Toughest Texas Schedules?

[concha]

I have been posting on various national boards for a few seasons now. It has become very clear over that time that as states, the big school teams of Texas and Ohio tend to have the toughest schedules in the entire nation.

Calpreps.com has a computer model and database of teams and results from all over the country that confirms it:

Toughest Schedules in the Nation (http://calpreps.com/cgi-bin/2004/ratingvw_live.pl?schools=National&type=11_man&group=all&sort=schedule&span=all_games&margins=yes&show=25&scores=show&submit=submit)

So what look to be the toughest schedules in the Lonestar State at this point? Which teams appear to have the biggest cojones when it comes to stepping up to challenges?

[jtk1519]

When you play football in Texas, 9 times out of 10, just playing the team across town is a bigger challenge than most other states will ever know.

[Texasfrog]

When you play football in Texas, 9 times out of 10, just playing the team across town is a bigger challenge than most other states will ever know.

Nice...... :)

PS. I didnt know that computers played football either.

[concha]

When you play football in Texas, 9 times out of 10, just playing the team across town is a bigger challenge than most other states will ever know.

I agree.

In Ohio, my alma mater, Cincy St. X, is in a small Catholic big school league of just 4 schools. Three of the four have history in national Top 25 polls. And then there are schools like Colerain, which is within 5-10 miles of 2 or 3 of these Big Catholics (including St. X).

Our respective states are blessed in this respect.

[LoboFan07]

I definately think that Longview has one of the tougher schedules in the State. Dont know if the toughest but one of the tougher no doubt.

at 4A D1 State Finalist Marshall, Marshall having a more than 80 winning % at Mav Stadium
vs Louisiana 5A State Finalist West Monroe-Indy Stadium, West Monroe always has a great team
at 5A D2 Bi-District Finalist Lake Highlands, LH is always a dog fight at Wildcat-Ram Stadium
vs Louisiana 5A State Champion Evangel, Big one here seeing if Longview can pull off four straight wins againist the powerhouse private school Evangel

Then we start district.
at Class 5A D2 Regional Semi-Finalist Mesquite
vs Mesquite Horn
at Class 5A D1 Champions Tyler Lee
vs Rockwall
Bye Week
at North Mesquite
vs John Tyler

We'll see how it goes. Im really excited about this coming season. Should be a fun one.

[jtk1519]

I think Midland Lee could make a case for toughest in the state...

Week 0 - vs. Southlake Carroll (16-0)... in Abilene
Week 1 - at Euless Trinity (10-4)
Week 2 - at Dallas Kimball (7-4)
Week 3 - vs. PA Memorial (6-5)
Week 4 - vs. Clovis East, CA (10-3)

That's a pre-dsitrict schedule against teams that wnet a combined 49-16 last year.

Then, after that, they begin play in the 3rd toughest district in 5A according to the gurus here.

[Purple Haze]

I think Midland Lee could make a case for toughest in the state...

Week 0 - vs. Southlake Carroll (16-0)... in Abilene
Week 1 - at Euless Trinity (10-4)
Week 2 - at Dallas Kimball (7-4)
Week 3 - vs. PA Memorial (6-5)
Week 4 - vs. Clovis East, CA (10-3)

I think our Rebel brethren have as tough as schedule as it gets. I also think Euless Trinity and Tyler Lee have tough going this year. And how about that The Woodlands schedule having to play Katy, Northshore and of course Lufkin (district game)? Ouch! :cool:

[supercentex]

Tyler Lee

Chaminade Madonna Prep (from Florida)
Waco High @ Waco
Colerain @ Columbus Ohio
Euless Trinity
Longview

[RockinL]

Tyler Lee

Chaminade Madonna Prep (from Florida)
Waco High @ Waco
Colerain @ Columbus Ohio
Euless Trinity
Longview
That gets my vote.

[SLC-Dad]

I think Midland Lee could make a case for toughest in the state...

Week 0 - vs. Southlake Carroll (16-0)... in Abilene
Week 1 - at Euless Trinity (10-4)
Week 2 - at Dallas Kimball (7-4)
Week 3 - vs. PA Memorial (6-5)
Week 4 - vs. Clovis East, CA (10-3)

That's a pre-dsitrict schedule against teams that wnet a combined 49-16 last year.

Then, after that, they begin play in the 3rd toughest district in 5A according to the gurus here.

I think you can make a good case for either of the Lee's, but I have to give a slight edge to Midland Lee having the toughest schedule. In addition to the five teams mentioned they catch state-ranked Abilene in their district..... :)

[SLC-Dad]

I agree.

In Ohio, my alma mater, Cincy St. X, is in a small Catholic big school league of just 4 schools. Three of the four have history in national Top 25 polls. And then there are schools like Colerain, which is within 5-10 miles of 2 or 3 of these Big Catholics (including St. X).

Our respective states are blessed in this respect.

Concha......I'm a former Buckeye, but have been gone for about 10 years. Who are the "big" schools from NE Ohio these days?? The names that I remember as yearly contenders are St. Ignatious, St. Ed's, Warren Harding, Massillon........Are they still some of the usual suspects or has it changed??

[Texas Hammer]

This is easy as cake. To start with, you're using my favorite ranking system and one thing is very obvious in this poll.

6 of the top 65 teams in schedule strength nationally are from 26-5A and 4 of the top 25.

The KT brothers say 26-5A is the best district and I've been saying that for years.

Our other main power poll for Texas teams had 6 of the top 96 teams last year from 26-5A and annually the best team to miss the playoffs comes from 26-5A.

7 district games in 26-5A trumps what anybody else does in non-district, so you have to go with the best non-district schedule in 26-5A.

That's Judson since they play #8 Copperas Cove, #22 Pflugerville, and Laredo Nixon. They'll get a ranked Clemens team in Bi-District and the #4 team in Region 4 in Round 2 again.

[LeanderLions3033]

How bout Garland, man their schedule blew me away. Ill edit this when im for sure of what it is

[concha]

Concha......I'm a former Buckeye, but have been gone for about 10 years. Who are the "big" schools from NE Ohio these days?? The names that I remember as yearly contenders are St. Ignatious, St. Ed's, Warren Harding, Massillon........Are they still some of the usual suspects or has it changed??

The top 4 are, I think, pretty clear:

Iggy
Eds
Harding
Glenville

Massillon and McKinley have fallen off from their glory days (McKinley really had no business in the state title game last season). I believe falling enrollment will likely keep them from the top tier, though the passion for the game will permit them to field a competitor every now and then.

Others who show up on the radar now and again:

Solon, Mentor, Austintown Fitch, Strongsville.......

[Mr_Clean]

Midland Lee, Tyler Lee, and Longview all play as stout a non-district schedule as probably any team in the country.

Evangel's non-district slate in 2003 was the toughest that I've ever seen - by far. Unfortunately, ECA suffered a big blow prior to that season when QB John David Booty departed early for USC.

[supercentex]

I would have liked to see Longview go up to Ohio along with Tyler Lee

[concha]

There are several schedules that are extremely impressive by any standard.

Here are a few of the tougher schedules for Ohio (I've tried to weed out weaker opponents). Note that Elder, St. Edward, St. Xavier, Moeller, Colerain, St. Ignatius, Warren Harding are THE elite of Ohio big school football, our equivalents of SLC, Lufkin, Longview etc:


Elder
St. Edward
St. Xavier
Moeller
Benedictine (one of Ohio's premier lower division powers)
Highlands (KY) (a defending KY champion, national Top 25 history)

St. Xavier
Colerain (Likely pre-season national Top 25)
Elder
St. Ignatius (Likely pre-season national Top 25)
Moeller

Moeller
Massillon (big name, but hit/miss quality these days)
Elder
St. Edward
St. Xavier

St. Edward
Pittsburgh Central Catholic (PA) (defending PA big school champion?)
Elder
St. Ignatius (Likely pre-season national Top 25)
Moeller
Benedictine

St. Ignatius
Philly St. Joeseph (PA) (Likely pre-season national Top 25)
Mishawaka Penn (IN) (One of Indiana's top 3-5 big schools)
Massillon
Warren Harding (home of the famous Mr. Clarett)
St. Edward
St. Xavier

Warren G Harding
Glenville (Likely pre-season national Top 25)
St. Ignatius (Likely pre-season national Top 25)
Massillon
Erie Cathedral Prep (PA)

Massillon
Moeller
St. Ignatius (Likely pre-season national Top 25)
Warren G Harding
McKinley

Colerain
St. Xavier
Highlands (KY)
REL (TX)

[Mr_Clean]

Sounds like the concentration of Ohio football powers in one or two areas leads to many of the teams beating up on each other...and thus knocking themselves out of national championship honors.

I know that some people despise polls, but I love 'em. Gives me something to keep talking 'bout. :p

[concha]

Sounds like the concentration of Ohio football powers in one or two areas leads to many of the teams beating up on each other...and thus knocking themselves out of national championship honors.

I know that some people despise polls, but I love 'em. Gives me something to keep talking 'bout. :p

Ohio big school football has two areas where almost all of the real powers are located:

Northeast Ohio (NEO for short): Ignatius, St. Edward, Glenville, WGH, Massillon, McKinley all within maybe an hour or two of each other

Southwest Ohio (SWO): Colerain, Elder, Moeller, St. Xavier.....


Actually, it isn't really simply the proximity that gets these teams playing each other so much. Elder/X/Moe are in the same league. You'll also see that there is play between NEO and SWO teams. Much of this is due to the fact that many of these schools are independents or in a very small league. Due to the nature of the tournament qualification system in Ohio, the teams I've listed above are avoided like the plague by many other schools, or as is the case with Colerain, other schools have a hard time scheduling them due to league commitments.

[Mr. Buddy Garrity]

week 1--CUJO
week 2--Lufkin
week 3---Midland Lee.
District-----Spring Westfield, Baytown Lee, and Humble.



I think we have a top 3 schedule.

[owlfan 1]

How bout Garland, man their schedule blew me away. Ill edit this when im for sure of what it is

0- Plano East
1- DeSoto
2- Ennis
3- Dallas Carter
4- BYE
5- Naaman Forest
6- South Garland
7- North Garland
8- Sachse
9- Rowlett
10- Lakeview

Tough non-district, plus games against NG and SG. Maybe not THE toughest in the state, but right up there...

[TheDuke]

We play:

Katy
North Shore
Humble
Klein Collins
Lufkin

Tough schedule this year!!

[pack0808]

that is a brutal schedule duke good luck besides the lufkin one. ;) i remember when lufkin played 6 or 7 top 10 teams in 10 games in 2003.

[dragonsdaddy]

was the problem finish for the 03 pack team exacerbated by the brutal schedule, or was it all internal crap?

[owlfan 1]

was the problem finish for the 03 pack team exacerbated by the brutal schedule, or was it all internal crap?

... or maybe they were beaten by the team they played...

:D

[dragonsdaddy]

didn't mean to demean or belittle garland, but the sked lp played and/or their internal problems sunk that titanic.

[pack0808]

i think it was a little of both because that lufkin 03 team was one of the most talented lufkin teams ever with 11 college players and 7 div1 signees. yes lufkin ran up against a very tough garland team but the team was having a lot of internal stuff and they just finished one of the most brutal schedules any team could play while adding the pressures of being #1. it was an unfortnate year because that team was so good. garland is our curse i guess. tyler lee and longview has had no problems with garland lately and lufkin has beaten those two 11 out of 12 times combined. of course longview makes up for most of those. i do not think that lufkin team would have went much further even if they got past garland because they did not have the team chemistry and there was too much crap going on. just goes to show you that talent is not always the key. i will take team over talent almost any day. i would prefer both though. ;) garland was capable of upsetting anybody that year and they deserved that game. lufkin played with no urgency and looked like they were going through the motions expecting an easy 1st round win. they got a reality check and i think that helped them in 2004.

[owlfan 1]

didn't mean to demean or belittle garland, but the sked lp played and/or their internal problems sunk that titanic.

Several things factored into that game, not the least of which is the fact that Garland was healthy for the first time since the first of the year. Lufkin, knowing what Longview had done to a more hyped Garland team the year before, expected a cake walk, but they vastly underestimated the Owls. The Garland players were still stinging from the previous year's blowout and wanted badly to gain respect. Lufkin made uncharacteristic mistakes and found themselves in a dogfight.

The Owls could have beaten almost anyone on that day.

No disrespect taken...

[SLC-Dad]

Ohio big school football has two areas where almost all of the real powers are located:

Northeast Ohio (NEO for short): Ignatius, St. Edward, Glenville, WGH, Massillon, McKinley all within maybe an hour or two of each other

Southwest Ohio (SWO): Colerain, Elder, Moeller, St. Xavier.....


Actually, it isn't really simply the proximity that gets these teams playing each other so much. Elder/X/Moe are in the same league. You'll also see that there is play between NEO and SWO teams. Much of this is due to the fact that many of these schools are independents or in a very small league. Due to the nature of the tournament qualification system in Ohio, the teams I've listed above are avoided like the plague by many other schools, or as is the case with Colerain, other schools have a hard time scheduling them due to league commitments.

Concha, thanks for the response on my NE Ohio question........Judging by what you said it's pretty much as it always has been.....NEO vs. SWO for the brass ring!!

I have always been surprised that no Columbus area team has emerged as a perennial power.....Is there anybody approaching that status these days??

[relraiderfan]

pack, how are you 11-1 vs. Tyler Lee and Longview combined when you are 2 and 3 vs. Lee in the last 5 against them. Im not starting a fight, I am just pickin with ya man. ;)

[stevefoxsc]

well for temple i can't say much i know we are usually playing teams that ranked usually one from top 10 and rest top 25 then we get to district once we get past waco its all gravy

[Mr_Clean]

I have always been surprised that no Columbus area team has emerged as a perennial power.....Is there anybody approaching that status these days??

SLC-Dad: Not to speak for Concha (and you may already know this), but I understand that Columbus Brookhaven is well-regarded. They won the D-II title in a rout over Avon Lake last fall.

[SLC-Dad]

SLC-Dad: Not to speak for Concha (and you may already know this), but I understand that Columbus Brookhaven is well-regarded. They won the D-II title in a rout over Avon Lake last fall.

Thanks for the info Mr_Clean, I'll keep an eye on Brookhaven this year...... :)

[concha]

Concha, thanks for the response on my NE Ohio question........Judging by what you said it's pretty much as it always has been.....NEO vs. SWO for the brass ring!!

I have always been surprised that no Columbus area team has emerged as a perennial power.....Is there anybody approaching that status these days??

Brookhaven isn't a perennial power yet but that may happen. They were like a mini-Colerain last season. Columbus DeSales is an excellent lower division program also. In Division 1 though, Columbus just doesn't cut it. On occasion they have beast like Upper Arlington in 2000, but in most years you could bet the farm on NEO or SWO (and regions 1 an4 most specifically).

[pack0808]

pack, how are you 11-1 vs. Tyler Lee and Longview combined when you are 2 and 3 vs. Lee in the last 5 against them. Im not starting a fight, I am just pickin with ya man. ;)



lufkin has beaten longview 9 times in a row and tyler lee 2 out of the last 3. there you go my friend. 11-1 ;) lufkin split with tyler lee in 2003 and beat them in 2004. do the math.

[Mr. Buddy Garrity]

lufkin has beaten longview 9 times in a row and tyler lee 2 out of the last 3. there you go my friend. 11-1 ;) lufkin split with tyler lee in 2003 and beat them in 2004. do the math.
I was gonna say something but you did it for me. Thanks. ;)

[relraiderfan]

I wont argue that pack, but i just went back and took Lufkin's last 12 games against Lee and Longview and that made them 9-3 or so, with all 3 losses to lee. I was just giving you a hard time. It is all about how you look to interpret the stats.

[pack0808]

exactly relraider fan. that is why i only went back 3 games because it looks better. you did the same thing earlier. you said lufkin is 2-3 against tyler lee in the last 5 which you were correct. but it you went back one more year lufkin is 3-3 vs tyler lee in the last 6 because lufkin won in 2001. it is all how you look at it. ;) 11 out of 12 just sounded really good against 2 great teams like that and it is a fact. of course most the wins came against longview but it is still a true statement. :) that is impressive no matter how you look at it.

[CoppellCowboy57]

Ppl always forget coppell on that list

week 0- Jesuit (11-2) Play-offs (district campion)
week 1- SLC (16-0) state champions
week 2- Duncanville (10-2)- Play-offs
week 4- Euless Trinty (12-4) State Semi finalist
week 5- Irving Macarther (10-1) Play-offs (district Champion)
week 6- LD Bell - (4-6 or somthing)
week 7- Irving Nimtz - (4-6 or somthing)
Week 8- Grand Praire - (2-8)
week 9- Irving High School- (6-4) Play-Offs
week 10- SGP (6-4)

Coppell had 6 outta 4 teams make the play-offs. And over the past 4 years, not one of the havnt made it play-offs at least once...

yeah told ya

[relraiderfan]

the streak lp has against longview is definatly impressive especially considering the teams that l'view has fielded over the last several years. lufkin and tyler lee have been all but equal the last several years with every game capable of going either way.

[Red Raiders]

Ppl always forget coppell on that list

week 0- Jesuit (11-2) Play-offs (district campion)
week 1- SLC (16-0) state champions
week 2- Duncanville (10-2)- Play-offs
week 4- Euless Trinty (12-4) State Semi finalist
week 5- Irving Macarther (10-1) Play-offs (district Champion)
week 6- LD Bell - (4-6 or somthing)
week 7- Irving Nimtz - (4-6 or somthing)
Week 8- Grand Praire - (2-8)
week 9- Irving High School- (6-4) Play-Offs
week 10- SGP (6-4)

Coppell had 6 outta 4 teams make the play-offs. And over the past 4 years, not one of the havnt made it play-offs at least once...

yeah told ya

Well, look at our schedule last year

Port Arthur Memorial (6-4) First Round
Waco (7-3) First Round
Lufkin (14-1) State Semifinalist (District Champion and was #2 in state)
Euless Trinity (10-4) State Semifinalist
North Mesquite (6-4) Flip Coin lost
Mesquite (7-5) 3rd Round
Rockwall (3-7)
Longview (12-1) 3rd Round (District Champion and was #4 in state)
Mesquite Horn (2-8)
Tyler John Tyler (2-8)

Thats a very hard season for Tyler Lee last year. We played alot of great teams.

[LeanderLions3033]

I'm going to give them credit where credit is due. Pflugerville having Judson and Smithson Valley is pretty tough, not to mention Kerville Tivy, they usually field a fairly good 4a team.