Top 10 toughest conferences in high school football

[TheBigRedDog]

I posted this earlier, but it was apparently removed for some reason. I thought this might spark some good conversation on the D-II board considering #8 on the list...

 

Top 10 Toughest Leagues in America

 

1. Greater Catholic South (Ohio)

Archbishop Moeller, 5-0, 3 in state, 18 nationally; LaSalle, 5-0, 14 in state, 167 nationally; St. Xavier, 3-2, 7 in state, 46 nationally; Elder, 20 in state, 241 nationally.

 

2. Trinity (California)

Servite, 4-0, 2nd in state, 7 nationally; JSerra Catholic, 3-0, 79 in state, 725 nationally; St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.), 3-1, 16 in state, 139 nationally; Santa Margarita (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.), 3-1, 48 in state, 419 nationally; Orange Lutheran, 2-2, 114 in state, 1,242 nationally; Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.), 1-2, 24 in state, 227 nationally. Long time powerhouse Mater Dei is at the bottom looking up this year, attesting to the overall depth and power in this league. No team in the league ranks lower than 114 in the state of California, which has close to 1,200 teams, meaning all six teams are in the top 10 percent of the state.

 

3. 5A Region 1 District 8 (Texas)

Allen (Texas), 4-0, 8 in state, 78 nationally; Marcus (Flower Mound, Texas), 4-0, 16 in state, 118 nationally; Lewisville (Texas), 3-1, 91 in state, 853 nationally; Hebron (Carrollton, Texas), 3-1, 14 in state, 113 nationally; Plano West (Texas), 3-1, 43 in state, 389 nationally; Plano (Texas), 3-1, 114 in state, 1,056 nationally; Plano East (Texas), 2-2, 133 in state, 1,190 nationally; Flower Mound (Texas), 2-2, 84 in state, 774 nationally. The depth in this league is amazing — all eight teams have at least a .500 record. Three of the teams are also ranked in the top 16 in the state of Texas, a tremendous feat in a state known for its football.

 

4. South Coast (California)

Mission Viejo (Calif.), 4-0, 5th in state, 12 nationally; San Clemente (Calif.), 4-1, 49 in state, 425 nationally; Tesoro (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.), 3-1, 42 in state, 379 nationally; Dana Hills (Dana Point, Calif.), 2-2, 76 in state, 696 nationally; Trabuco Hills (Mission Viejo, Calif.), 2-2, 191 in state, 2,262 nationally. Orange County football is pretty impressive, considering that two of the top four leagues on this list consist of Orange County teams. This year Mission Viejo is ranked in the Xcellent 25 presented by the Army National Guard and rising.

 

5. Big North I (New Jersey)

Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, N.J.), 3-0, 1st in state, 2nd nationally; St. Joseph Regional (Montvale, N.J.), 3-0, 3 in state, 142 nationally; Bergen Catholic (Oradell, N.J.), 3-0, 2nd in state, 39 nationally; Paramus Catholic (N.J.), 2-1, 69 in state, 3,104 nationally; DePaul (Wayne, N.J.), 1-2, 64 in state, 2,939 nationally. New Jersey is a strong football state and Don Bosco Prep, Bergen Catholic and St. Joseph Regional rank 1-2-3 in the state. Don Bosco Prep is the defending national champion by unapproved website and is currently ranked No. 2 in the country.

 

6. Catholic Central (Michigan)

Catholic Central (Novi, Mich.), 1 in state, 26 nationally; St. Mary Prep (Orchard Lake, Mich.), 5-0, 2 in state, 75 nationally; De La Salle Collegiate (Warren, Mich.), 4-1, 14 in state, 454 nationally; Brother Rice (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.), 2-3, 37 in state, 1,237 nationally; University of Detroit Jesuit (Mich.), 2-3, 73 in state, 2,303 nationally. The top two teams in Michigan find a home in the Catholic Central. Even the last place team in the league is in the top 75.

 

7. MIAA A (Maryland)

Calvert Hall (Baltimore), 5-0, 6 in state, 264 nationally; Gilman (Baltimore), 4-1, 1st in state, 15 nationally; McDonogh (Owings Mills, Md.), 3-0, 4 in state, 154 nationally; Mount St. Joseph (Baltimore), 3-1, 26 in state, 1,656 nationally; Georgetown Prep (North Bethesda, Md.), 2-2, 21 in state, 1,525 nationally; Loyola Blakefield (Towson, Md.), 1-3, 67 in state, 4,581 nationally. Three of the top six teams in Maryland are in this league, led by Gilman, which has been among the top 25 in the country all season.

 

8. 6A District 7 (Tennessee)

Oakland (Murfreesboro, Tenn.), 6-0, 1st in state, 63 nationally; Smyrna (Tenn.), 5-1, 4 in state, 114 nationally; Blackman (Murfreesboro, Tenn.), 5-1, 12 in state, 317 nationally; Riverdale (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) 5-1, 17 in state, 407 nationally; Siegel (Murfreesboro, Tenn.), 3-3, 46 in state, 1,471 nationally; LaVergne (Tenn.), 2-4, 104 in state, 3,493 nationally. Four of the top 17 teams in the state of Tennessee reside in this district.

 

9. Serra (California)

Alemany (Mission Hills, Calif.), 4-0, 19 state, 158 nationally; Bishop Amat (La Puente, Calif.), 4-0, 17 state, 151 nationally; Crespi (Encino, Calif.), 3-1, 61 state, 551 nationally; Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks, Calif.), 1-3, 125 state, 1,504 nationally; Loyola (Los Angeles), 1-3, 91 state, 904 nationally. Alemany has come on in the past few years, making this tough league even tougher. Bishop Amat, Crespi, Notre Dame and Loyola all are among the top teams in the Southern Section each year.

 

10. 6A District 5 (Kentucky)

Trinity (Louisville, Ky.), 4-2, ranked No. 1 in state, 66 nationally; Ballard (Louisville, Ky.), 4-2, 11 in state, 641 nationally; Seneca (Louisville, Ky.), 4-2, 28 in state, 1,909 nationally; Eastern (Louisville, Ky.), 3-2, 14 in state, 846 nationally. This league benefits from the presence of Trinity, which is the premier program in the state of Kentucky. Four times in the past five years the Shamrocks have finished No. 1 in the state and in the top 50 in the national rankings. Ballard has also routinely finished among the top 25 in the state the past five seasons.

 

Note: Two leagues ranked by Freeman's rankings, the Steel Valley in Ohio and the 5A District 14 in Florida, were not included in this list because they have fewer than four teams in the league.

[rollredroll]

I, too, wondered where it went. If it was deleted for any kind of copyright issue, then the mod who deleted it needs to delete it on the 5A/6A boards as well.

 

Anyway, as I mentioned earlier, DIIAA-East/Middle and DIIAA-West are counted as separate leagues in their calculations. DIIAA-E/M is second in Tennessee in those rankings; DIIAA-West is third. Combined, they are likely first, or just short.

 

I would think that 6A District 7 benefits by having some E/M teams on its schedule; similarly, E/M benefits the same way playing some of those District 7 teams.

Edited October 9, 2010 by rollredroll

[big red big blue]

Even with my D2 bias, I do really love that group of Rutherford County schools and what's happening in that district. I guarantee that somehow the TSSAA will figure out a way to break them up so that they aren't competing with each other for play-off spots every year. I also really admire that the flagship programs--Smyrna and Oakland--have put D2 teams regularly on the schedule...though I suspect with these preposterous tie-breakers those days will end, as Riverdale will start every season with a leg up on the competition by refusing to play (as Adeylott said at Hillsboro) "all those teams that recruit."

 

I bet that's the most fun league to be in in the state. Every week you can look forward to a high quality, meaningful, local regular season rivalry-type game...with a play-off berth a highly contested prize.

 

I certainly "wonder" why Gary Rankin left Riverdale to take over an established title-winning program several classes down when I read stuff like this.