Ohio High school football not as powerful as once was?

W

Wolverines698

Active member
I am here not to judge what you all think but just to have friendly banter. Has Ohio fell off the table as one of the best states in America for high school football? Personally I believe so yes there is good talent but I see these other teams play on ESPN and they are just beast. No offense to the teams in the state title game but I believe they would both get pummeled. Actually I take that back if im correct I think Pick Central has played out of state high caliber teams and may stand a chance. When it comes to Elder they are not the Elder of old and I feel like they stand little chance in the State game and honestly none compared to the state champions of other states! Would love to know your thoughts! And again I am not trying to be rude or argue just stating my opinion.
 
 
I do agree that it may not be the power it once one as top teams would go, but I think a lot of that has to do with how schools in other states get there talent. I won't be oblivious to the fact that some private schools and even your larger public schools in Ohio get kids from different area to play, but in my opinion it is better than some of the other states. I feel some of those national powers are power because they bring kids not only from all over their state, but also nearby states and it is hard for Ohio's best teams to compete. Ohio does very well in the aspect of teams still being somewhat local unlike the national super powers in my opinion.
 
I mean, you can watch IMG, St Joseph’s Prep of PA, Bishop Gorman et al on ESPN and draw a conclusion. But it wouldn’t be the best conclusion, since those teams take an approach to football too few in the nation do.

The quality of football played in Ohio among their best teams, across all size classifications, is pretty solid. The GCL-S is still one of the most revered big school conferences in the Great Lakes region, if not the entire country. The MAC is largely considered a top small conference in the nation. There are several pockets of intense, well-played football competition in Ohio where every week is a dogfight (in addition to those two aforementioned leagues, the Ohio Capital Conference in Central Ohio.) Basically every team who made it to week 12 was A Good Team, and they all would likely fare very well against similarly sized competition in neighboring states.
 
The largest school in Ohio has 1299 boys. Only 6 schools in Ohio have over 1000 boys. The largest schools in Texas have between 2000 and 3000 boys. The 135th school size wise in Texas has an enrollment of around 1200 boys. You are comparing Apples to Oranges. Hey I just Watched Mount Union play and then I watched a Big 10 game. Why does the Big 10 look like it would beat Mount Union?
 
playboi12 said:
Those states mentioned above also allow spring football.
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Spring football has little to do with the perceived success in producing athletes in my opinion. Could you imagine condensing all of summit or stark county into 5 public high schools like my county does in Fla? 3 of the 5 high schools are around the size of Mentor in terms of enrollment and the smallest still has a larger enrollment than Massillon Perry. So one would expect these areas to field better teams just do to enrollment disparities.
 
Cincysportsguy said:
I am here not to judge what you all think but just to have friendly banter. Has Ohio fell off the table as one of the best states in America for high school football?
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Yes. Definitely at the elite level - they've fallen from top 3 into bottom half of top 10. Drop down a few divisions, and I think we're still about equal to the smaller schools in the sunshine states.
 
jeroe said:
The largest school in Ohio has 1299 boys. Only 6 schools in Ohio have over 1000 boys. The largest schools in Texas have between 2000 and 3000 boys. The 135th school size wise in Texas has an enrollment of around 1200 boys. You are comparing Apples to Oranges. Hey I just Watched Mount Union play and then I watched a Big 10 game. Why does the Big 10 look like it would beat Mount Union?
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That's 9-12 and Texas counts all students. Largest school is Allen that has 6,664 students.
 
jeroe said:
The largest school in Ohio has 1299 boys. Only 6 schools in Ohio have over 1000 boys. The largest schools in Texas have between 2000 and 3000 boys. The 135th school size wise in Texas has an enrollment of around 1200 boys. You are comparing Apples to Oranges. Hey I just Watched Mount Union play and then I watched a Big 10 game. Why does the Big 10 look like it would beat Mount Union?
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Imagine the team the four GCL schools and Colerain could put together, or Pick Central and North along with the two Hilliard schools, or Ed’s-Iggy-Mentor-Euclid, or even the two Massillon schools, McKinley, and Hoban. I’d put those 4 combo teams against anyone, including any of the Texas schools and any of the football academies.
 
I don't think the quality of football played by the top teams in Ohio is significantly worse than prior years, but I don't know that there are as many teams capable of playing at that top level as there were before. However, the even bigger problem seems to be what's happening at the middle tier and bottom tier programs. Around me, when the teams that are threats to make the playoffs every few years don't have average to above average talent, they don't seem to have ANY players who can help them compete against the top tier. The disparity between the haves and the have-nots seems to be increasing with the amount of transferring that happens every offseason. Basketball is in even worse shape in that regard. It's ridiculous how many teams in that sport lack athletes who can shoot or jump out of the gym while a handful of teams have no shortage of that type of athlete.

Also, QCB's comment about demographic trends should not be ignored. It's difficult to compete on the same level against other traditionally strong football states while their populations are growing and remaining "young." Meanwhile, this state's population is relatively stagnant and "aging." Our fellow traditional football power to the east, Pennsylvania, is in the same boat.
 
Interest in football has waned in recent years, with more potential players doing other sports. Football used to be pretty much unchallenged as THE sport for hs students. Now, with the proliferation of other sports ( I would dare say that your high school has added many sports since you attended) and the emphasis on specialization, resulting in year round commitment to that one sport, students must make a choice. Many have chosen to devote their time to something else.
 
Sykotyk said:
That's 9-12 and Texas counts all students. Largest school is Allen that has 6,664 students.
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If you would like me to be more exact I could be but it was not necessary. However the number 135 public school has 2586 students 9-12 grades which translates as I stated to approximately 1200 Boys. 2586/2 = 1293 at a 50% rate.
 
bomberinmonroe said:
Imagine the team the four GCL schools and Colerain could put together, or Pick Central and North along with the two Hilliard schools, or Ed’s-Iggy-Mentor-Euclid, or even the two Massillon schools, McKinley, and Hoban. I’d put those 4 combo teams against anyone, including any of the Texas schools and any of the football academies.
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I agree with you 100%. The quality of Football in the other states is not greater than Ohio. I am talking Xs and Os. If any of the groups you listed became a single team they would compete with anyone anywhere with the coaching that exists in Ohio!
 
Mr. Slippery said:
I don't think the quality of football played by the top teams in Ohio is significantly worse than prior years, but I don't know that there are as many teams capable of playing at that top level as there were before. However, the even bigger problem seems to be what's happening at the middle tier and bottom tier programs. Around me, when the teams that are threats to make the playoffs every few years don't have average to above average talent, they don't seem to have ANY players who can help them compete against the top tier. The disparity between the haves and the have-nots seems to be increasing with the amount of transferring that happens every offseason. Basketball is in even worse shape in that regard. It's ridiculous how many teams in that sport lack athletes who can shoot or jump out of the gym while a handful of teams have no shortage of that type of athlete.
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This reminds me of girls basketball. Of all the sports, girls basketball seems like it has the most talent congregating to one school. There are teams that literally have first time players joining up and other schools that have kids getting cut that played since they were 6.
 
bomberinmonroe said:
Imagine the team the four GCL schools and Colerain could put together, or Pick Central and North along with the two Hilliard schools, or Ed’s-Iggy-Mentor-Euclid, or even the two Massillon schools, McKinley, and Hoban. I’d put those 4 combo teams against anyone, including any of the Texas schools and any of the football academies.
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That’s a little of a stretch. You took the 4 best team in their respective regions. More realistic combinations of schools would be the Pickington schools, Reynoldsburg, and GM combining into a school. Or Washington, Jackson, Perry and Hoover combining. Or Whitmer, Perrysburg and all the Toledo public schools. Even then, those would be some incredibly impressive teams. Nobody would play both ways and there would be athletes everywhere.
 
HighSchoolFB45 said:
That’s a little of a stretch. You took the 4 best team in their respective regions. More realistic combinations of schools would be the Pickington schools, Reynoldsburg, and GM combining into a school. Or Washington, Jackson, Perry and Hoover combining. Or Whitmer, Perrysburg and all the Toledo public schools. Even then, those would be some incredibly impressive teams. Nobody would play both ways and there would be athletes everywhere.
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That’s fair, and I think you’re also correct about even a more balanced combination of teams being a power most teams nationally would not want to tangle with.
 
HighSchoolFB45 said:
That’s a little of a stretch. You took the 4 best team in their respective regions. More realistic combinations of schools would be the Pickington schools, Reynoldsburg, and GM combining into a school. Or Washington, Jackson, Perry and Hoover combining. Or Whitmer, Perrysburg and all the Toledo public schools. Even then, those would be some incredibly impressive teams. Nobody would play both ways and there would be athletes everywhere.
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I would say putting the Massillon schools only Massillon, Perry, Jackson and Tuslaw and you have a beast. Putting just the Hillard schools or the Pickerington Schools. or the Canton Schools etc.. are straight BEASTS! Start combining Akron city Schools that have produced super stars and they are crazy skilled. The Youngstown area look out. The point is the same. I would put these groupings against anyone anywhere. The same for anywhere in Ohio!
 
The best example of the decline of OH HS football would be a .500 X team winning state.

And this isn’t a dig at X, it’s just ReLoad/CSG is being a huge tool. I don’t care if you root for, against, or are indifferent of Elder in the Title game. These threads and comments diminishing the team and specific players are typical low class ReLoad garbage.
 
Omar said:
The best example of the decline of OH HS football would be a .500 X team winning state.

And this isn’t a dig at X, it’s just ReLoad/CSG is being a huge tool. I don’t care if you root for, against, or are indifferent of Elder in the Title game. These threads and comments diminishing the team and specific players are typical low class ReLoad garbage.
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We don’t have a Prep school
 
Raider6309 said:
We don’t have a Prep school
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It’s all relative. Texas, Florida, California have more talent. However, CA is dominated by shady programs like Mater Dei and Bosco. New Jersey and PA might have better talent but I’m not sure they have the depth of quality teams. All of the good NJ teams play in the Big North and they hoard all of the talent through recruiting, which is legal in that state.
 
Combine Massillon, Perry, Tuslaw, Northwest, and Fairless into one 9-12 high school.

Like Murph said, that team would be approx the size of some of the public high schools in our region of Florida. Those teams don't hold a candle to the consistent talent that comes out of much smaller schools in NEO.
 
Martinsburg in WV has basically become a prep school, they would probably beat Pick Central pretty easily
 
I don't what the rules are in other states as far as when teams can start tackling in practice or how much they are allowed to practice. In Ohio tackling has become a lost art, a lot of missed tackles on Friday night. Also look at OSU most of the Buckeyes top skill players are from the south or California.
 
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