Bellarmine Prep (San Jose, Calif.), 10-2 last season: Stanford verbal Usua Amanam (5-9, 165, RB-DB) leads a senior class with four Division I prospects.
Bellevue (Wash.), 11-2 last season: The Wolverines are 93-9 with five state titles under coach Butch Goncharoff. All-state LB Jamal Atofau (6-0, 190) leads a talented and experience defense.
Bettendorf (Iowa), 13-0 last season: Aaron Wiley elevates from defensive coordinator to head coach for the Bulldogs, who have seven state titles since 1981. All-state OT Kyle Lichtenberg (6-6, 250) is an Iowa State verbal.
Bingham (South Jordan,
Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas), 14-0 last season: Oklahoma-bound DE Justin Chaisson (6-5, 265) is one of nine returning starters from last year’s 4A state championship squad.
Brentwood (Tenn.) Academy, 11-2 last season: The Eagles, who return 13 starters, will play an ambitious schedule that includes defending 5A state champion Smyrna, defending Division II/AA champ Montgomery Bell Academy, and reigning Alabama 6A titlist Prattville (Sept. 26 on ESPNU). OT Alex Bullard (6-3, 270) is a Notre Dame verbal.
Butler (Matthews, N.C.), 11-2 last season: The Bulldogs must replace 12 three-year starters, 11 of whom were scholarship signees. LB/RB Hawatha Bell (6-1, 225) is a three-time all-conference performer.
Cedar Falls (Iowa), 11-1 last season: A bitter 6-3 defeat to eventual champion Bettendorf kept the Tigers out of the 4A championship game last season. Hard-nosed LB Jeff Hanson (6-0, 205) leads the defense.
Central Catholic (Pittsburgh), 16-0 last season: The Vikings, who return only three starters from last season’s 4A championship, are in serious rebuilding mode. Junior D.J. Myers (5-10, 175) started last season at CB.
Chamberlain (Tampa, Fla.), 9-4 last season: The Chiefs have enough talent and experience to make a deep playoff run in ‘08. Senior QB Dontae Aycock (5-10, 210) ran for over 1,000 yards last season.
Colerain (Cincinnati), 12-1 last season: The Cardinals started only four underclassmen a year ago, leaving an inexperienced group to step into key positions this fall. The greenhorns will be tested early as Colerain opens the season with perennial state contenders St. Xavier, McKeesport (Pa.) and Highlands (Fort Thomas, Ky.).
Cretin-Derham Hall (St. Paul, Minn.), 13-1 last season: The Raiders made their 18th consecutive playoff appearance last season. CDH’s legacy for producing high-caliber Division I talent continues with the likes of senior RB Marcus Binns (5-10, 175) and touted junior OT Seantrel Henderson (6-7, 310).
Cypress Bay (Weston, Fla.), 10-2 last season: The Lightning boasts one of the top linebacking corps in the talent-rich Sunshine State, led by all-stater Shane Gordon (6-0, 226). This is the second year at Cypress Bay for coach Mark Guandolo, who previously led Chaminade (Hollywood) to state titles in ‘03 and ’05 and brought Miami Southridge to the 6A final in 1999. An October 4 trip to defending Texas 5A/II champion Katy is an intriguing mid-season matchup.
Dartmouth (South Dartmouth, Mass.), 11-2 last season: The Indians were runners-up in Eastern Mass last season and hope to capture their first championship since 1984 this time around. Blue chip TE Arthur Fontaine (6-5, 245) and multi-talented QB Sean Sylvia (6-0, 190) leads a group of seven returning offensive starters.
Dwyer (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.), 10-3 last season: The Panthers will rely heavily on explosive senior RB Donald Russell (5-11, 185), a first-team all-county selection last season.
East St. John (Reserve, La.), 6-5 last season: The Wildcats have eight returning offensive starters, including two first-time all-state selections. RB Alex Singleton (6-0, 230) ran for over 1,500 yards and veteran coach Larry Dauterive calls OG Patrick Lewis (6-1, 305) “the best lineman I have coached in 39 years.”
East St. Louis (Ill.), 11-2 last season: Fifteen returning starters will lead the Flyers in the quest for their first state championship since winning six between 1979-1991. Blue chip prospects Terry Hawthorne (6-1, 180) and Kraig Appleton (6-3, 190) combined for over 2,000 receiving yards last season.
Eden Prairie (Minn.), 14-0 last season: The Eagles have won back-to-back 5A state championships and carry a 28-game winning streak into the season. Junior Taylor Grant (6-4, 225), son of EP coach Mike Grant and grandson of Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Bud Grant, will be a first-year starter at QB.
Elder (Cincinnati), 7-4 last season: The Panthers will try to upset a nationally ranked opponent at the Kirk Herbstreit Classic in Cincinnati for the second consecutive season. Elder will face defending Florida 5A champion St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale) one year after ending the 109-game winning streak of Independence (Charlotte, N.C.). Cincinnati verbal Josh Jones (6-1, 200) is a playmaker at WR.
Everett (Mass.), 13-0 last season: The Crimson Tide’s winning streak reached 25 with a thrilling 36-28 defeat of Dartmouth in the Eastern Mass Division I Super Bowl. Top returners include versatile WR/DB Jim Noel (6-2, 180), a Boston College verbal.
Fremd (Palatine, Ill.), 11-1 last season: The Vikings return a veteran squad led by senior RB Mike Gyetvay (6-0, 212), a 1,000-yard rusher last season. DE Ben Perna (6-1, 220) leads a tough and aggressive defense.
Glenbard North (Carol Stream, Ill.), 9-5 last season: Northwestern-bound Evan Watkins (6-6, 230) is rated among the top passing quarterbacks in the Midwest. He threw for more than 1,700 yards with 20 touchdowns last season as the Panthers recovered from a 2-3 start to win six of their last seven games and reach the 8A state championship.
Good Counsel (Olney, Md.), 10-2 last season: The Falcons will again challenge archrival DeMatha for the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference title. FB/LB Jelani Jenkins is a blue chip recruit who scored 17 touchdowns last season.
Highlands (Fort Thomas, Ky.), 15-0 last season: The Bluebirds captured their sixth state title since 1996 and 17th overall last year. Eight starters return led by senior RB Josh Conner (6-0, 208), who ran for 1,724 yards and 31 TDs.
Jack Britt (Fayetteville, N.C.), 10-3 last season: Highly touted OT Xavier Nixon (6-6, 280) is one of 11 returning starters for the Buccaneers. Captaining the offense will be N.C. State-bound dual-threat QB Everett Proctor (6-2, 190), who had more than 1,900 combined passing and rushing yards last season.
Jamie DeMoney has covered high school sports and been involved with prep recruiting and evaluation for more than 15 years. He has compiled the National Prep Poll for World Features Syndicate and the Associated Press since 1999 and previously compiled high school rankings for Sporting News and RISE Magazine. DeMoney is a 1994 graduate of the University of Iowa School of Journalism, and a member of the Football Writers Association of America and the United States Basketball Writers Association.
7 comments:
JUST TO HAVE YOUR SCHOOL'S NAME LISTED IS IMPRESSIVE!! GOOD LUCK TO ALL!! I WONDER HOW MANY S.C. TEAMS WILL MAKE THE LIST?
Would Prepnation consider it an upset if Huber Heights Wayne beats East St. Louis in the Herby? or does the travel make it a toss up?
"Brentwood (Tenn.) Academy, 11-2 last season: The Eagles, who return 13 starters, will play an ambitious schedule that includes defending 5A state champion Smyrna and reigning Alabama 6A titlist Prattville (Sept. 26 on ESPNU). OT Alex Bullard (6-3, 270) is a Notre Dame verbal"
Well, if you're going to mention Smyrna, why not MBA as well since they play yet again this year? All MBA did was go 13-0 last year - including beating Brentwood Academy twice - and was the consensus #1 team in Tennessee last year (yes, even ahead of the paper tiger, Maryville).
I'm sure we'll see Maryville in the Top 25, but it would be refreshing for some national pundit to look past "The Streak" and realize that Maryville's class is the third best class in Tennessee. I'll take a once-beaten team in MBA/BA's classification over any undefeated team in Maryville's 4A any day.
Looking forward to seeing the rest of the also-rans and Top 25.
MBA was erroneously omitted from Brentwood Academy's sketch. It has been fixed.
No Columbus?
From Miami they lost to NorthWestern in the playoffs they should be 1 of the top teams in dade!
Way to go Deerfield Beach, Bucks. We're going all the way this year baby in 6A. I know St. Thomas won the 5A championship last year but we should be ahead of them on the poll because we beat them every year. BUUUUCCKKKKKK PRRIIIIDDDDEEEEE for life baby!!!
Deerfield going to lose B.A.they havn't beat them last 3yrs so pre-season ranking overhipe. St.Thomas will not schedule B.A.because their they fier use
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