Florida vs Texas High School Football- What State Has the Better Football? GDG

11826 Views 53 Replies 16 Participants Last post by RookieTrainer, Apr 30, 2012

Losthwy

Discussion Starter · Apr 18, 2012 (Edited)

From: Dallas South News.
Story By R. Lamar Brooks, Photos by Byron Watters

Florida pretty much dominated a series of recent high school football games against Texas, winning 5 of 6 contests with three games being blowouts. The Abilene/Cocoa and Skyline/Glades Central games could have gone either way. And of course, the lone victory for Texas belonged to DeSoto in what DeSoto Head Coach Claude Mathis termed the “best high school football game I have ever been a part of.”
Upon further examination, the top teams in the lower classifications in Florida are capable of beating the larger classifications in Texas. An example of that was 2A Florida defending champs Cocoa knocking off Texas 5A kingpin Abilene and recently beating defending Mississippi 6A champs Olive Branch, 14-7. This is generally unthinkable in Texas, outside of 7-on-7 football.
As an aside, Florida has 8 classifications all the way up to 6A with Texas having 5 classifications through 5A (though the UIL governing body for Texas High Schools is leaning towards a 6A class soon).
In the Dallas South News Monster Game of the Week, Dallas Madison took on Miami Central as part of the Texas vs. Florida football showcase at DeSoto’s Ben Dial Athletic Complex. Madison Head Coach Ronald Johnson Described the game as as “a test for our players to see where they stand.”

Madison showed fight throughout, with it being evident that their skill position players including Eric Horsley, Jamon Brewers, and Marquise Smith can compete with any opponent in any classification. Overall, however, the 6A powerhouse, Miami Central team was just too strong of a challenger.
As is the trend in high school football these days, Central lines up 4 wide nearly every play and forces you to either put pressure on and sack the quarterback or succumb to their dizzying array of playmakers, who simply spread the field and…well….make plays. By the end of the 1st half, Miami Central had racked up 395 yards of offense and 23 first downs to Madison’s 173 yards of total offense.

The 2nd half would not be any kinder to Madison as their offense could only muster an additional 43 yards against the hard charging, speedy Central defense. In the end, Central would show a balanced attack with 28 runs and 25 passes for 508 yards of total offense to Madison’s 216.
DeSoto’s game against defending state champs Miramar was all that the event promoter C&B National Sports Marketing could have hoped for. Miramar’s defensive back Tracy Howard said “I can’t remember a game like this.”
DeSoto landed the first punch with a scintillating 86-yard opening kickoff return from the excellent Dontre Wilson, a sophomore whom will leave his mark on the DeSoto program for years to come. And just like that 7-0, DeSoto . Down 21-7 at the half, Miramar found their stride in the 2nd half and played what the team termed “Patriot football” to keep DeSoto from salting the game away.
Tied 35-35 going into overtime, DeSoto completed a 20-yard touchdown to WR DeMarcus Thompson from QB Ryan Polite to go up 42-35. Now with pressure squarely on their offense, Miramar’s WR Danel Harris scored on a 25-yard pass from QB Cameron Hudge on the team’s first play in overtime to creep to within a point, 42-41.
Coach Damon Cogdell had a decision to make and he opted to go for the jugular, lining up for a two point conversion. Central attempted a pass into the back of the end zone that was caught albeit out of bounds. And with that, DeSoto could finally exhale as they proved to be the one local team in the Texas vs. Florida series of games to overcome Florida’s penchant for winning on Texas soil in 2010.

See less See more

Save

1 - 5 of 54 Posts

David Maddox

· #17 · Apr 19, 2012 (Edited)

Anyone on RTF coach on any of the high school levels in either of the states???
I believe that zoning of athletes within the 2 states are quite a bit different. VERY spread out in Texas. Florida seems to have their consistent "powerhouses" year in/year out. Texas has their's too, but year after year you see several surprise programs pop up.

Having been a Texas High school football coach for nearly 30 yrs, I've been fortunate to meet many recruiters over the years. Having the crazy job as video coordinator for 15 of those years, I have personally dealt with many of the Big Time programs/coaches across the country from the SEC ( of which I am a huge fan!!!), Big 12, Big 10, and Pac 10, and have been told by coaches of the likes of Pete Carrol, Mack Brown, Charlie Weiss, and Urban Meyer, just to name a few, that there is not a state in the country that, from top to bottom, small class to large, that plays a better brand of football than Texas. Both states produce LOTS of D-1 prospects every year that play in BCS conferences while producing many NFL draftees. You can do the math all you want, but still tough to decide. Too many variables!!!

Just a thought. Could the 10th thru 30th ranked teams in Florida consistently beat the 10th thru 30th ranked teams in Texas, or vise versa? I believe that there are a lot more big schools in Texas, along with several more districts that have been watered down as well. So, it's very tough to say which is "better".

See less See more

Save

David Maddox

· #22 · Apr 19, 2012

BonMallari said:
ok David, who is the best HS Texas Schoolboy player you have ever seen...or even your Top 5...

for me it was Billy Sims ...never got to see Earl in high school...also thought Jack Mildren was a heck of a player...Todd Dodge was one heck of a QB at Port Arthur Jefferson

WOW Bon. That's a tough one.
Off the top of my head. Not in any specific order. Just some that wowed me.
Andrew Luck (coached against him twice)
Sam Adams ( coached against him)
Ray Childress
Eric Dickerson
Craig James
Aaron Glen
Thurman Thomas
Michael Strahan
Mike Singletary
Jerry Gray
Joe Brown. One of the best I ever saw. The kid went to LSU and got into a little trouble and never played again. STUD!!!
Most exciting, quick scorer I've ever coached was a kid named Sam MGuffie.

See less See more

Save

David Maddox

· #24 · Apr 19, 2012 (Edited)

Dustin Maddux said:
Florida and Texas classifications are completely different. That 2A school is a 4A in TX. So really that list is your best "TX 4a and 5a" teams playing TX's unranked teams. History shows when teams are evenly matched and ranked within there states the games are within a touchdown with FL winning the Abilene game and the Southlake game from 07.

And your post about NFL players doesn't mean anything when talking about high school football. Those players make up less than 1% of the kids playing.

Are we talking best high school football teams/programs as a state or best top tier prospects?

My thoughts exactly. I've seen some fantastic high school playoff "teams" over the years that have produced zero D1 prospects. From top to bottom, Texas has some great coaching. Recruiters constantly make comments on the solid technique/ mechanics they see in Texas players. From the smallest classifications to the big 5As. The most talented prospects to the average player. Of course you can find weak programs in both Texas and Florida.
It seems as though the big Florida schools don't have quite as many coaches as the big Texas staffs. We have 3,300 enrollment with 14 coaches. We also have 5 teams. 2 Frosh, 2 JV, and
the Varsity. There are 10 high schools in our ISD. All 5A. We also play games is 2 shared stadiums. One being an $80 million complex called the Berry Center. Its crazy nice!!! Check it out at
www.berrycenter.net

Save

David Maddox

· #40 · Apr 20, 2012 (Edited)

No one will win this argument. You cannot measure "best football" when you simply measure who's producing the most D1 athletes. Do the research and measure how many kids play football, and how many sign D1 scholarships. The percentage is very small. There are hundreds of fantastic high school players all across this country that never get a chance to play at the collegiate level.

For example, Katy HS, one of the perennial 5a high school football programs in Texas throughout the 90s/2000s was on a roll winning, or competing for, the state championship year in/year out. These guys were technical machines, upfront as well as out on the perimeter. Playing fantastic football!!! Well, they signed less D1 athletes than several schools that barely made it out of their districts. But they played the best football.
The greater Houston area alone, produces many D1 prospects with Rivals rankings of 3-5 stars every year. Some of these kids have never played an 11th game. Now, I can only speak for Texas here, but not always do the teams with the most D1 athletes play the "best football" and win the State championship.

Funny story. We have a center here at our school that signed with Sam Houston State University. He is 6'-1/2" flat foot, 268 lbs, 4.8/40, benches 400+ lbs, squats 570lbs, power cleans 350lbs. This kid is possibly the finest high school center I've ever laid my eyes on to date, and I've coached OL for 26 yrs. We tend to watch the game up front.
He had letters from every major school you can imagine. Recruiters drooled over this guy. His highlight film had these guys WOWed. Many said that he was so "finished/athletic" that he could start for them right now!!!
When he would walk out of the room after meeting coaches. Their comments were, "he's too short".

See less See more

Save

David Maddox

· #49 · Apr 22, 2012 (Edited)

Robbie
Just curious to what kind of facts you're looking for here. I can tell you that I work with several coaches that have coached in OK, KS, MO, LA, & FL. They've either chosen to return to TX or found their way here ASATC. 2 are former college coaches/recruiters. One had a stint at aTm, the other at Texas State (a smaller school). All say that Texas is more consistent from classes 1A to big 5A as for as the technical aspect of the game is concerned. Now that is just their take on the subject. Not my "opinion".

Watching the spread teams from CA & FL, the "skilled" players stand out and dominate the system. Not too many of their OLs putting their hands down.
Watch some of the big Midwest HS teams that run the "I" primarily, you notice more of a refined power zone/power scheme with some ctr added in to the system.
It's very difficult to come to a conclusion of who plays the "best" football. We typically see the best of the best. What about the teams that are ranked from say #3-#25 in each of the respective states. Big schools get the TV coverage. TONS of D1 kids from small 1 2,and 3A Texas schools that we never see or hear about come out every year. Same goes for fantastic football producing states like GA, AL, PA, and so on.

I'm an "I" guy. Run the ball to throw. I am from Texas, love the SEC, but rarely miss a U of Wisconsin game if they're being broadcast. I watch hundreds of hours of football. Will start spring training Monday, for 4 weeks, and back to watching videos in early July. I enjoy watching the high schools from other regions of the country. Of course I have the opportunity to see tons of high school games, hear HS and college coaches from all over the country at clinics, and even answer questions myself, mostly about our approach to OL play. HS football has been my livelyhood for 30 yrs, and I can tell you that this post/debate will never be won or settled. Especially on a retriever forum.

See less See more

Save

1 - 5 of 54 Posts

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.

Top Contributors this Month