OT: Is your high school’s football program any good?
Mine is not and never really has been. Utica ‘14.
One good season every 10 years. I was on freshmen in 2010 when Utica won their last conference title but I stopped playing soon after.
The Utica Chieftains have the dubious distinction of being the only high school in their school district to not produce a single Michigan Wolverine Football player.
Curious to hear others experiences.
My alma mater isn't a "powerhouse" by any means, but they are significantly improved in football and basketball since the days I was there in the 90s. A few years after I graduated they won state titles in both sports I think. Definitely in basketball and football has been perennially in the playoffs. Back when I played we were only about a .500 squad.
Detroit Catholic Central, graduated in 01...yeah we were good. Played at the silver dome more than our own field (Redford thurston middle school).
The 2002 finals with DCC vs East Kentwood was a great game.
For hockey? Football was against Ike that year, right?
been out in San Diego for 15 years. Haven’t kept up with the times but all my buddies do.
For football. I think DCC pulled away at the end, but East Kentwood had a great offense that year, in which DCC eventually started to figure out come the second half.
DCC played Ike in 2001, and East Kentwood in 2002.
I remember my junior when we played East Kentwood in the hockey finals.
Northville.
Typically roll through KLAA play with 1 or 2 losses. Get into the playoffs and get trounced by either Canton or some superior football factory.
My high school graduated Mark Ingram. We went 4-5 that season. Haven’t won more than 2 games in a season since I don’t think.
I’ve always wondered how a high school team goes 4-5 with Mark freaking Ingram as their running back!!?
Zero talent around him essentially. Again, I don’t think we have more than 2-3 wins in a season since he graduated. Once they started closing high schools, kids started leaving the district. There’s eligibility issues with grades. There’s not much in terms of youth football in the Flint area anymore. There’s just no foundation for those kids to grow up playing football consistently anymore. I remember there being middle school flag football tryouts when I was there. Kids in other areas start playing tackle at 8 years old and Flint schools were having flag football for 8th graders.
I pass by the sign they have for him on 69 for work all the time. Pretty annoying he went to Alabama.
Annoying yes. But can't really blame the guy. Especially considering how his college and pro careers have gone.
It makes a lot more sense when you think about the fact that Rich Rod was coaching Michigan so Mark wasn’t exactly a scheme fit and Michigan was losing anyway. Then you figure MSU hadn’t established themselves as a contender yet. Mark’s best options were out of state.
I’d rather he went to Bama than somewhere in the region like OSU, ND, or Wisconsin where he would have torn us apart.
Millington HS class of 87. We were terrible when I played. Only winning season was my senior year 5-4. They had some good years in like 82-85. Then some hard times. I haven't lived in the area in years, but they seem to be a lot better now. No state championships though.
I am from Millington as well, but born in 87 rather than graduating in 87. Millington is tied for first for active winning season streak with 31 in a row. I believe they have made the semi-finals around 20% of the time since 2000. We have produced few D1 prospects but used to be a pipeline for the GLIAC schools.
I grew up next door to Roger Bears. He was a couple years older than me. He seemed to be a pretty good coach for Millington. Took them to another level.
Can't forget the work of Coach Furno, although I think he was largely overrated by the time he stepped down.
Graduated in 94. I was a categorically average member of a categorically ok team. Never good enough to be playoff worthy, but still pulled off winning records in an average conference (or whatever school groupings were called back then). That team is now one of the best in the state. They’ve done it through the sketchy recruiting practices public schools use to compete with private schools for talent. I’m indifferent to it since it’s so long ago now. I don’t have any rooting interest one way or another and am ambivalent about the recruiting of out of district players.
Marmion Academy '99 (Go Cadets!). We had an awesome team my senior year and hosted Jarret Payton's St. Viator team at home in the playoffs. Still the best game I've ever seen live, plus it was pretty cool to have Walter Payton at the home field of a small Catholic school of ~400 kids.
We've produced a few great players though...Larry English was the first I can remember. Then obviously there is the Glasgow connection which is pretty awesome. I live in Kalamazoo now and Luke Juriga just graduated from WMU and looks like he'll be getting a shot in the League as well.
Brad Childress was also an alum of my high school.
For those who follow triathlon we also have a pretty stellar professional triathlete by the name of Ben Kanute.
Our football program was pretty dreadful for decades. Then an alum came back to town to take over and we’ve made the playoffs for several years lately. It’s been a great change for the community.
Never really thought they were all that great, but they did beat Cass Tech and win a state championship a few years ago. Go Romeo Bulldogs!
My high school program sucked since it is in the same town as Paramus Catholic, which most of you are aware of. All decent players around the area went to PC or Don Bosco.
They are now (Temperance Bedford). They used to be a joke for years until 2008 when I was a freshman and got a new coach. They've made the playoffs every year minus two since with two 11-1 seasons (both last minute losses at home on field goals for the chance to go to Ford Field, absolutely devastating).
The coach responsible for the turn around was forced to resign or be fired last year for posting something stupid on facebook after he attended a former player's funeral without permission. We had a one year rental coach as a guy known in the area for not staying at jobs long but very good at turning around even the worst programs. Now we have the former DC of the previous coach, so hopefully he can keep things going.
We had a good back and forth rivalry going with Saline for a while, but they hired their Urban Meyer from Whitmer in Toledo a few years ago and now we lose by one score to them every year it seems.
If you have never read the story of the recent turnaround at Dexter, MI. Do some googling and be amazed. When in school our football squad was bad, and after I left, it got even worse. I think they had 3 or 4 winless seasons.
And now they are playoff contenders!
Yup! Have only missed the playoffs twice since 2001. 6 semi finals and one final since 06. Not bad for a small B public school.
My girls went to Eisenhower. Their football team was pretty good (both of my girls cheered so I saw alot of games). One of them just finished her Freshman Year at M. She was really bummed that she had to finish up her year from home. She's on the Cheer team for Michigan and was really looking forward to competing in Daytona to defend Michigan's Championship. Damn Corona.
As a Utica alum: BOOOOOOO
Went to a high school in Iowa. Senior year was 2009. While I was there, the football teams was really good. We made the playoffs 9 out of 11 seasons, winning the district 7 times and made it to state 4 of those years. Never got over the hump to win the title. The year after I left school, the head coach retired and the superintendent hired his son in law to be the head coach. He has been the coach since the 2011 season and has never had a winning season.
Graduated high school from San Antonio in 2018. Our football program is pretty good in-district, but come state playoffs we always got our ass whooped. My first and final playoff game I went to, we played a team from Austin whose OL on average was a height of 6'5". Dudes made our team look like midgets.
The only players I remember who went on to play D1 ball weren't very highly regarded. Our school's most prolific kicker played at Prairie View A&M and is grad transferring to UL-Monroe. Another player I remember is a walk-on RB at Rice. Our most "accomplished" player that I remember going to my school is Oregon's starting long snapper, who I was friends with way back when.
Only went to one game this year, and I noticed our team's QB was only 5'9" lol.
It's a bit disheartening seeing my old school be only good within the confines of our city and not producing D1-tier talent while our rival, Reagan HS, can boast about being where one-time NFL QB Trevor Knight and current TAMU starting QB Kellen Mond (went to Reagan pre-IMG) went to high school.
Dowling Catholic High School. West Des Moines, Iowa. Alma Mater of Amara Darboh. They have won 7 consecutive state championships.
Grand Rapids Christian's 2012 state championship team would absolutely destroy every team mentioned here. The offense was unstoppable.
I was so sure Drake Harris was special ):
Saw him torch d1 players from Cincinatti Moehller earlier in the season. Also torched collegiate players in the finals too against Orchard Lake St Marys . I could go on for why he didn't pan out at Michigan (there's multiple factors - some obvious and known, some not. He's a good kid though)
My Zeeland West Dux almost got you guys that year. Except that we couldn’t cover Drake. That playoff game was an epic battle. One of the most exciting HS games I’ve ever been to
Went to school out west as the name implies. We fluctuated between good for the area and bad. But never anything special relative to anywhere else lol. A couple NFL guys, a few P5 recruits, but nothing standout. Best guy I played with went to Northern Colorado. Then, I leave, and they completely go off. Win league every year but 1 since (I'm young lol) Their back lead the country IIRC in rushing or AP yards or something this year and is going P5 eventually.
The school i started high school in was horrible at football, but did produce Grant Hill.
The school I graduated from has 117 players who have played in the NFL, including 14 current players. Michael Thomas, Carlos Hyde, Cardale Jones, Plaxico Burress, Vinny Testaverde, Eddie George, Don Majkowski, Jim Drunkenmiller, Christian Hackenburg, and of course Chris Perry. (also Sean Cassidy a backup QB at Michigan around 2000) are notables.
Muskegon Mona Shores.
Horrible from the time the school was built (1962), up until 2013.
Since 2013 they've made the playoff 6 of 7 seasons, made 3 state finals, and won a state championship.
No... but our tennis and ski teams are
Used to be great in the 80's and 90's. Then we had a huge down period, we are pretty good now, but nothing like we used to be (sounds familiar)
My high school's problem is the best players we produced were buckeyes, and fighting irish:
Robert Smith, Pepe Pearson, Tony Fisher, Thaddeus Gibson
Grosse Pointe South
Heres a link to every high school team in the state of Michigan All-Time record (its actually a link to every high school team in America as well)
GPS 379-253-6
ps Utica 297-325-11
https://michigan-football.com/f/gpointes.htm
Grosse Pointe South Blue Devils Michigan High School Football Scores, Schedules, and Analytics
My high school is a large public high school in Minneapolis that usually does pretty well (largely due to enrollment), but Minnesota isn’t known much for football outside of the twin cities. I would imagine that most of the Jesuit schools in Ohio that also recruit would be better.
Atherton High School Class of 2005
Head coaches were crackheads hired off the streets.
Parents/Coaches thinking their children were God's gift to football ruin participation.
I think the program has gotten better.
We had winged helmets. That's all we had going for us.
Also a Battle Creek native... St.Philip Catholic Central. They are now an 8-Man school. They do well with 8-man. Won a State Championship in the ‘70s (Class C) and in the ‘80s (Class D).
Went to a St Phil 8 man game a few years ago. Like it or not, it’s still football.
When it existed, no? We produced Derrick Alexander and a couple other dudes that went to D1 schools and that was about it.
We were terrible when I went though. Now we are a powerhouse, I guess.
Chelsea.
Yes. We were undefeated in conference every year I played, and for a few years after. Lost state my Junior year. Good coaches, and we played hard.
Madison Heights Madison has been to the finals a couple times in the last decade or so. Go Eagles!
No, we're a basketball school, as God intended.