Ready For Prime Time?

I'm flipping channels late last night, and ESPN2 was showing a high school football game from California between Oaks Christian and Venice. For what it's worth, Oaks Christian won the game, 47-17.

This is the second week in a row that Oaks Christian has been on national TV, as they whipped a team called St. Bonaventure (which ended a 27 game winning streak) last week on FSN. They feature Notre Dame commitment Jimmy Clausen, brother of former Tennessee QBs Casey and Rick, and USC commitment Marc Tyler, son of former Ram and 49er Wendell Tyler. As far as high school teams go, they are really good. The school has only been around since 1997.

High school teams are getting a lot of exposure these days, and there are at least two polls that declare a mythical national high school champion. Sponsors are stepping up to the plate and flying teams great distances to play out-of-state teams. Fox Sports Net has a high school game of the week, and ESPN2 regularly shows high school games. Kirk Herbstreit, of Ohio State and College Gameday fame, promotes an annual event which this year brought nine nationally known high school teams to Ohio to play top Ohio programs. There is a group of programs that have quickly established themselves as magnets for talent, as parents will move their children into particular school districts so they will have the opportunity to compete at the highest level, and be looked at for potential college scholarships. I really don't have a problem with it, but I also realize that the vast majority of high schools will stay with the status quo: to provide a competitive outlet for students, to boost school spirit, and to be rallying point for students and members of the community. A state championship is a pipe dream for 95% of schools in a given state, and a national championship isn't even on the radar screen.

As I saw Oaks Christian last night, I recognized that they have been available on my TV as many times this year (twice) as the Dallas Cowboys, Texas A&M, and Texas Tech. That's big time. That will change, of course, but it's still a big deal for a high school team to have its highlights on the Friday night news, much less be televised nationally.

I wish someone would fly them to Texas this year, though. It'd be good to see them stack up against a team like Southlake Carroll. :-)