An In-Depth Look at Alabama High School Football
by kleph on Jun 24, 2009 12:49 PM CDT
3 comments
Alabama High School Athletic Association Class 6A 2008 Champion Prattville Lions
As much as the devotion of football fans in Alabama tends to be aimed at the universities, the lifeblood of the sport is in the high school programs. The fierce battles for recruits underscore the importance of these programs to the quality of play we see on Saturdays.
The Randolph Leader in Roanoke just wrapped up a three part series looking at prep ball in Alabama in an effort to discern where the best HS football is to be found and, more importantly, why. The research was based on the work done by the Alabama High School Football Historical Society.
The paper's analysis found that schools in metropolitan areas don’t necessarily have an advantage over programs from rural areas, that funding doesn’t guarantee a successful program and that coaching was often the critical difference between successful and unsuccessful teams. It's an interesting breakdown and, given the premium placed on the quality of in-state recruitment, one worth taking some time to read.
FanPosts are just that; posts created by the fans. They are in no way indicative of the opinions of SBN and the authors of Roll Bama Roll.
0 recs |
3 comments
|
Email
Print
Comments
I clicked on the link for the AHSFHS and...
saw that two of the big playmakers in the 2008 5A and 6A championship games were:
Nick Perry (Pratville) Win over Hoover 16 – 13 / Interception returned for TD.
Jalston Fowler (Vigor) Win over Russellville 50 – 30 / 10yd, 22yd, & 39yd runs for TD’s
I think that Nick Saban is definitely finding (and getting) the best talent in the state.
by RammerJammer23 on Jun 24, 2009 1:56 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
i love when small-town papers put together projects like this. we used to call these “stare at the paint” stories – where you sit back in your chair, stare at the office wall and make yourself think “what story is so obvious that we haven’t reported it?”
moreover, these efforts are an opportunity to show you don’t have to be the New York Times to do good work – you just have to know your stuff and do the research. it is pretty clear the leader’s matt shelley does and did.
it used to be this kind of package never got an audience outside the paper’s limited circulation area. but one of the upshots of the internet is this kind of stuff can, now and then, find a wider audience. (the downside is you have to wade through the swill to find ’em)
by kleph on Jun 24, 2009 3:42 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Certain photos copyright © 2010 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
