Across the PrepNation: Weekend Rewind 9-29-2008

Some regional news, notes and rankings that just missed the cut when compiling this week's National Prep Football Poll.

Week 6 National Prep Football Poll Reax

1. Euless Trinity 17, Keller 10: Trojans' four opponents are a combined 13-3
2. St. Thomas Aquinas 38, South Plantation 10: Raiders' move to No. 1 makes Oct. 17 Deerfield Beach showdown even bigger
3. Byrnes 42, Gaffney 14: Rebels get first win in four tries at "The Reservation"
4. Lowndes 28, Tift County 14: Next up regionally ranked WR Northside
5. South Panola 34, Horn Lake 7: 80 straight wins for the Tigers
6. Gateway 49, Norwin 7: Gators rolling, but no foe has had a winning record
7. Armwood 42, Newsome 0: Hawks' defense a stingy as advertised
8. De La Salle 21, NE No. 2 Don Bosco Prep 23: DLS without a superior rushing attack is like Thanksgiving without a turkey
9. Corona Centennial 42, Clovis West 7: Huskies make quick work of Central Section stalwart
10. Oscar Smith 37, Grassfield 0: Average win margin is 38
11. North Shore vs. SW No. 5 Carroll canceled: Mustangs slated to return Oct. 3 at Lufkin
12. Long Beach Poly 14, Carson 0: Poly blanks team that scored 43 against Mater Dei
13. Bastrop 22, East St. John 18: Rams survive tough road test
14. Louisville Trinity 49, Eastern 0: Titantic battle vs. rival St. Xavier on Friday
15. Glenville 37, Adams 6: First points allowed to a league foe
16. Skyline 49, Newport 0: Spartans are special on defense, too
17. Lakeland 27, Boyd Anderson 22: Dreadnaughts survive a scare
18. Camden County 69, Windsor Forest 7: Wildcats continue to dominate Region 3
19. Colerain 48, Mason 27: Elder breathing down Cardinals' necks for Cincy's top ranking
20. St. Ignatius 49, Massillon 7: Wildcats' offense starting to click on all cylinders
21. Stone Bridge 51, McLean 13: Possible rematch with Phoebus in playoffs would be epic
22. Quince Orchard 35, Magruder 14: Cougars rolling toward repeat 4A crown
23. Maryville 38, William Blount 2: Win streak hits 66 straight
24. Carmel 42, North Central 7: Can 'Hounds survive Friday's trip to Warren Central?
25. Maine South 56, Evanston 8: Hawks' offense looks hard to stop

REGIONAL RUNDOWNS

NORTHEAST
Bergen Catholic (N.J.) moved into the regional Top 10 after beat Baltimore power Gilman, 29-14. The Greyhounds entered the game ranked No. 7 in the Maryland state poll and had previously beaten Washington D.C. power DeMatha . . . The region's longest current win streak remained intact with Wayne Hills (N.J.) knocking off Ramampo, 31-21. The Patriots have now won 43 consecutive games . . . Floyd (N.Y.) kept its Long Island-record win streak alive, beating Sachem East, 33-7. The Colonials have won 36 straight.

Five teams knocking on the regional rankings door: Harrisburg McDevitt (Pa.), Ansonia (Conn.), Dartmouth (Mass.), McKeesport (Pa.), West Lawn Wilson (Pa.)

EAST COAST
Coach Doug DuVall of Wilde Lake (Md.) picked up the 300th victory of his career in a 7-6 squeaker against Marriotts Ridge. It was win No. 284 at Wilde Lake with the other 16 coming in all-star games, at the junior varsity level, and with a semi-pro team . . . Many of last week's prep football games in the Charlotte, N.C., area -- including regionally ranked Independence vs. Myers Park -- were postponed until this Wednesday due to poor weather conditions. The move to Wednesday rather than Monday was a necessity to avoid a conflict with the Jewish holiday Rosh Hoshana, which begins at sundown Monday and lasts until sundown Wednesday . . . Rock Hill, S.C., will be rocking this week leading up to Friday's showdown between crosstown rivals South Pointe and Northwestern. Both teams are in the regional Top 10 this week.

Five teams knocking on the regional rankings door: Millbrook (N.C.), River Hill (Md.), Oakton (Va.), Westfield (Va.), Woodbridge (Va.)

SOUTHEAST
Defending Florida 5A champ St. Thomas Aquinas is ranked No. 1 in this week's National Prep Poll for a number of reasons. Aside from their three consecutive dominant wins to open the year, and aside from the obvious amount Division I-caliber talent on the team's roster, and aside from the Raiders' rich tradition (state finalist 11 of last 17 years), and even aside from an excellent coaching staff led by 300-win coach George Smith, the real key might be STA's schedule. The Raiders already have beaten a strong contender for Ohio's Division I state title, Elder, in that team's home city. On October 17, STA will likely have a chance to play and beat Deerfield Beach, the team currently ranked No. 1 in the state's Associated Press 6A poll. On top of that, if both STA and Lakeland continue to win, the Raiders might be eyeing their third state championship game showdown in four years against the Dreadnaughts, who are ranked No. 17 nationally this week . . . Two-time defending Alabama 6A champ Prattville had little trouble with Brentwood Academy (Tenn.), winning 26-0 in a game televised by ESPNU last Friday. It was the fifth consecutive shutout for the Lions since opening the season with a 15-10 loss against defending Prep Poll champ Cincinnati St. Xavier . . . Two days before N.Y. Jets QB Brett Favre threw six touchdown passes in an NFL game, the future Hall of Famer's nephew equaled the feat at the high school level. Dylan Favre, a 5-foot-10 junior at St. Stanislaus High in Bay St. Louis, Miss., had six TD bosses in a 56-20 blowout of Long Beach. He has thrown for 22 touchdowns in five games -- all wins -- this season.

Five teams knocking on the regional rankings door: Deerfield Beach (Fla.), Montgomery Bell Academy (Tenn.), Memphis University School (Tenn.), Wayne County (Miss.), Chamberlain (Fla.)

MIDWEST
Defending Michigan Division 3 champion East Grand Rapids is No. 1 in this week's overall state rankings compiled by Mick McCabe of the Detroit Free Press. The Pioneers are now 5-0 after defeating Creston, 42-6, in a game that was postponed one day after the tragic death of a 16-year-old Creston student in a Friday afternoon drive-by shooting . . . Highly touted junior running back Brian Crook ran for 215 yards on only 17 carries as regionally ranked Arrowhead (Wis.) whipped Kettle Moraine, 45-6 . . . Sacred Heart-Griffin earned its 46th consecutive league win with a 24-3 win against rival Glenwood on Saturday. John Lantz, a 6-2 senior stud, returned an interception 103 yards for touchdown when the Titans were threatening to close the gap to 17-10.

Five teams knocking on the regional rankings door: St. Xavier (Ky.), East Grand Rapids (Mich.), Warren Central (Ind.), Wheaton-Warrenville South (Ill.), Pickerington Central (Ohio)

MIDLANDS
Derby (Kan.) handed three-time defending state champion Hutchinson its first loss to an in-state foe in 38 games. The Panthers capitalized on four Salt Hawk turnovers to claim the 30-27 victory . . . Senior quarterback Tyler Jones of Cherokee Washington, who earlier this season became Iowa's all-time leading passing yardage leader, eclipsed the 8,000 yard mark in a 40-27 defeat of Clarion-Goldfield. After passing for 351 yards and five touchdowns, Jones now has 8,290 yards in his career . . . Regionally ranked Rockhurst and Jefferson City, which have combined to win 18 state championships in Missouri's largest classificiation since 1971, renewed their annual rivalry. Rockhurst built an early lead, then held on to win, 35-27. MaxPreps.com's Kansas City correspondent Jeff Cooper put together this excellent video feature.

Five teams knocking on the regional rankings door: Olathe East (Kan.), Cretin-Derham Hall (Minn.), Pomona (Colo.), Cherry Creek (Colo.), Alta (Utah)

SOUTHWEST
Regionally ranked The Woodlands (Texas) was one of several Houston-area teams that returned to the playing field over the weekend two weeks after Hurricane Ike slammed the region. The Highlanders thumped Clear Lake, 31-13, with UTEP-bound QB Andy McCloud throwing three touchdowns passes. Meanwhile, No. 11 North Shore had its game canceled for the third consecutive week. On Friday, the Mustangs are expected to resume their season with a trip to Lufkin. A win gives North Shore 73 consecutive regular season victories, which would be a new state record . . . Darius Winston, a five-star rated recruit by rivals.com, caught a 56-yard touchdown pass and returned an interception 20 yards for another score as West Helena Central hammered Paragould, 62-7 . . . Reno McQueen looks like the team to beat in Nevada's Class 4A this season. The Lancers blanked Reed, 38-0, on Friday to improve to 5-0. On the season, McQueen has outscored foes by a combined 202-27, including a 24-7 win over San Mateo (Calif.) Serra -- which nearly beat then-nationally ranked De La Salle (Concord) to start the season.

Five teams knocking on the regional rankings door: Tulsa Union (Okla.), Westfield (Texas), McQueen (Nev.), Permian (Texas), Bentonville (Ark.)

WEST COAST
Reigning Gatorade National Player of the Year Matt Barkley gets most of the headlines, but there's another pretty good quarterback playing his senior year of high school football in Orange County, Calif., this year. Allan Bridgford of regionally ranked Mission Viejo threw for a school-record 442 yards in a 42-20 defeat of Vista, which was a Top 10 team in the San Diego area. Senior receiver Kevin Chandler also had a record-setting night, catching seven passes from Bridgford for a school-record 235 yards . . . Prosser (Wash.) scored six -- count 'em SIX! -- first-quarter touchdowns to turn out the lights early on East Valley in a 68-0 rout last Friday. It was the 17th time in the last 44 games that the Mustangs have scored more than 60 points . . . Undoubtedly still reeling from his team's 27-21 upset loss to Oregon St. the night before, USC coach Pete Carroll was among the sideline onlookers as Punahou beat Kamehamha, 28-3, Friday in a battle of state top 5 teams. Carroll was there to watch Punahou's all-everything LB Manti Te'o, who did not disappoint leading the Buffanblu with 13 tackles despite playing the game with a case of bronchitis.

Five teams knocking on the regional rankings door: Fresno Edison (Calif.), Servite (Calif.), Lake Oswego (Ore.), St. Louis (Hawaii), Los Alamitos (Calif.)