FB: Southern Athletic Association

[Hawks88]

Miles College signs agreement to purchase BSC campus. It'll be interesting to see how they pull this off.

https://www.wsfa.com/2024/09/25/miles-college-signs-purchase-agreement-acquire-birmingham-southern-campus/

[Ron Boerger]

Pretty quiet week in the SAA so good time to note that incoming Trinity QB Welker Horn was named the Private School recipient of the Built Ford Tough TXHSFB Player of the Week award after going 20 of 29 passing for 378 yards and five touchdowns in a 36-34 win over Wellington, their first loss, last Friday.  Wellington was ranked 8th in Texas' UIL 2A Division II prior to the loss. 

Welker also carried the ball 21 times for 74 yards.

[Ralph Turner]

Pretty quiet week in the SAA so good time to note that incoming Trinity QB Welker Horn was named the Private School recipient of the Built Ford Tough TXHSFB Player of the Week award after going 20 of 29 passing for 378 yards and five touchdowns in a 36-34 win over Wellington, their first loss, last Friday.  Wellington was ranked 8th in Texas' UIL 2A Division II prior to the loss. 

Welker also carried the ball 21 times for 74 yards.

Wellington HS reports a student body of 162.5 students to the UIL. That gives you an idea of the size of the competition in Classification 2A Division II. 20 of 29 accuracy is pretty good, tho'.

[ASCleatus]

Pretty quiet week in the SAA so good time to note that incoming Trinity QB Welker Horn was named the Private School recipient of the Built Ford Tough TXHSFB Player of the Week award after going 20 of 29 passing for 378 yards and five touchdowns in a 36-34 win over Wellington, their first loss, last Friday.  Wellington was ranked 8th in Texas' UIL 2A Division II prior to the loss. 

Welker also carried the ball 21 times for 74 yards.

Wellington HS reports a student body of 162.5 students to the UIL. That gives you an idea of the size of the competition in Classification 2A Division II. 20 of 29 accuracy is pretty good, tho'.

I played in class 2a, it was 1A back then before 6A existed and 6 man was a different classification system, but several district opponents became my teammates at an ASC school with others going to midwestern st, tarleton, West texas A&M, and a couple went D1.

Played against LJ Collier (TCU-1st rd pick by seahawks) and James Washington (Ok st -drafted Rd 2 by steelers)

There is some talent in the smaller classifications in Texas.

[Riley Zayas]

Pretty quiet week in the SAA so good time to note that incoming Trinity QB Welker Horn was named the Private School recipient of the Built Ford Tough TXHSFB Player of the Week award after going 20 of 29 passing for 378 yards and five touchdowns in a 36-34 win over Wellington, their first loss, last Friday.  Wellington was ranked 8th in Texas' UIL 2A Division II prior to the loss. 

Welker also carried the ball 21 times for 74 yards.

Wellington HS reports a student body of 162.5 students to the UIL. That gives you an idea of the size of the competition in Classification 2A Division II. 20 of 29 accuracy is pretty good, tho'.

I played in class 2a, it was 1A back then before 6A existed and 6 man was a different classification system, but several district opponents became my teammates at an ASC school with others going to midwestern st, tarleton, West texas A&M, and a couple went D1.

Played against LJ Collier (TCU-1st rd pick by seahawks) and James Washington (Ok st -drafted Rd 2 by steelers)

There is some talent in the smaller classifications in Texas.

Can't agree with this more. I mean, a 1A school (six-man football) with 100 students had a kid being recruited by numerous FBS schools last season (Grayson Rigdon). Texas HS Football has so much talent and HS programs are incredibly important in those small communities. Not sure how it works in other states, but in Texas, there are alway D1 caliber players at the 2A and 3A levels.

[crufootball]

Pretty quiet week in the SAA so good time to note that incoming Trinity QB Welker Horn was named the Private School recipient of the Built Ford Tough TXHSFB Player of the Week award after going 20 of 29 passing for 378 yards and five touchdowns in a 36-34 win over Wellington, their first loss, last Friday.  Wellington was ranked 8th in Texas' UIL 2A Division II prior to the loss. 

Welker also carried the ball 21 times for 74 yards.

Wellington HS reports a student body of 162.5 students to the UIL. That gives you an idea of the size of the competition in Classification 2A Division II. 20 of 29 accuracy is pretty good, tho'.

I played in class 2a, it was 1A back then before 6A existed and 6 man was a different classification system, but several district opponents became my teammates at an ASC school with others going to midwestern st, tarleton, West texas A&M, and a couple went D1.

Played against LJ Collier (TCU-1st rd pick by seahawks) and James Washington (Ok st -drafted Rd 2 by steelers)

There is some talent in the smaller classifications in Texas.

Can't agree with this more. I mean, a 1A school (six-man football) with 100 students had a kid being recruited by numerous FBS schools last season (Grayson Rigdon). Texas HS Football has so much talent and HS programs are incredibly important in those small communities. Not sure how it works in other states, but in Texas, there are alway D1 caliber players at the 2A and 3A levels.

Seems to me this is a situation where two things can be true at once.

Are there high caliber athletes in the low A classification in Texas HS football, yes, is it rare that many of them are recruited to high levels of college, also yes.

It's kind of like D3 football when you think of it, are there very skilled players at this level that can play in the NFL some day, yes, but it is going to be an uphill battle to get there because people will have reservations about trusting the overall quality of play.

[Gray Fox]

Pretty quiet week in the SAA so good time to note that incoming Trinity QB Welker Horn was named the Private School recipient of the Built Ford Tough TXHSFB Player of the Week award after going 20 of 29 passing for 378 yards and five touchdowns in a 36-34 win over Wellington, their first loss, last Friday.  Wellington was ranked 8th in Texas' UIL 2A Division II prior to the loss. 

Welker also carried the ball 21 times for 74 yards.

Wellington HS reports a student body of 162.5 students to the UIL. That gives you an idea of the size of the competition in Classification 2A Division II. 20 of 29 accuracy is pretty good, tho'.

I played in class 2a, it was 1A back then before 6A existed and 6 man was a different classification system, but several district opponents became my teammates at an ASC school with others going to midwestern st, tarleton, West texas A&M, and a couple went D1.

Played against LJ Collier (TCU-1st rd pick by seahawks) and James Washington (Ok st -drafted Rd 2 by steelers)

There is some talent in the smaller classifications in Texas.

Can't agree with this more. I mean, a 1A school (six-man football) with 100 students had a kid being recruited by numerous FBS schools last season (Grayson Rigdon). Texas HS Football has so much talent and HS programs are incredibly important in those small communities. Not sure how it works in other states, but in Texas, there are alway D1 caliber players at the 2A and 3A levels.

I think it works in Nebraska.

[Ralph Turner]

Can't agree with this more. I mean, a 1A school (six-man football) with 100 students had a kid being recruited by numerous FBS schools last season (Grayson Rigdon). Texas HS Football has so much talent and HS programs are incredibly important in those small communities. Not sure how it works in other states, but in Texas, there are alway D1 caliber players at the 2A and 3A levels.

I have 2 grandsons who played football in other states.

One in Colorado was 6'2" and ran a sub 12 100Meters. He was tall and lanky but had wrestled in lower grades and always been a blocker in PeeWee leagues. In a high school of 1300 students, he was captain of the JV team as a junior and scored 54 points many on crossing patterns behind the LB's and then outran the DB's. The handwriting was on the wall and he did not return for his senior season. Most of his HS coaches were part-time. I believe he would have had a better experience in Texas. They did not know how to use him.

The other played in 4A in Alabama. The coaching was a little better, but not as good as I remember when I played or what I have seen contemporaneously in Texas. He was a running back with 11.3 sec speed in the 100M. He suffered injuries in 3 of his 4 seasons on the varsity in High School.

The UIL (and TMEA) are an incredibly valuable organizations for interscholastic activities.

(As for those HS bands, those high school bands were ...  well. let's say our Texas high school bands are outstanding. IMHO, when the athletic coaches and the band director are on the same page, they have control of the high school, and great things usually happen.)

[Gray Fox]

Can't agree with this more. I mean, a 1A school (six-man football) with 100 students had a kid being recruited by numerous FBS schools last season (Grayson Rigdon). Texas HS Football has so much talent and HS programs are incredibly important in those small communities. Not sure how it works in other states, but in Texas, there are alway D1 caliber players at the 2A and 3A levels.

I have 2 grandsons who played football in other states.

One in Colorado was 6'2" and ran a sub 12 100Meters. He was tall and lanky but had wrestled in lower grades and always been a blocker in PeeWee leagues. In a high school of 1300 students, he was captain of the JV team as a junior and scored 54 points many on crossing patterns behind the LB's and then outran the DB's. The handwriting was on the wall and he did not return for his senior season. Most of his HS coaches were part-time. I believe he would have had a better experience in Texas. They did not know how to use him.

The other played in 4A in Alabama. The coaching was a little better, but not as good as I remember when I played or what I have seen contemporaneously in Texas. He was a running back with 11.3 sec speed in the 100M. He suffered injuries in 3 of his 4 seasons on the varsity in High School.

The UIL (and TMEA) are an incredibly valuable organizations for interscholastic activities.

(As for those HS bands, those high school bands were ...  well. let's say our Texas high school bands are outstanding. IMHO, when the athletic coaches and the band director are on the same page, they have control of the high school, and great things usually happen.)

Texas coaches are great at all levels. California coaches are good at the highest levels, but are a mixed bag below that.

[Ron Boerger]

SAA football continued an abbreviated schedule last weekend as Millsaps (2-1, 1-0 SAA) pulled away in the second half to defeat Sewanee (1-3, 0-1), 31-21.  Majors QB Cole Cantanella had a day, completing 31-38 for 381 yards and three TDs, while suffering two interceptions. 

This week most of the conference is in action:

Trinity (2-1/0-0) at Centre (2-1/0-0) - the two best scoring defenses in early action meet; Trinity is allowing 18.3 PPG and Centre, 21.3.  Which Trinity offense shows up, the one that throttled Belhaven, or the one that has struggled the rest of the season?  The Colonels for their part will try to get the bad taste out of their mouths from a narrow loss to Hampden-Sydney last week, when two potential game winning drives were ended by interceptions, one near the HSC goal line. 

Southwestern (2-1/0-1) at Berry (2-1/0-0) - Southwestern is having surprising success so far after a horrid 2023, but may be hard pressed to come away with a win against a Berry team that is figuring out ways to win when Brandon Cade is held in check.  In their upset win two weeks ago at Randolph-Macon, Cade was held to 60 yards on 23 carries, but did score twice.  QB Christian Lewis is still growing into his role as starter and had a much better week than against DePauw, completing nearly half of his 38 passes for 260 yards, two scores, and two interceptions.  The story of the win came from the Berry defense which held R-MC to 239 yards.  Southwestern surprised McMurry in the opener and pounded Puget Sound the following week, but lost two weeks ago at Hendrix, 35-20.

Hendrix (3-1/1-0) at Rhodes (1-2/0-0) - Hendrix needed a career first FG from Clay Brandenberg (27 yards) to ease past Huntingdon 31-28, with QB Jacob Buniff going 17-33-304 with three TDs and an interception.  Over half his completions (nine) went to Kanyn Utley, whose 152 yards were exactly half Buniff's total.  Rhodes' two losses have been to good Wash U and Shenandoah teams, their victory a blowout of hapless Austin.  The Warriors' conference-leading offense (402 ypg) may be too much for the Lynx to handle, but their defense allows nearly as many yards per game (389.0).

Austin, Sewanee, and Millsaps are off this week. 

[ASCleatus]

Having coaches that know how to use a p

Can't agree with this more. I mean, a 1A school (six-man football) with 100 students had a kid being recruited by numerous FBS schools last season (Grayson Rigdon). Texas HS Football has so much talent and HS programs are incredibly important in those small communities. Not sure how it works in other states, but in Texas, there are alway D1 caliber players at the 2A and 3A levels.

I have 2 grandsons who played football in other states.

One in Colorado was 6'2" and ran a sub 12 100Meters. He was tall and lanky but had wrestled in lower grades and always been a blocker in PeeWee leagues. In a high school of 1300 students, he was captain of the JV team as a junior and scored 54 points many on crossing patterns behind the LB's and then outran the DB's. The handwriting was on the wall and he did not return for his senior season. Most of his HS coaches were part-time. I believe he would have had a better experience in Texas. They did not know how to use him.

The other played in 4A in Alabama. The coaching was a little better, but not as good as I remember when I played or what I have seen contemporaneously in Texas. He was a running back with 11.3 sec speed in the 100M. He suffered injuries in 3 of his 4 seasons on the varsity in High School.

The UIL (and TMEA) are an incredibly valuable organizations for interscholastic activities.

(As for those HS bands, those high school bands were ...  well. let's say our Texas high school bands are outstanding. IMHO, when the athletic coaches and the band director are on the same page, they have control of the high school, and great things usually happen.)

[/quote]

Having good coaches who know how to use a player correctly and develop them is crucial. After that, marketing is key. The smaller level school you play the harder it is to get your name out. If a small school player isn't a multiyear starter for a team that makes deep playoff runs they probably wont get recruited or noticed.

Several small school athletes have to reach out to schools and beg for a chance vs the schools finding them.

[tigerguy]

Enjoying Centre's announcers - very knowledgeable and well prepared. Not enjoying Trinity's play. Offense looks terrible. Defense not much better, although they've really just been killed on two big plays.

Edit: three

[tigerguy]

Went back and looked and its #27 DB for Trinity John McAdams who has given up each of the big plays on defense. He's really getting picked on. Not sure if he is regular starter or not but needs to be an adjustment there.

[D3Navy]

Trinity not tackling.

Cameraman not watching.

Not a fun game for Trinity fans.

[Ron Boerger]

Just one of the most desultory efforts I've seen out of Trinity in a long time.  So many missed open receivers while they found theirs.  Very little penetration against a team that averages 43 yards/game on the ground.  And we still can't complete the long ball.