to state funding (just 38%, or the 7th least in the nation). This explains why Conn. property taxes are so high. So, the outcome you get is predictable. Some of the best public schools in the entire nation in affluent communities, while the poor schools do pretty badly. Conn.'s HS grad rate is below the national average.

 

[NickyNewark]

Just my own opinion; but, I like high schools around 1,000 to 1,500 students, which is actually large for the Northeast. Big enough to offer everything (sports, marching band, AP classes, etc.); but not overwhelming.
My high school at the time was about 1,200. We had 2 guys in my class play D-1-FBS football (Virginia, Army) and 2 more went the following year (Syracuse & ND [the ND kid apparently confused the lucky four leaf clover with too much of a different green plant and washed out ,guess he should have gone to Florida). I played soccer; but, was not good enough to play at UConn.

My HS was about like yours 1100/1200 or so but even though I was a good athlete(hoops,FB,baseball) I had to work afterschool and joined the Corps my Sr year in "69" at 17 years old. I'd do the same thing all over again!I got my GED before I turned 18!

 

[NickyNewark]

I played football in a Florida HS with an enrollment of 600 9-12th grade. My wife is a Texan and her senior class graduated 1,374 (mine was 102).

Fla's population wasn't as robust back in the day IIRC?After building up DisneyWorld the population boom must have started?I have dozens of transplanted relatives in the Orlando and Jacksonville area tho I prefer Gulf Breeze,Tampa and especially the Keys!I'm not fond of the Miami/Ft Lauderdale area.

 

[billybud]

Fla's population wasn't as robust back in the day IIRC?After building up DisneyWorld the population boom must have started?I have dozens of transplanted relatives in the Orlando and Jacksonville area tho I prefer Gulf Breeze,Tampa and especially the Keys!I'm not fond of the Miami/Ft Lauderdale area.

Pensacola boy....my family went to Destin in the mid 50's when it was a small fishing village. We stayed right on the lagoon in an old fishing cottage owned by the McKenzie Oertings (Aunt's husband's family). I grew up in a sleepy Florida before Disney and the migration of the rust belters. Gulf Breeze was deserted and nobody wanted to live at Pensacola Beach...My coming of age revolves heavily around the deserted beach between Pensacola and Navarre.

 

[NickyNewark]

Pensacola boy....my family went to Destin in the mid 50's when it was a small fishing village. We stayed right on the lagoon in an old fishing cottage owned by the McKenzie Oertings (Aunt's husband's family). I grew up in a sleepy Florida before Disney and the migration of the rust belters. Gulf Breeze was deserted and nobody wanted to live at Pensacola Beach...My coming of age revolves heavily around the deserted beach between Pensacola and Navarre.

That sounds more like the Florida I dreamed of as a kid!Wide open spaces,miles of nice beaches and what was the name of the show starring the dolphin?

 

[NickyNewark]

I think we have a Naval Air Station in Pensacola?I almost went aviation guarantee in the Corps but ended up a teletype operater!I loved MCRD in Dago!

 

[billybud]

Hollywood Marine, weren't ya?

I went to PI...started out as an 0311...then moved on to Force Recon.

 

[billybud]

I loved San Diego as well...I was at the UDT base on Coronado for a while being trained by UDT....it never rained. Tijuana, the Chicago Club...oh man...the stories of a teenage Marine!

 

[SouthronCross]

Me too as I remember in NJ about half the town's of Belleville and Nutley would show up at our yearly rivalry usually Thanksgiving and fights would break out ANYWHERE!!Even after the games were over if you were over 12 and under 26 or so and waving a maroon shirt,pom pom or anything maroon at us (esp to the loser) we'd rip car antennas off cars and thump!!Both towns populations were about 35G and 12/15G(which is pretty good in the NE) would be at the games and many were even related!Friday night games were the wildest though as drinking was more prevelant(even among HS kids)!When I was coming up though (50s/60s) Saturday was customary(obviously excluding Thanksgiving Day)!It was all about town and HS pride!

LOL...thats a great story, too.

You know, it doesn't matter what region...South, west, north, east...when two small town high schools get together, alcohol and fights seem to go hand in hand. And, if they're league rivals, its that much more intense.

 

[SouthronCross]

Just my own opinion; but, I like high schools around 1,000 to 1,500 students, which is actually large for the Northeast. Big enough to offer everything (sports, marching band, AP classes, etc.); but not overwhelming.
My high school at the time was about 1,200. We had 2 guys in my class play D-1-FBS football (Virginia, Army) and 2 more went the following year (Syracuse & ND [the ND kid apparently confused the lucky four leaf clover with too much of a different green plant and washed out ,guess he should have gone to Florida). I played soccer; but, was not good enough to play at UConn.

I think high schools should top out at between 1,500 and 1.750 students. For the reasons you say.

Your HS had 1,200 students? That would have been the 2nd largest in my county when I was growing up. The city's HS had 1,750. My own school had less than 350 students TOTAL, with just 87 in my graduating class. Now, it has over 700, and, has been elevated from the Class 1-A ranks to Class 2-A.

 

[SouthronCross]

Fla's population wasn't as robust back in the day IIRC?After building up DisneyWorld the population boom must have started?I have dozens of transplanted relatives in the Orlando and Jacksonville area tho I prefer Gulf Breeze,Tampa and especially the Keys!I'm not fond of the Miami/Ft Lauderdale area.

There are some really nice areas in south Florida. Coral Gables (where the U of Miami is located) is pretty nice. My cousin and her family lived in Cooper City, suburb of Ft Lauderdale, and, they liked it. They've since moved to the Orlando area (Winter Park, IIRC).

Another cousin's family lived in Tampa, but, later moved to Houston. They loved Tampa, but, Houston is more laid back, which better suited her.

My brother lived in Ocala. He liked it, because it sort of reminded him of our hometown.

 

[NickyNewark]

There are some really nice areas in south Florida. Coral Gables (where the U of Miami is located) is pretty nice. My cousin and her family lived in Cooper City, suburb of Ft Lauderdale, and, they liked it. They've since moved to the Orlando area (Winter Park, IIRC).

Another cousin's family lived in Tampa, but, later moved to Houston. They loved Tampa, but, Houston is more laid back, which better suited her.

My brother lived in Ocala. He liked it, because it sort of reminded him of our hometown.

Most of Southern Fla around Miami is way too humid for me but I love the Keys!My blood is Celtic thick!

 

[NickyNewark]

Hollywood Marine, weren't ya?

I went to PI...started out as an 0311...then moved on to Force Recon.

Where?Camp Geiger?Jacksonville was a wild little town but as you know I was a 12 day wonder!Ha Ha..30 days leave and hello no rain SD....MCRD at the time had the communication school now its in 29 Palms!Thank God I was in during my time frame!At PI I was in the "new" concrete barracks in Platoon 360...march into chow..aye,aye,sir!Ha Ha

 

[SouthronCross]

Most of Southern Fla around Miami is way too humid for me but I love the Keys!My blood is Celtic thick!

I'm of Celtic blood myself, but, I guess growing up in the humid-laden South made me think about south Florida in a different way...LOL.

 

[SouthronCross]

Where?Camp Geiger?Jacksonville was a wild little town but as you know I was a 12 day wonder!Ha Ha..30 days leave and hello no rain SD....MCRD at the time had the communication school now its in 29 Palms!Thank God I was in during my time frame!At PI I was in the "new" concrete barracks in Platoon 360...march into chow..aye,aye,sir!Ha Ha

Jacksonville is my hometown. When were you last here? I guarantee you would not recognise the place AT ALL now.

 

[billybud]

I was in Jacksonville last in the mid 60's.....they served near beer at a downtown Marine bar called Birdland or something....30,000 Marines and the few local women were locked up on Friday night through Sunday.

 

[upstater]

http://content.ciacsports.com/scripts/fb_schedules13.cgi?week=1

This is the Conn. HS football schedule for this week. Most games are not on Saturdays, and that's even with all the suspended games from the poor weather.

So, it's a weird perception that football is mainly played on Saturdays. It's about half and half.

 

[J187Money]

Now, I did not know about any of that. I had no idea that it could be that difficult to play on Friday nights where you are.

In my own hometown, the two biggest high schools are located in residential areas, and, I am sure there are residents here who complain about the noise, and, the traffic in their neighborhood. But, if they do, I'm pretty sure the vast majority do not. Its just for about 3 or 3-1/2 hours, and, then its over.

This is a big issue in a lot of towns. If lights aren't up already, getting them put up will be met with a fight. Amazing the fights we have in Milford over stuff to do with lighting / fencing for baseball fields, etc. And then there are the outliers - not every team has its own stadium (Platt plays at Foran for example). It absolutely should be a goal and anyone that has lights should make it a priority. But we are a ways from having that be the standard.

 

[J187Money]

College football in Connecticut got very little mind share as recently as a decade ago. Just like basketball, if UCONN gains traction and prominence in football you'll see more kids gravitate to the sport. But, it will take time, perhaps as much as decade for kids to make it through the ranks. Connecticut will never be a hotbed of recruiting for a number of reasons, but I think you'll see an uptick in talent over the next 10 years. Of course, it is somewhat contingent on a program that progresses in the right direction.

Not that I expect my son to be good at all, but he is 100% playing because of going to UCONN games with me since the Rent opened. He tried Pop Warner when he was 8, hated it and quit, but now that he has some size he went out for it and dreams about playing for UCONN.