USA Today Says Georgia Has Best Prep Football State Championships

[Ben E Lou]

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/preps/2005-05-22-top-championship-events_x.htm

I know a few of you watched the semis online when Tucker was there in '03. Nice to see us gettin' a little love from USA Today.

Georgia (football)

Why it's special: On Friday and Saturday mornings fans dressed in an array of colors pour out of hotels and the commuter train station that runs to the Georgia Dome, site of the state semifinals.It's mid-December, but always 70 degrees and dry inside the Dome, home of the Atlanta Falcons. The teams dress in NFL-caliber locker rooms and fans are treated to concession stands that feature everything you can buy on Sundays at NFL games. Ten games are played, five per day.

Magic moment: In 1994 only the north Georgia teams had agreed to play their state semifinal games in the Georgia Dome. The south Georgia schools wanted to keep state semifinals in local stadiums for the ticket revenue. Then perennial state power Valdosta came north to play Southwest DeKalb, which elected to play its home playoff game in the Georgia Dome. Valdosta rallied for a dramatic win with a field goal on the last play of the game (it was the only field goal Valdosta kicked all year). Legendary Valdosta coach Nick Hyder said maybe it was not so bad playing all the semifinals in the Dome and from then on the schools in the south agreed to participate. ... A record 56,364 (paid) attended the 2001 semifinals.

Future stars: Ronnie Brown of Auburn, the No. 2 pick in the 2005 NFL draft, played for Cartersville (1999). ... Quincy Carter, quarterback for the University of Georgia and Dallas Cowboys, played for Southwest DeKalb (1994). ... Reggie Brown, wide receiver for Georgia, played for Carrolton (1998).

2004 winners: AAAAA, Lowndes; AAAA, Warner Robins; AAA, LaGrange; AA, Charlton County; A, tie, Hawkinsville, Clinch County.

[Ben E Lou]

Others...

Florida (baseball)
Kentucky (boys basketball)
Minnesota (hockey)
Iowa (wrestling)
Texas (girls basketball)
California (track & field)

[GreenMonster]

I went to Walton and was surprised they did well in the Playoffs.. Georgia high school football has some powerhouse teams.

[HomerJSimpson]

Originally Posted by GreenMonster

I went to Walton and was surprised they did well in the Playoffs.. Georgia high school football has some powerhouse teams.

You went to Walton? And you can write complete sentences?

[GreenMonster]

I was far from spoiled either, no Porshe or BMW to drive to school, I rode the bus..

[MrBug708]

California doesnt have state championships for football. Poly did play De La Salle and got creamed both years

[st.cronin]

The Minnesota hockey tournament has got to be the craziest thing in american sports.

[Huckleberry]

So what's different between the Kentucky boys' and girls' basketball tournaments? Because in Texas they're the exact same and they gave us the "title" for the girls' tourneys.

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by Huckleberry

So what's different between the Kentucky boys' and girls' basketball tournaments? Because in Texas they're the exact same and they gave us the "title" for the girls' tourneys.

My guess would be a combination of talent and passion, based on what USA Today says...

Kentucky (boys basketball)

Why it's special: The tournament has been held since 1918 and captures the imagination of high school-aged boys from the mountains of eastern Kentucky to the Mississippi River in the west. The 16-team tournament is not divided by classification, so there is a possibility of Hollywood-like drama of a small school defeating a big school for the state title. The tournament is now played in Rupp Arena with the Friday night and Saturday games close or at sellout (23,000). The four-day tournament generates close to $1 million, which helps fund state tournaments in non-revenue sports.

Magic moments: In 1956, Kelly Coleman set the record for points in a game, 68, for Wayland in a consolation game of the tournament. Coleman scored 50 points in the first round and 32 in the second round for the small school, which no longer exists, from the mountains of eastern Kentucky. ... In 1982, Paul Andrews of Laurel County made a two-handed shot from just the other side of mid-court (estimated at 55 feet) at the buzzer to beat North Hardin 53-51. ... In 1969, Louisville Central became the first predominantly black school to win a state championship. Central was led by Ron King and Otto Petty who went on to star at Florida State and take the Seminoles to the NCAA title game against UCLA in 1972.

Future stars: Wes Unseld, who went on to play in the NBA for the Washington Bullets, led Seneca to back-to-back state titles in 1963 and 1964. ... Allan Houston, who was an NBA All-Star for the New York Knicks, had 23 points in the state championship game in 1988 when Louisville Ballard won the title. ... Cliff Hagen, who helped the St. Louis Hawks to an NBA title in 1958, led Owensboro to the state championship with 41 points against Lexington Lafayette in 1949. ... Other stars who played in the state tournament were University of Kentucky All-American Rex Chapman (Owensboro Apollo), University of Louisville All-American Darrell Griffith (Louisville Male), and University of Virginia star Jeff Lamp (Ballard).

2005 winner: South Laurel.

Texas (girls basketball)

Why it's special: The competition is fierce. There are 1,300 schools in the University Interscholastic League (UIL), which governs Texas high school sports and every one of the schools plays girls basketball. To win a state title in one of the five classifications, each with at least 200 teams, a school might have to win six games against stiff competition. The tournament at the Erwin Center at the University of Texas can draw 40,000 fans over the three days and several times has been sold out at 16,800. Texas has girls' state tournament records dating back to 1951, though there is no exact date for the start of the tournament. The tournament is shown on a regional TV network by Fox.

Magic moments: Stacy Stephens of Winnsboro High School, who became an All-American at the University of Texas, led her school to state 3A titles in 1999 and 2000 and a runnerup finish in 1998. ... The most appearances in a state tournament is by Nazareth, which is southwest of Amarillo. The Swifts have been in 20 Conference A state tournaments and have won 16 titles, including six consecutive from 1977-82. ... The record for the most points in a state tournament game is almost 50 years old. Juvean McWhorter of Collinsville scored 68 points in a 1956 state tournament game.

Future stars: Sheryl Swoopes led Brownfield to the state title in 1988, then led Texas Tech to the 1993 national title and was part of the 1996 Olympic gold medal team. ... Shereka Wright of Copperas Cove was the USA TODAY Player of the Year in 2000. She averaged 25 points and 10 rebounds a game as a senior and went on to star at Purdue. ... Tamika Catchings of Duncanville became an All-American at the University of Tennessee. She led Duncanville to the state 5A title in 1997.

2005 winners: 5A, Arlington Bowie; 4A, Fort Worth Dunbar; 3A, Canyon; 2A, Brock; 1A, Division I, Seagraves; 1A, Division II, Nazareth.

I'll say this: I've spent around 30 weeks during summers at camps with high school kids in Colorado. Usually, there are more kids from Texas there then anyone else, and there are virtually *always* girls there who can hang even guys who play on Varsity teams back home in Georgia--and boys' basketball in Georgia isn't exactly chopper liver.

[Ben E Lou]

Also, based on my experiences at summer camp, I'll bet the Texas girls' volleyball state championship are very, very competitive, too. Usually the best four or five volleyball players of either gender at camp are female Texans.

[TargetPractice6]

The boy's basketball Sweet 16 is indeed a big thing here. My high school's team made it during my junior year and it was a blast.

[judicial clerk]

Wow. Kentucky has a better prep boys basketball championship than Indiana? I wouldn't have guessed.

I also would have guessed that Texas was the top for football although I understand that football is big everywhere in the south.

California has good championship basketball and wrestling. The BBall state tournament is broken down into a northenr california bracket and a southern california bracket, so you have north vs. south for the finals. If I remember correctly at the wrestling individual state tournament disregards school size classifications. Everybody is in together, so you have kids from the smallest of schools going against kids from the biggest schools. Apparently school size doesn't matter when its one on one on the wrestling mat.