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With the turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, corn and sweet potatoes bringing on a food coma, the Red Zone had a chance to reflect on this high school football season. The top 10 things the Red Zone is thankful for thus far:
10. Defending Champs
La Costa Canyon (Division I), Oceanside (II), Cathedral Catholic (III), Valley Center (IV), Francis Parker (V) are all alive in the playoffs, and all are top seeds with the exception of the Jaguars, a No. 2 seed. While it’s good to change things up, having the defending champions in the mix always makes the postseason more interesting.
9. Star rushers
A quartet of senior runners makes the section’s 2009 running back class one of the best ever in the section. And the four Division I talents are great in different ways – Mission Bay’s Dillon Baxter (USC) has elusiveness, Escondido’s Ricky Seale (undecided) has power, Eastlake’s Tony Jefferson (UCLA) has explosiveness, and Scripps Ranch’s Brennan Clay has (Oklahoma) lightning speed.
8. The Food
Did I mention how much I love the food at high school football games? Always cheap, always delicious.
7. Natural Grass
A good grass field is hard to find these days, and although turf is probably a change for the best, there is just something about the smell of recently cut grass at kickoff that makes things better. Plus, what’s with those little black rubber things?
6. The Dirty 30
Oceanside has dominated the section with five straight Division II titles and this year the Pirates represented San Diego well with their win over national powerhouse Long Beach Poly. And they do it with barely more than 30 players, giving themselves the above dubious nickname.
5. The side jump
While the rules prevent nearly any kind of touchdown celebration, one that has slipped through the cracks is the side jump – and that is not a bad thing. Few things are as entertaining as when two players celebrate a score by meeting in midair – especially when linemen are involved.
4. Rivalries
From city championships to the Holy Bowl to league foes that just don’t like each other, the emotion that comes with rivalry games leaves most of them as toss-ups. Will we get any rivalries in the final weeks of the season?
3. Zachary McKay
McKay is a junior running back at Valhalla. Oh and did I mention that he is 3’4” and weighs 75 pounds? The smallest player in the section wears the number 1/2, and watching him during pregame warmups and running drills is awesome and incredible.
2. State Bowl hopes
If they continue to win out, Oceanside and Francis Parker have legitimate chances to represent southern California in the State Bowls next month – La Costa Canyon could factor in the equation, too. Once worried they would be left out of the state bowl picture, the San Diego Section has had a representative each of the past two seasons, and won both those games.
1. Emotion
When it comes to emotion, few events mirror a lively high school football game. Between the crowd, the cheerleaders, the band and the players, it usually adds up to three exciting hours on Friday nights.
With the turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, corn and sweet potatoes bringing on a food coma, the Red Zone had a chance to reflect on this high school football season. The top 10 things the Red Zone is thankful for thus far:
10. Defending Champs
La Costa Canyon (Division I), Oceanside (II), Cathedral Catholic (III), Valley Center (IV), Francis Parker (V) are all alive in the playoffs, and all are top seeds with the exception of the Jaguars, a No. 2 seed. While it’s good to change things up, having the defending champions in the mix always makes the postseason more interesting.
9. Star rushers
A quartet of senior runners makes the section’s 2009 running back class one of the best ever in the section. And the four Division I talents are great in different ways – Mission Bay’s Dillon Baxter (USC) has elusiveness, Escondido’s Ricky Seale (undecided) has power, Eastlake’s Tony Jefferson (UCLA) has explosiveness, and Scripps Ranch’s Brennan Clay has (Oklahoma) lightning speed.
8. The Food
Did I mention how much I love the food at high school football games? Always cheap, always delicious.
7. Natural Grass
A good grass field is hard to find these days, and although turf is probably a change for the best, there is just something about the smell of recently cut grass at kickoff that makes things better. Plus, what’s with those little black rubber things?
6. The Dirty 30
Oceanside has dominated the section with five straight Division II titles and this year the Pirates represented San Diego well with their win over national powerhouse Long Beach Poly. And they do it with barely more than 30 players, giving themselves the above dubious nickname.
5. The side jump
While the rules prevent nearly any kind of touchdown celebration, one that has slipped through the cracks is the side jump – and that is not a bad thing. Few things are as entertaining as when two players celebrate a score by meeting in midair – especially when linemen are involved.
4. Rivalries
From city championships to the Holy Bowl to league foes that just don’t like each other, the emotion that comes with rivalry games leaves most of them as toss-ups. Will we get any rivalries in the final weeks of the season?
3. Zachary McKay
McKay is a junior running back at Valhalla. Oh and did I mention that he is 3’4” and weighs 75 pounds? The smallest player in the section wears the number 1/2, and watching him during pregame warmups and running drills is awesome and incredible.
2. State Bowl hopes
If they continue to win out, Oceanside and Francis Parker have legitimate chances to represent southern California in the State Bowls next month – La Costa Canyon could factor in the equation, too. Once worried they would be left out of the state bowl picture, the San Diego Section has had a representative each of the past two seasons, and won both those games.
1. Emotion
When it comes to emotion, few events mirror a lively high school football game. Between the crowd, the cheerleaders, the band and the players, it usually adds up to three exciting hours on Friday nights.