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Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Take Ten: Don’t complain about the Dome … you could be here
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
We’ve heard the grumblings. It’s as loud in Kingsland as it is in Valdosta. Many of you don’t want football state championships in the Georgia Dome. You miss the feel of home games. Well, it could be worse.
Don’t believe us? We at Take Ten spent the weekend searching around to see what other states do for their title games. You’ll find a mix of home-site games and central locations around the United States and North America. And some of them will make Friday or Saturday’s trip to downtown Atlanta seem like a piece of cake.
Here are 10 high school football championship sites worse than the Georgia Dome:
10: Fitzpatrick Stadium (Portland, Maine) — If you were to believe Stephen King, half of Maine is haunted by psychotic clowns, aliens or small faceless creatures that eat away at the planet. Instead, you’ll find this 6,000-seat arena where the state hosts its football state championships. It’s part of a complex that includes the Portland Exposition Building, which is the second oldest arena in continuous operation in the U.S. Exciting, right?
9: CIF State Championships (Carson, Calif.) — The California Interscholastic Federation holds its annual title games at — get this — a soccer stadium. Championships are held at the Home Depot Center on the campus of California State University, about 13 miles south of downtown Los Angeles. Its nickname is the “Cathedral of American Soccer,” and it holds about 27,000 people. You’ll find David Beckham running on the pitch (when healthy) because it’s home for the L.A. Galaxy. And you wonder why football is different on the West Coast?
8: UIL Football Finals (Houston, Tex.) — We don’t even begin to understand the mystery that is Texas high school football. There are a million divisions, a hundred different state champions and even a handful of six-man teams for the small schools. But the Division I and Division II teams hold their state title games at Reliant Stadium in Houston. There’s nothing wrong with the stadium itself, which was the NFL’s first retractable roof arena. It’s just Houston we have a problem with. Dallas, San Antonio and Austin would be more worth our time.
7: OFSAA Bills Toronto Series Football Bowls (Toronto, Ontario) — So if you think driving from Camden County to the Georgia Dome is bad, how about the 20-hour journey from the Arctic Circle to Toronto? The Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations holds its title games in a series of bowls at Rogers Centre (SkyDome) in Toronto. To spice up this year’s event, the OFSAA even invited former NFL quarterbacks Jim Kelly and Dan Marino. That’s right, Canada, don’t invite a quarterback that won a Super Bowl.
6: AHSAA Super Six (Birmingham, Ala.) — Yes, we’re going to be the ones to say it. Legion Field sucks. It just does. Always has. We don’t care about the history. It isn’t getting any better. Sorry, Alabama. You have better options now besides the home of the University of Alabama-Birmingham Blazers.
5: BlueCross Bowl (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) — You fight all season. You win your region. You plow through the first four rounds of the playoffs, and what is your reward in Tennessee? A visit to Memphis or Neyland Stadium? Nope. It’s a trip to majestic Murfreesboro and Floyd Stadium. That’s where the Tennessee Secondary Schools Athletic Association holds its state championships. The city is virtually the geographic center of the state, but the only things to do there are eat at Cracker Barrel or visit the site of one of Pac-Man Jones’ many off-the-field incidents.
4: NYSPHSAA Football Finals at the Carrier Dome (Syracuse, N.Y.) — New York wins the prize for longest state athletics association acronym with New York State Public High School Athletic Association. The Empire State hosts its championships in lowly Syracuse at the Carrier Dome. It holds about 50,000 and is the largest domed stadium of any college campus and largest in the Northeast. The biggest downsize is that the arena has no air conditioning. Sure, you’re in cold temperatures most of the year, but throw 50,000 people in a small space and that changes.
3: The Does-Not-Exist Bowl (Puerto Rico) — After hours upon hours of Internet searching, we’ve gathered that Puerto Rico, despite being America’s stepchild, doesn’t play American football. There’s plenty of the other kind and some American football recreational leagues. That’s a shame. Basketball has been very popular on the island, but the new American pastime has not. So just let that sink in. You could live in a state/self-governing territory that doesn’t even have your sport.
2: University of South Dakota DakotaDome (Vermillion, S.D.) — If you thought Murfreesboro sounded desolate, try Vermillion. The South Dakota High School Activities Association holds its annual championships in this small South Dakota town of less than 10,000. You’ll find more soybean fields than you will people. The DakotaDome is a multi-purpose facility for the university and city located in the Southeastern corner of the state.
1: Alaska First National Bowl (Anchorage, Alaska) — Kickoff temperatures in the 20s. A stadium capacity of only 3,500. There aren’t many things to like about the Alaska state football championships at the Anchorage Football Stadium. The Alaska Schools Athletic Association divides its teams into a Large School Division and Small School Division. But there is free parking across the street at Sullivan Arena, a hockey stadium. That’s a plus, right?
Go on. Take Ten. Do you think there’s a worse place to hold the state title games? Are home sites really that much better? Here’s your chance to voice your opinion or just to tell us we’re idiots.
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Pound for Pound: News from the Panther Invitational
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Pound for Pound spent last weekend at the 15th Panther Invitational. Former Class A kingpin Jefferson opened its first season in Class AA with the team title because of 11 finalists and six individual champions. There were other stars in this great early December tournament. Here’s a recap:
PFP Most Outstanding Wrestler
Daniel Barber, Jefferson: Before you knew it, the 119-pound title match was over. Barber pinned a good wrestler, Gilmer’s Danyuhl Becker, in 35 seconds to cap a two-pin, 15-0 tech fall weekend for last year’s 119-pound runner-up.
Look out for Gilmer
Still unranked, but possibly not for long, the Bobcats looked strong at the Panther, finishing second without starters Hunter Barnes (torn ligament in thumb), Cody Bollinger (broken hand) and Nathan Nestor. Gilmer graduated four state finalists from its Class AAA Traditional championship team, but coach Sam Snider has reloaded, and something tells us we’ll know all about the new men in purple by February.
“We’ve got one senior and he may not get in the lineup, so we are rebuilding in that sense,” said Snider. “But these kids wrestled state placers [in the practice room] for the last few years, so now it’s their turn.”
Ware County will be fun to watch this season
The Gators have a new coach, Scott Konicki, who plans to build a winning program down in the swamp. Having a potential state placer like Maurice Taylor (160-pound runner-up to Jefferson’s Jay Fowler this past weekend) helps the building process for Konicki. Ware County, which hasn’t finished better than 39th in the past three Class AAAA Traditional tournaments, placed 10th at the Panther.
“This is real big,” Konicki said of the Gators’ top-10 finish. “No one paid attention to us; now they’re saying, ‘Who are these guys?’”
A wrestling wish
Here’s hoping Fowler and Henry County’s Anthony Fretwell (defending champion, still unbeaten this season for the No. 7 Warhawks) reach the Class AA 160-pound title match in February. That could end up being one of the most entertaining bouts of the entire Traditional tournament, especially with Fowler’s fourth state championship on the line.
The national spotlight
— We start at the Knoxville Invitational, where Sprayberry’s Colby Rinehart defeated Tennessee state champion Trey Stavrum (Baylor High School) to win the 135-pound title, and Lassiter wrestlers Zach Walker (215) and Connor Griffin (171) both walked away with titles. Marietta had eight placers (two finalists) and finished third, while Blessed Trinity finished fifth and had five placers (three finalists).
— McEachern’s Brandon Westerman had a tough weekend, going 1-2 at Walsh Ironman. Westerman, the four-seed at 125 pounds, opened the tournament with a 6-2 loss to Brent Fickel of Padua Franciscan (Ohio), a Tulsa national champion in his pre-high school days. Westerman dropped to the loser’s bracket and defeated unseeded Tom Collum of Glenbard North (Ill.), 18-3, before dropping a 10-1 major decision to nine-seed Stephen Robertson (Montini Catholic, Ill.).
— Parkview won the Southern Slam in South Carolina, getting individual titles from Robbie Kane (112) and Matt Johnson (215). Wesleyan finished fifth, led by 160-pound champion and Outstanding Wrestler Colin Genthert, who handed two-time South Carolina state champion Zane Newton his third high school loss.
AJC Top 10 (Last week)
1. Collins Hill (1): Eagles dominant in five-match sweep at Walton Duals.
2. Union Grove (2): Wolverines pick up easy wins over Eastside, Lithonia.
3. Pope (3): Second at Walton Duals.
4. Jefferson (4): First at Panther; six champs, 11 finalists. Not in top shape yet, but it’s only a matter of time with Dragons.
5. Lafayette (5): Defeated four Tennessee teams on way to first-place finish at UTC Duals; whipped Ringgold on Tuesday.
6. Kennesaw Mountain (6): Champions of Carpet Classic, despite missing four wrestlers.
7. Henry County (7): Three individual champions help Warhawks win Starr’s Mill Invitational title.
8. Cass (8): Only loss at Walton Duals to No. 3 Pope; finish third.
9. Dacula (9): Falcons finish first at Falcon Duals.
10. Centennial (10): After hectic first two weeks, Knights took the week off. Host Kell tonight.
Coaches Poll Week 4
Collins Hill (8), 89 points. Last week: 1
Union Grove, 68. Last week: 2
Jefferson (1), 67. Last week: 4
Pope, 59. Last week: 3
Lafayette, 37. Last week: 6
Henry County, 31. Last week: T-7
T-7 Whitewater, 24. Last week: NR
T-7 Centennial, 24. Last week: 5
Cass, 22. Last week: 9
Kennesaw Mountain, 20. Last week: T-7
Others receiving votes: Eastside, 16; Parkview, 11; Camden County, 7; Dacula, 6; Grayson, 6; Walton, 4; Gilmer, 2; Wesleyan, 1; Fayette County, 1
Takedowns
— It’s safe to say No. 1 Collins Hill exacted a bit of revenge from its early season dual loss to Pope. The Eagles drubbed the No. 3 Greyhounds, 54-9, in the championship match to seal a near-perfect day at the Walton Duals. Here’s what domination looks like: Including forfeits, Eagle wrestlers went a combined 63-7 in five dual victories.
— You might not have heard of Hephzibah wrestlers Bobby Liggins and Cory Campbell, but you probably will soon. At South Effingham High School’s Mustang Invitational, Liggins (third last year) won the 215-pound title and Campbell took home the 189-pound crown. In a wide-open Class AAAA where several weight classes appear up for grabs, look out for this duo.
On the record
“We beat McCallie for the first time … it was a great day for us.” — Lafayette coach Sam Forester on the Ramblers first-ever victory against the Tennessee school and a first-place finish at the UTC Duals.
Where we’ll be
It’ll be a light week for the Pound for Pound, but we’ll be catching as much of Friday night’s action at the Sawnee Mountain Duals as we can. Next Monday we head to Bartow County, where No. 6 Kennesaw Mountain visits No. 8 Cass.
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