Posts Tagged ‘high school’

For those familiar with high school football, Jenks HS (OK) has long been regarded as one of the top football programs in the country.

Under Allan Trimble, Jenks has won 10 state titles, making him the first coach in state history to reach the elite mark. Their most recent title came this past Friday in front of 15,000 fans as Jenks dominated the Norman North Timberwolves 55-20.

Before the game they watched this motivational film, which used the movie "The Grey" to get the message across. Very creative and well thought out.

JENKS TROJANS 2012 STATE CHAMPIONSHIP MOTIVATIONAL from PassioBellator on Vimeo.

Skyline HS (WA) quarterback Max Browne, one of the top quarterbacks in the country and a USC committ, went 29 of 32 for 387 yards and 4 touchdowns in a state semifinal showdown with  Camas HS in which they went on to win 51-28. But we find it hard to believe that any of those touchdowns were more fun to throw than the bounce pass he threw to one of his receivers early in second half.

Take a look at this trick play that they pulled out on the opening series of the second half. 

Offensive coordinators may want to add this one to their playbook. Pretty clever.

After enduring one of the worst storms in recent U.S. memory, many teams out in New York had to prepare for a first round playoff game.

Two teams that the storm hit particularly hard, Queens Beach Channel HS (NY) and Port Richmond HS of Staten Island (NY), got paired up in the first round of the state playoffs, and had to overcome some incredibly difficult circumstances just to make it to game day.

According to Cameron Smith of Yahoo!Sports, the first day following Hurricane Sandy, only 15% of Beach Channel's students showed up to school, which was held in makeshift emergency location. All of the football team's equipment had been washed away in the storm and their football field had been transformed into an emergency landing area for helicopters carrying medical and disaster releif supplies.

And these guys still found a way to prepare for a playoff game. 

Despite those obstacles, the staff and players at Beach Channel came together for the big playoff game and as the video shows, head coach Victor Nazario had a difficult time keeping his emotions in check as he addressed his team before kickoff.

Many of us across the country get so caught up in our own programs, and trying to win games and change lives,  that it's easy to lose sight of what others are going through, particularly out on the east coast. After our games the past few weeks, we're fortunate enough to board the bus and head to the comfort of our own homes and resume our everyday lives, while thousands and thousands of coaches and players out on the east coast went home to help repair their communities and homes following their games over the past several weeks. 

This pre game video captures coach Nazario's pre game speech before the playoff game. Listen to his message and the emotion in his voice, and how he uses adversity and the game of football to help provide a platform for life lessons. Good stuff.

Coach Nazario and his team ended up falling that afternoon, 38-6 to Port Richmond.

Coach Nazario's pep talk [contains profanity] from GothamSchools on Vimeo.

Well done high school video here from A.L. Brown high school in Kannapolis, North Carolina, who have put together an impressive couple of games to stay alive in the state playoffs.

In the first round of the playoffs A.L. Brown high school put together one of the most impressive comebacks in school history to beat North Forsyth. The team scored three touchdowns in the final three minutes of the game to force overtime, where they ended up capitalizing on the momentum that they had gained to earn a win and a spot in the second round of the playoffs.

That win forced a rematch with a Hickory Ridge team that beat them 63-42 earlier in the season. The highlight video is what the team watched before taking the field and winning in an epic 69-55 shootout where the two teams combined for over 1,400 yards of total offense.

The video includes some footage of their loss earlier in the year to Hickory Ridge, as well as their big come from behind win against North Forsyth in that first round playoff game.

Just before the season started, a player unexpectedly passed away, and head coach Mike Newsome, along with the staff and the team, decided to dedicate their season to him (as you can see at the end of the clip). Some pretty good motivational material in here.

In North Carolina high school playoff action over the weekend, Davidson Day high school outlasted Harrells Christian in a scoring frenzy that would make even Oregon jealous.

Davidson ended up winning 104-80, and quarterback Will Grier set the national passing yardage record with 837 yards through the air to go along with his 10 touchdowns (which ties the national record). Grier has thrown 64 touchdowns on the season.

Harrels Christian running back running back Russell Washington also put up some ridiculous numbers, carrying the ball 46 times for 429 yards and 8 touchdowns. The eight touchdowns in a game was good enough to tie for fourth nationally.

The game lasted nearly four hours (the final buzzer sounded around midnight) and Davidson Day scored on all but one of their possessions, while never leading by more than 24 points. After the game Davidson Day head coach Chad Grier (Will's father) told NewsObserver.com "I sure didn't come in with a plan for us to score 104 points, and I sure as heck didn't have a plan to give up 80."

It's rare to feel a sense of both accomplishment and disappointment after a game, but the bottom line is that a win in the playoffs means you're fortunate enough to be playing next week.

Here's an interesting note. Of the 26 NBA teams that played on that same Friday night, 20 of them failed to put up more points than Davidson Day did. Impressive job.

When you think of the most successful coaches in football around the country today, Bill Belichick, Nick Saban and Chris Petersen immediately come to mind. Included in that same train of though would likely be small college coaches like Larry Kehres (Mount Union) and Lance Leipold (Wisconsin-Whitewater) or even John Gagliardi (St. John's).

One coach, John McKissick of Summerville (S.C.), reached a milestone of success that none of those other coaches have come close to. McKissick collected his 600th win this past Friday. His career record is an impressive 600-148-13 with 10 state titles in a total of 61 seasons.

To really put things in perspective, take a look at the other high school coaching legends from around the country. Even fellow legends can't come close to comparing wins. J.T Curtis of John Curtis Christian School (LA) hit the 500 win mark last season, and is still a good 80 wins short of 600. Gagliardi (who we mentioned earlier) has collected 487 wins in 64 years.

Other coaching legends like Amos Alonzo Stagg, who coached 57 seasons, won 314 games and Don Shula won a professional record 328 games.

Let's take Boise State head coach Chris Petersen, for example. Petersen has won an average of 12 games per season (and 92 percent of his games) since being named the Broncos' head coach back in 2006. Taking Petersen's current win total of 80 games into account, it would take him an additional 43 years, continuing to win an average of 12 games per season, to get to McKissick's 600. That would make Petersen 91 years old by the time he reached the milestone.

McKissick is currently 86 years of age and says that even with all those wins, he continues to focus on one game at a time.

“All I’ve ever thought about since I started coaching is to try and win that first game," McKissick said. "Then win the next and next and whatever it adds up to, that’s good. I’ve never looked ahead to anything. You have to have a purpose in life. But, sure, I think about retirement, but that’s about it.” 

He explains that part of his success is due to bringing coaches (many are former players) on board and giving them the freedom to coach their own way, within the offensive and defensive systems that they have in place.

“I stay with the X’s and O’s. I’m coaching coaches more than players now. I go from group to group and monitor everything that is going on.” he told The State.

In his 61 years of coaching McKissick has had only two losing seasons, 1957 and 2001. With plenty of gas still in the tank, Coach McKissick has already put together an impressive career, and more importantly, touched countless lives in the process. 

There are some things you just can't coach.

Like this 67 yard field goal at the end of regulation to send Central Valley (WA) into overtime against Shadle Park (WA) last night.

Yes, a 67 yard field goal. Central Valley went on to win the game in OT, 62-55.

Although the kick was a state record, beating out the previous record of a 62 yarder, the 67 yard kick isn't even a national record (tied for second nationally), coming up just a yard short of a 68 yard field goal that was kicked back in 1985 in Nevada.

Take a look at the video. Notice the ball is being snapped from midfield and he's kicking it from the opposite 43 yard line. Pretty incredible.