2018 Week 0 (Tennessee & Kentucky)
2018 started out as so many years have started. A trip to Kentucky for two bowls, and a Thursday night kickoff in Tennessee. This year I met up with a friend for the trip.
2018 Week 0 (Tennessee & Kentucky)
2017 Week 12 (South Dakota)
Week 12 (South Dakota)
My first time seeing games in South Dakota was the seven state championship games. All seven were held over three days at the DakotaDome in Vermillion. In the far southeastern corner of the state. Being the only dome available, in early November, this location made a lot of sense.
Vermillion is a small college town. It’s about an hour from the major city of South Dakota, Sioux Falls, and also about 45 minutes or so away from Sioux City. It’s located just a few miles north of Nebraska and the Missouri River.
2017 Week 7 (New York)
Week 7 (New York)
Just a quick trip this past week to New York on Thursday night. This was my second all-time trip to New York for a single game. And I was a little leery. Last time I drove to the Buffalo area for a Thursday game, I found out that earlier that day the game was rescheduled for another venue on the following Saturday.
Checking with Twitter though, it appeared the game between Lake Shore and West Seneca West would still be a go for Thursday. Without any particularly interesting game elsewhere in northeast Ohio or western Pennsylvania, I took the two and a half hour trip north.
2017 Week 4 (Alabama)
2017 Week 4 (Alabama)
Doing these slightly out of order now. Week Four’s big game was in the town of Guntersville, Alabama. The homestanding Guntersville Wildcats hosted the Etowah Blue Devils at Chorba-Lee Stadium.
With an entire state to choose from, picking a good game for Friday night was a bit difficult. While also trying to make it to a Saturday night game in Kentucky, the northeast corner of the state was the best option. Albertville was my original thought, but the best hotel deal was a few miles northwest in Guntersville.
Week 1 (Michigan)
Week 1 (Michigan)
This a little late, and I have several more states to go through. But, I will run down my trip to Michigan. For many years, the Detroit area has hosted the “Prep Kickoff Classic” much akin to the Crosstown Showdown. It is several games over a few days at one location. In years past, it was at Eastern Michigan University’s stadium in Ypsilanti. It was eventually moved to Wayne State, just west of downtown Detroit.
Week 0 (Kentucky)
Week 0 (Kentucky)
As has been the case the past few years, Week 0 is a trip to Kentucky. Now, one thing about Kentucky is their ‘bowl’ games. Other places around the country may have ‘kickoff classics’ or other events that start the season. Ohio has the Crosstown Showdown and the now-defunct Herbstreit Challenge. Syracuse has their 10-game behemoth at the Carrier Dome. Michigan now offers two kickoff classics. One at Wayne State and the other at Michigan Stadium. And Georgia boasts the venerable and interestingly name-saked Corky Kell Classic.
2017 Week 1 (Tennessee)
2017 Week 1 (Tennessee)
I may have slacked the past two years remarking on trips around the country. But, this year I decided to try and write some about games outside Ohio. Less on the games themselves, and more on just notes and observations about how other states do things.
As has been the case, my season started once again in Tennessee. This works great because it combined both my anniversary and a football trip into one. Now, other states start in Week 0, such as Indiana and Kentucky. However, Tennessee is one of the few that opens with games on Thursday.
2014 Week 18 (Florida)
Week 18 (Florida)
Normally, my high school football odyssey has ended with the final Texas UIL championship game. However, this year there was a new event taking place the last Saturday of the year.
2014 Week 17 (Texas)
Week 17 (Texas)
I originally hoped to get something down earlier but the week between Texas and Florida was a bit full for certain obvious reasons.
Basically, Week 17 was part of a three week trip for games in Texas and Florida, as well as a Christmas spent in Fort Lauderdale with my girlfriend’s family. It also gave me the chance to clinch a few more states in my quest to visit every county in the country. However, this write-up is to summarize the Texas portion of the trip.
2014 Week 16 (Pennsylvania)
Week 16 (Pennsylvania)
During Week 16, Pennsylvania hosted four championship games at Hersheypark Stadium in Hershey on Friday and Saturday. The games have been played at Hersheypark Stadium for quite some time now and is a rather great location for the games. The stadium, though decently sized for the crowd, is old and decrepit. Located just east of Harrisburg, Hershey is the home of the chocolate behemoth Hershey’s and all its related hoopla. Including Hersheypark, which is where the sports complex is located.