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.

Continue reading “Week 1 (Michigan)”

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.

Continue reading “Week 0 (Kentucky)”

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.

Continue reading “2017 Week 1 (Tennessee)”

2015 Mid Season

2015 Mid Season Report

Well, it’s on the verge of Week 14 in Ohio, so I’m ready for a Midseason report, as it were. Since my last post, my wife and I have traveled to New York and Iowa. As well as smaller trips to the Cleveland area and northern West Virginia. For Weeks 8, 9, and 10 we’ve seen four games each weekend. A Thursday night, a Friday night, and two games each Saturday.

Week 11 included six games. A consolation game, a playoff doubleheader on Thursday, and the regular Friday and Saturday plans. Week 12 was in Iowa and Week 13 was a surprisingly sparse affair, with just three games locally. As of today, I’ve attended 71 games, while my wife has attended 64.

Continue reading “2015 Mid Season”

2015 Early Season

2015 Early Season Report

Well, it’s as good a time as any to write up about the first seven weeks of the 2015 High School Football season. I had intended to write recaps of Kentucky and Tennessee from Week 0 and New York from Week 2. In between, there was also one game from West Virginia. The rest were my usual games around Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Continue reading “2015 Early Season”

2014 Year in Review

2014 Year in Review

Shaker Heights v. Stow-Munroe Falls in Shaker Heights, OH -- 9/27/14
Shaker Heights Archway — September 27, 2014

After two straight years of watching 100 high school football games in person, I blew by that number with ease. This year I had several big weekends around the country and had reached 100 in time for a Thursday night game in Baltimore in Week 15. By the end of the season, I had witnessed in person 127 high school football games. My girlfriend was with me for 114 of them. Of the games I saw, 3 games were 8-man (Iowa and Nebraska) and 1 was 9-man (Minnesota).

Now, as I’ve done in the past, this is a breakdown of my travels. This year I had seen games in 15 different states. I saw games on 19 different weekends. My first game of the year was on August 21st in Chattanooga, Tennessee and the last was on December 27th in Boca Raton, Florida. I watched games in 53 different venues in 52 different cities in 15 different states. I saw 240 different teams from 17 different states play. Of the 127 games I saw, 124 were complete games, while three games were finishes that I saw after another game ended (once), that was a postponement that had already played a quarter (once) or I was sick and arrived around halftime (once).

Continue reading “2014 Year in Review”

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.

Continue reading “2014 Week 17 (Texas)”

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.

Continue reading “2014 Week 16 (Pennsylvania)”

2014 Week 15 (Maryland & New Jersey)

Week 15 (Maryland & New Jersey)

This was a difficult decision for me. For the first time in years I opted not to attend the Ohio state championships. Though the games were moved from Stark County to Columbus, it’s obvious that the travel wasn’t an issue for me. And neither was the cost. However, I wasn’t expecting the games to be worth the time and effort.

Continue reading “2014 Week 15 (Maryland & New Jersey)”