High School Football Preview

What size success? Across the Washington region, good high school football players come in all dimensions. Of more than 20 top local college prospects, only one is less than 6 feet tall. And yet, some smaller players in skill positions are carving out their niches to make for interesting matchups this year.

Washington Post High School Sports Editor Jon DeNunzio answered questions and heard predictions about the fall high school football season on Wednesday, Aug. 30, at noon ET .

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Jon DeNunzio: Good afternoon, and welcome to the first high school sports chat of the 2006-2007 school year. I'm here to talk high school football primarily today, but will also be glad to answer any of your other high school sports-related questions. So, let's get to it ...

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Washington, D.C.: What's happening Jon? Just wanted some inside info about D.C.'s own Dunbar High School. Are the Crimson Tide ranked in the top five of their conference? Who do you think will be a standout this year? Remember, this is the same Dunbar High School that produced Maryland Terrapin star Vernon Davis, who is currently prepping for the 2006 NFL season!

Dre, Dunbar Alum

Jon DeNunzio: Hello, Dre. Dunbar is Ranked No. 6 in the entire Washington area (by us), and are the team most D.C. coaches would pick as Turkey Bowl favorites. A lot of talent on that team, led by WR Arrelious Benn, an elite national prospect.

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Brandywine, Md.: I don't understand why Gywnn Park is not getting much press they went 14-0 and had several players got to Division 1 schools and their coaching staff, led by Danny Hayes and former Washington Redskins player Leslie Shepherd are one of the best in our area.

Jon DeNunzio: I agree with you that Gwynn Park is a good team and a good program, but I think saying they are "not getting much press" is a little silly at this point. How many teams have gotten "much press?" It's August 30!

The Jackets are No. 11 in our rankings and would have to be considered favorites, along with No. 4 Friendly, to win the Prince George's 3A/2A/1A league.

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Jon DeNunzio: Speaking of rankings, here is our preseason Top 20:

1. DeMatha

2. Hylton

3. Centreville

4. Friendly

5. Damascus

6. Dunbar

7. Urbana

8. St. John's

9. Quince Orchard

10. Robinson

11. Gwynn Park

12. Good Counsel

13. Sherwood

14. Northwest

15. Stone Bridge

16. Westfield

17. Seneca Valley

18. Ballou

19. Oakton

20. C.H. Flowers

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Arlington, Va.: Where is the best place to find complete rosters for area high school teams?

Jon DeNunzio: Once teams start sending us rosters (a few that have games this week have done so already), we'll get them entered into our system and you should be able to see them on Stat Central on washingtonpost.com.

Roster acquisition is a big part of our job between now and next Friday (the opening night for the vast majority of schools in the area). We need the rosters to take box scores, etc. So any coaches or ADs who are reading this, please send 'em to us ASAP ...

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Reston, Va.: H.D. Woodson had an enormous victory last weekend when they beat the two time defending West Virginia large-school state champion, Morgantown, ending their 28-game winning streak 21-10. This was quite a turnaround from when they started last year's season with a near-60 point loss to DeMatha. How good is the Woodson team? Do they stand a chance in what would typically be expected to be a blowout loss to Massillon, Ohio next weekend? For myself, regardless of the outcome of that game, their victory over Morgantown is the biggest interstate high school victory that I know of in following D.C. area ball for almost 50 years and I applaud them.

Jon DeNunzio: We expect Woodson to be very competitive in the DCIAA, perhaps a small notch below three-time champion Dunbar and talent-rich Ballou. I will be very interested to see how they fare against Massillon, but I will admit I have not done much research yet on the quality of the Massillon team this year. It is one of the stories programs in high school football nationwide, of course. Worth watching: "Go Tigers!" a documentary from a few years back on the Massillon program and its place in the town's culture ...

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Annapolis, Md.: Per usual DeMatha, Damascus and Robinson will be at the top of the preseason poll. What about a surprise team this year? Also, has anyone from the paper seen the new North Point High football stadium? Very nice.

Jon DeNunzio: High school football is a lot like college football, I have found, with the powerhouse programs winning a lot of games every year. So yes, Damascus, DeMatha and Robinson are ranked again this year. Both Robinson and Damascus have a lot of talent to replace this year; will be interesting to see how they do.

One surprise team -- Friendly. We think they're so good they are No. 4 in our rankings. Farther down, No. 15 Stone Bridge looks to be loaded on offense, adding a transfer from O'Connell (RB Devon Brown) to an already explosive group.

I have not seen the North Point Stadium. Do they serve nachos there?

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Reston, Va.: An addendum to my question of a minute ago: there was not even a mention of this victory in the Post, not even on this Web site. Isn't a victory like this worth reporting? For the hundreds of out-of-state games that interhigh schools have had over the past several decades to win one like this is unprecedented. I find it remarkable and frustrating that the decision was made not to even mention it anywhere.

Jon DeNunzio: We certainly would have run the box score if it had been reported in time on Saturday. I will admit to not being aware that Morgantown is a powerhouse team, and a win there is a big surprise. I will have my staff look into this; thanks for the heads-up. As you might understand, most of our attention in the past several days has been aimed at the preview section that came out today. Perhaps we needed to pay more attention to the five local games that kicked off the season last weekend.

Another topic -- what do people think about teams opening their schedules 10 days before Labor Day? To me, it feels realllly early ...

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washingtonpost.com: Stat Central

Jon DeNunzio: A link to Stat Central from Paul ... you won't find much 2006 information there yet, but in the next few days it should be full of schedules, rosters, and soon, results ...

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Maryland: Hello. Can you include a map on where the top 20 teams are located? Or maybe an interactive site on your Web site? People keep asking me which county is this team or that team. Maybe listing the county after each team might help.

Jon DeNunzio: These are good idea -- I especially like the map idea. I will talk to my colleagues at the Web site and see what we can do ...

You say "People keep asking me which county ..." ... Are you your office's font of high school football knowledge? If so, congrats.

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Damascus, Md.: How is Damascus looking this year?

Jon DeNunzio: Good.

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PG County: How do you see the PG County schools stacking up this year? Will the traditional powerhouses like DeMatha, Roosevelt and Suitland return to prominence? Or will the success of the southern tier schools like Gwynn Park and Douglas continue? Do you see the eventual state champ coming out of loaded PG?

Jon DeNunzio: DeMatha, as always, will be good. That's why we picked them No. 1.

In the public school leagues, we like a 3A team -- Friendly -- above the rest. Gwynn Park (also 3A) is solid, as is C.H. Flowers in the 4A. Suitland and ER look to be just a tad below Flowers in the 4A.

Re: Winning a state title ... PG teams always seem to do well in the 4A playoffs, Friendly and Gwynn Park very well could do well in 3A, Potomac (Md.) has won the last two 2A titles and Douglass is now a 2A school, and finally, Forestville and Surrattsville are now in the 1A, and at least can make the playoffs. So, if things break right, PG could win several state titles. (reporter Josh Barr assisted me with this info, btw).

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Washington, D.C.: Coach Joe Patterson has done a great job in two years to develop St. John's into a preseason top 10 team, but can they really challenge in the WCAC, or is the rest of the league playing for second behind DeMatha?

Jon DeNunzio: I think St. John's and Good Counsel have legitimate shots to dethrone DeMatha. DeMatha is the favorite, but the Stags are not invincible.

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RE: Before Labor Day: It is very early. And as a former sportswriter I remember two things about covering high school sports. One, there is always something going on that people think should be getting covered. Two, there will ALWAYS be parents upset at you for not covering something enough/often enough/or all the time when their children participate. Good luck to you guys, another season is upon you!!

Jon DeNunzio: Thanks for the input and kind words. I wonder what kind of crowds showed up for area games such as last week's Briar Woods-Hyde and Cardinal Gibbons-T. Roosevelt games ...

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Ashburn, Va.: Hey Jon,

Great work, but wow, Stone Bridge at No. 15!??...Can't say I agree, thought they would at least break the Top 10...your thoughts?

Jon DeNunzio: I guess my thought is we have Stone Bridge about right, but that is no surprise, right? :)

Tough call -- the team did very well in the Division 5 postseason (and played Hampton very close in the state final), but also struggled with lesser teams throughout the regular season.

Here's what I always tell people with complaints like this: You're No. 15 out of 200. That's pretty good. And if you win games, you'll move up.

Thanks for the kind words about the section.

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Waldorf, Md.: I was wondering about one of last year's standouts, A.J. Wallace from McDonough in Maryland. He was supposed to go to Penn State, but I haven't heard anything about it. Any idea where he is? Thanks!

Jon DeNunzio: Reporter Alan Goldenbach tells me that A.J. Wallace is indeed at Penn State, listed as a DB, wearing No. 12 on the preseason roster.

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UMD alum: It seems despite their best efforts, the Terps just haven't tapped into as much of this talent-rich area as they were under their previous recruiting guru (can't remember his name but left like two years ago). My question is, do you see the Terps scouts getting better tapped into the scene in this area so the special guys like Derrick Williams don't keep getting away!?!

Jon DeNunzio: I'm not sure I can predict which schools will have recruiting success around here in coming months and years accurately. I'm not sure I can even predict what I'll have for lunch today ...

But, kidding aside, I think Maryland, Virginia and Virginia Tech all see this area as fertile recruiting ground -- as do many national programs. The competition to get the best players should be fierce ...

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Springfield, Va.: Hi Jon. I see that the Concorde District is well represented in your top 20 poll. Do you think they are as strong a conference as last year? I think the Annandale vs. Westfield next week will let people know if any other teams will make noise in the Northern Region.

Jon DeNunzio: Is the Concorde as good as last year ... hmmm, tough one. I'd say yes ... Centreville looks to be very good, Robinson and Westfield always are tough, Oakton is the defending state champ (although they have a lot of key players to replace), and Herndon looks pretty good, as well. Not sure about Fairfax -- a team that got redistricted into a really tough situation on 2004 ...

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Bowie, Md.: Bowie High made their first real run last year since winning the state title in 2000 (2001?)

How does second-year coach Jae Jackson's squad look this season in the very competitive PG County 4A league??

Jon DeNunzio: Bowie -- then starring RB Barrington Edwards -- won the 4A state title in 2001. And yes, last year was their first good year since. Reporter Josh Barr says Jackson's boys can be better than last year's 7-3 team this fall -- but I say passing ER, Suitland and Flowers for the league title might be difficult.

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Scottsdale, Ariz.: Can I get a CD Hylton High preview?

Jon DeNunzio: Really quick version -- the Bulldogs have a ton of players from last year's team back, a proven coach in Lou Sorrentino and a reasonable expectation to win the region for about the 15th straight year (ok, it would be nine straight).

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Washington, D.C.: With high school sports and college recruiting becoming such a huge business, and given the vast coverage of high school sports afforded by the Internet, does the Post ever find itself under pressure (or attack) from schools or even parents for its rankings or for its coverage of a particular school or conference?

Jon DeNunzio: Well, I might not say we find ourselves "under attack," but certainly we hear from parents, coaches and athletic directors all the time asking for more coverage or "respect." Sometimes, they bring up good points and help us find stories we might have missed. Other times, I'll just say the feedback is not so helpful.

I'm not sure the Internet explosion and wider coverage of prep sports/recruiting has changed this. I covered high schools before the Internet was widely used, and I was quite accustomed to getting complaints. We all are in this business. I do think e-mail and message boards sometimes amp up the vitriol when these issues come to the fore (perhaps due to the impersonal nature of the exchange).

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Centreville, Va.: I have been in the area for five years now and follow the Northern Virginia HS football scene quite closely. With the exception of the D.C. and private/Catholic schools, your rankings are consistently top heavy with Maryland schools. Other than the Concorde District, Hylton, and recently Stone Bridge, almost no other schools from Virginia get notice. Is there really that much disparity?

Jon DeNunzio: I think you see a steeper drop-off after the elite teams in Virginia. There's little doubt the powerhouses in Va. (the schools you mention, basically) are as good as any in the D.C. area. But we generally see deeper leagues and counties in Maryland than in Virginia ... I am not sure why.

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Arlington, Va.: Are high schools in the area allowed to recruit players? I think your point about college powerhouses is very apt. It seems to me that schools that recruit should only play each other. Or perhaps, there should be no recruiting at the high school level.

Jon DeNunzio: Public schools in this area are in general not allowed to recruit. Although in D.C., loose transfer rules make it pretty easy for players to switch programs (Ballou benefited from this this year, picking up a few high-impact transfers like our cover boy, Marvin Austin).

I am not so naive that I think no public schools in Va. or Md. recruit. But it's a pretty tough thing to be caught doing.

Private schools play by different rules, obviously.

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Leesburg, Va.: Just wanted to say thanks for your coverage of the local high schools. I liked your comment about if a school wins -- they will move up so we know SBHS should be moving on up!

How significant of a impact do you think Brown will play on the SB offense?

Thanks

Jon DeNunzio: Thanks very much.

As an editor, stuck in my desk, I have not had a chance to see Stone Bridge practice or scrimmage, of course, so it's hard for me to get so specific that I could predict Brown's role or impact. However, by all accounts, he was very good in a tough conference (the WCAC) last year, so I would think he could really help Stone Bridge ...

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Jon DeNunzio: Well, looks like we're almost out of time ... let me take this opportunity to mention a few of the ways you'll be able to follow high school sports in The Post this year:

- In the paper, as usual -- including the Extras, where readers in Montgomery, Fairfax, Alexandria, Arlington and the District should see expanded coverage this year.

- On the Web. We mentioned Stat Central already; the High School Hot Spot will be back as well, with daily score/schedule updates, rankings for all sports and more. Also worth checking out -- Josh Barr's Recruiting Insider blog (http://blog.washingtonpost.com/recruitinginsider/).

- On your cell phone -- Watch the paper and the high school page on washingtonpost.com for information on ScorePost, our service that sends live scores to your cell phone.

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