High School Football Season Ends, for A Minute or Two

At 10:22 p.m. Saturday, the final high school football game of 2011 was completed. Concord De La Salle finished off another annihilation of a Southern California opponent, beating Westlake Village Westlake, 35-0, in the CIF state championship Open Division bowl game.

It's probably time to just let Coach Harry Welch and Santa Margarita take the next crack at De La Salle, since he's 3-0 in bowl games, including a 2006 victory over De La Salle and Coach Bob Ladouceur.

"I would like to one time before I stop coaching to go against Bob again," Welch said.
Let's explore the big issues ahead in prep football for 2012.

First up is the annual hiring and firing of coaches. One of the best jobs in the City Section opened up Saturday. Elijah Asante resigned at 11-time champion Carson to pursue other opportunities. He took the Colts to the City final in back-to-back seasons.

Asante could be the main player in a historic coaching hire. There are no African American head coaches at any of the top private schools in Southern California. He has interviews at Studio City Harvard-Westlake and Santa Fe Springs St. Paul.
Next month, the transfer game picks up full steam with the start of the spring semester. Freshmen and sophomores unhappy with playing time will make a quick exit. Juniors with visions of college scholarships and of playing for a championship will convince mommy and daddy to pull the trigger and switch schools.

February brings the start of a bidding process for those who want to host the CIF state championship bowl games. A three-year contract with the Home Depot Center ends in 2012. Will Fresno, Palo Alto or Bakersfield make a bid to snatch away the championships from the Los Angeles area? Attendance was 9,645 on Saturday. There were 43,369 for the Texas state championships at Cowboys Stadium. Ouch.
In March, there's letter-of-intent day for private schools. The admission letters go out. All those open houses and the shadowing of students will either pay off or leave some coaches in panic mode.


March 9 is the date the Southern Section is scheduled to announce its revised playoff groupings. Will the Marmonte League be moved to the Pac-5 Division? Will the Sunset League be moved out of the Pac-5 and placed in the Southwest Division?
Then comes a summer like no other. Thanks to someone's insidious idea that high school football players will love playing 16 games in a season, the entire state will move up its practice schedule to accommodate a new regional playoff system that will involve 20 schools.

Scrimmages are set for the weekend of Aug. 17. Zero-week games begin Aug. 24. Week one is Aug. 31. City and Southern Section championships are Nov. 30 and Dec. 1. Regional playoffs are Dec. 7. And the state bowl games are Dec. 14-15.
Among the potential problems: It gets very hot in August.
"Last year we got to 126 degrees at 2:30 in the afternoon," Palm Springs Coach Steve Fabian said.

Fortunately, Palm Springs knows how to deal with heat. Others are going to have to learn.

Then there's the fatigue and injury factor. On Friday night, Riley Sorenson, Santa Margarita's 6-foot-5, 316-pound junior lineman, lay on the field with a trainer holding an ice pack behind his neck. He looked beat up and exhausted after his team's thrilling 42-37 bowl victory over San Jose Bellarmine.

I wanted to ask him if he would be ready to play a 16th game in seven days, because that's the schedule for 2012. I decided he had earned a break from Coach Welch, sportswriters and anyone else. But soon, he and his nonsenior teammates are going to return to the field, and it's going to be their longest football season ever.

Hey, next year's regional playoffs will be fun. If it had happened this season, the matchups would have been Westlake vs. Santa Margarita in the Open Division and Vista Murrieta vs. Bakersfield in Division I. But who's going to care about the state bowl games the following week? Mark me down as a skeptic about the whole 16-game format.

As for top teams in 2012, here's my preseason forecast: 1. Santa Margarita, 2. Servite, 3. Vista Murrieta, 4. Westlake, 5. Narbonne, 6. Oaks Christian, 7. Alemany.

LSU Team Somehow Managed to Sneak Back Into Game

As kickoff approaches, let’s look at a few of the key matchups. First, Arkansas junior quarterback Tyler Wilson will bring the SEC’s top-rated passing game (316.9 yards per game) against an LSU defense that ranks fifth nationally in pass defense (158.27 yards per game) and second in pass-efficiency defense. Four members of the LSU secondary have been named SEC Defensive Player of the Week this season.
But one part of that quartet, free safety Eric Reid, is considered doubtful for today’s game with a leg injury. (The best guess is that it’s a quad or hamstring issue, but Les Miles is renowned for his fibbing about injuries. He once described his approach as “honestly deceptive,” and somehow he said it with a straight face.) Miles says that backup Craig Loston will be fit to replace Reid despite missing the past few games with either a wrist injury, a concussion or both, depending on whom one believes. If Loston can’t go, little-used senior Derrick Bryant will get the first call. But the Tigers were worried enough by Reid’s absence when he went down last week against Ole Miss to take the redshirt off true freshman Ronald Martin in the 11th game of the season. Let’s just say that move wasn’t necessary to beat Ole Miss, which rolled over in a 52-3 shellacking, but with today and next week in mind.
Another intriguing matchup is LSU punter Brad Wing vs. Hogs returner Joe Adams. Wing, the freshman from Australia, is perhaps the nation’s only matinee-idol punter. That reputation comes largely from the fake-punt touchdown run he would have had against Florida if it weren't called back due to a taunting penalty. He also endeared himself to the LSU faithful (and earned some more punishment laps in practice) when CBS cameras caught him posing with some comely LSU fans when the Tigers played Tennessee -- while the game was still in progress. But there is substance behind Wing’s style. His 40 punts this season have been returned for a grand total (not average) of 6 yards, with 21 of the 40 downed inside the 20. He’s especially effective at pooch-punting, as the Australian Rules-trained booter drops the ball out of the sky around the 10-yard-line and more often than not into the waiting arms of LSU’s Tyrann “Honey Badger” Mathieu or Ron Brooks.
Adams, meanwhile, leads the SEC and ranks third in the nation by averaging 16.2 yards per return, including a nation’s-best three touchdowns. If you haven’t seen his remarkable serpentine scoring return against Tennessee, get thee to YouTube. Expect Wing to do all he can to keep Adams from even getting a chance to return a punt. But if Adams does get his hands on one with some room to roam, watch out.

The NFL's Mount Passmore

While all eyes are trained on Denver and the magic feet of quarterback Tim Tebow, the NFL is quietly having an historic season through the air. It's not that there's one quarterback threatening to smoke Dan Marino's 17-year-old single-season passing record. There are three.
Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints, who's averaging 336 passing yards per game, and Tom Brady of New England, who's at 329, are both on pace to surpass Marino's mark of 5,084 yards. Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers, who's arguably having the best season by a quarterback in NFL history, is projected to come within eight yards.
This flowering of passing carries the residue of design: Starting in 1978, the NFL tried to open up the skies by enacting a rule that prohibited defensive players from making contact with receivers more than five yards downfield. The rule sent passing totals soaring over the next five seasons, culminating in 1982 when San Diego's Dan Fouts averaged 321 yards passing per game—another record that's in jeopardy. Defenses have caught up at various points, but later rules tweaks (many of them designed to protect quarterbacks and wide receivers) continue to make passing better. The way the rules are, says Fouts, now a CBS analyst, defense may never regain the advantage.
Still, the performances of this season's three virtuosos can also be traced to something many NFL coaches and players are too haughty to mention: the powerful shaping influence of the college game.
Associated Press
Tom Brady
Brees, Brady and Rodgers—who are all between 28 and 34 years old—are products of a time in college football when offense was being reshaped by the spread: a scheme that features the quarterback taking shotgun snaps with as many as five receivers and an empty backfield. The 1990s—after decades of buttoned-up militarism—were college football's version of the psychedelic '60s. Free-thinking coaches finally stepped away from the bedrock values of the power-running game to fully embrace the pass.
Former Purdue coach Joe Tiller, who coached Brees in college, grew up in Ohio as a disciple of Woody Hayes, the legendary Ohio State coach who championed the idea that the top teams in college football were the toughest teams. That meant grinding out yards behind a punishing offensive line.

2011 Spring Football Game News And Notes

TUSCALOOSA -- AJ McCarron had a chance to treat the White team to some steak.
Working with Alabama's second-team offense and against its second-team defense on Saturday, the redshirt sophomore quarterback engineered an 11-play, 62-yard drive that ate up the final 1:13 of the A-Day game. But his last pass to Kevin Norwood in the end zone fell incomplete.
Trailing 14-10, McCarron had to take the final shot from 28 yards out on fourth-and-11 and just seven seconds left.
McCarron kept the drive going earlier, converting fourth-and-10 from his 49-yard line by hitting Kenny Bell with a 24-yard pass. He then found Eddie Lacy on a 5-yard pass to put the ball on the Crimson 22 with 19 seconds left. His next pass was incomplete, and a 6-yard sack by Brandon Lewis followed. After a timeout came the final play, which resulted in franks and beans for the White.
Defensive numbers
Alabama's strong defensive play Saturday was led by linebacker C.J. Mosley, who topped the White (the first-team defense) with nine tackles (seven solo), a pass breakup and a quarterback hurry. Linebackers Courtney Upshaw, Dont'a Hightower and defensive back DeQuan Menzie had six tackles each. Menzie also had an interception. Hightower, linebacker Jerrell Harris and defensive linemen Damion Square and Chris Bonds had one sack each.
The second-team defense was led by linebacker Chris Jordan and defensive back Ranzell Watkins, each with nine tackles. Defensive lineman Brandon Lewis had five tackles, including a pair of sacks. Lineman Nick Gentry and linebacker Adrian Hubbard had one sack apiece.
Clean game
Only two penalties were called in the game, both against the White, totaling 20 yards.
New players
So how did the defensive additions do? Vinnie Sunseri led all Alabama spring-semester additions with six tackles (four solo), and his roommate, linebacker Trey DePriest, had five tackles (two solo). Defensive linemen Jesse Williams and Quinton Dial each had an assisted tackle.
How'd they do it?
Upon further review, Alabama's safeties, who were wearing black non-contact jerseys still made an impact -- literally. Nick Perry (shoulder) had two solo tackles despite not being allowed to tackle. Jarrick Williams returned an interception 28 yards. Mark Barron had the biggest play of all, returning a fumble 96 yards -- untouched -- for a touchdown. He later recover another fumble for 4 yards.
Record attendance
Alabama's estimated A-Day attendance of 92,310 at Bryant-Denny Stadium set a record for the annual spring game. The record surpassed the 2007 attendance of 92,138 set during Nick Saban's first year. It marked the third time in Saban's five years that the A-Day attendance surpassed 90,000 fan, including last year's attendance of 91,312. The national attendance record for a spring game was set by Ohio State with 95,722 in 2009.

The Sport That The World Raves About Football

Today's world raves about one sport in particular that captures the fancy of sports enthusiasts all over. The game or sport is football. The sheer ecstasy, exhilaration and adrenaline rush that football tournaments bring to the players and viewers alike is unique and unbeatable. This sport also finds its roots in history and there have been enough evidences to suggest that our ancestors too engage in this action packed form of sport in their own maverick ways.
The term football basically symbolizes a game that involves kicking and maneuvering the ball across a playing field only using legs and then attempting to score by putting the ball into the opposition's net called as a goal. Football by itself stands for several different kinds of team sports such as rugby, soccer, American football, Canadian football, etc. But the most commonly adhered to form is football or soccer. This game involves two teams comprising of 11 or 18 players based on variations in the format competing in a clearly defined field or area. The objective of both the teams is to score goals by cohesive play tactics to pass the ball over into a goal area or over a line. The opposing team has to defend their goal posts to prevent the other team from scoring. The ball used in the game has also evolved over the years. Earlier versions were made from animal hides and sometimes were composed of inflatable bladders made from pig's bladders or other animals.
Further advancements led to the discontinuation of animal bladders and led to the covering of the ball with leather covers to keep it in shape and rubber inflatable bladders were also included into the footballs. The game is not limited to any sexual discrimination and there are men's as well as women's teams from across the globe who indulge in this sport with equal enthusiasm. Clubs playing football tournaments are scattered across regions in countries and spread across continents.
Out of all the soccer or football leagues that exist in the world the English Premier League (EPL), the Spanish La Liga and the German Bundesliga are quite famous among football enthusiasts. With top clubs from these leagues embarking on Football tours and participating in various football tournaments, football patrons are treated sumptuously to the delight of seeing their favourite players and clubs in action. Federation International de Football Association (FIFA) is the governing body for football or soccer and oversees all the matters related to the game. The football world cup which sees the participation of major soccer playing nation is held once in every four years, with the latest edition being hosted in South Africa.
Tourlegends is a sports networking and collaborative sports connectivity network that allows you and your club to interact with players and clubs in the global football community. With automatic fixture generators, calendar generators and other such tools following the sport is a breeze for a football enthusiast.