Texas School for the Deaf Makes History, Wins 1st-Ever State Football Title
Dec 11, 2020
Detail view of an NFL football held in the snapping position by Tennessee Titans offensive tackle Ty Sambrailo (70) as he warms up before an NFL football game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2020, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Brett Carlsen)
The Texas School for the Deaf won the Six-Man TAPPS Division I Championship on Friday after taking down Veritas Academy 63-32.
The Austin-based school led 30-16 at halftime and 42-24 heading into the fourth quarter before scoring three more touchdowns for the win.
The Rangers were featured on the Today Show on Friday:
A high school football team will be playing for its first state championship in Texas tonight, making history in more ways than one. @BreakingChesky introduces us to the Texas School for the Deaf football team. pic.twitter.com/GqOXIr0pXd
The state champion's offense moves to the vibration of a large drum on the sideline, a concept that head coach John Moore designed.
A designated person uses a bat wrapped heavily in tape, and the team marches on through a beat count.
"Oh yeah, everybody can feel it!" Moore told NBC's Morgan Chesky. "All of us! The referees hate it because the drum is right behind the referee. And you see them just, each time you can see them flinch. So maybe we need to have more deaf referees."
Superintendent Claire Bugen also spoke about the drum to KXAN, Austin's NBC affiliate:
"It's become kind of a legend at TSD and in the deaf community and I don't know if the neighbors would agree but it is really characteristic of our deaf football team. It's a beautiful way to feel the vibrations. A lot of people all can feel those vibrations and that's what the drum does, it calls the play through vibration."
Bugen told Chesky that she nearly canceled the season amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Ultimately, the Texas School for the Deaf dropped down from an 11-man division to six-man football because of a depleted roster. Moore noted that the team had to adjust to new rules and an 80-yard field.
The Texas School for the Deaf finished its season on a four-game winning streak and averaged 48.6 points per game over its 10 contests, capped off by its first state football title in the program's 63-year history.
Emmanuel Duron Arrested on Assault Charge; Edinburg HS out of Texas Playoffs
Dec 4, 2020
Carolina Panthers kicker Graham Gano's game-winning field goal splits the uprights at the end of an NFL football game against the New England Patriots, Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017, in Foxborough, Mass. The Panthers won 33-30. (AP Photo/Bill Sikes)
Edinburg High School is out of the Texas state football playoffs after a star defensive lineman for the school attacked a referee Thursday night, resulting in his arrest.
Per ESPN, Edinburg senior defensive lineman Emmanuel Duron was ejected from Thursday's game against Pharr-San Juan-Alamo for unsportsmanlike conduct. In response, Duron charged at referee Fred Gracia and knocked him over:
Emmanuel Duron, Edinburg High defensive end and top area wrestler is ejected from tonight's game versus PSJA and subsequently attacks the referee.
According to TMZ, Duron was arrested Friday for "assault causing bodily injury." His bond was set at $10,000.
Duron was escorted off the field by police officers and Gracia was evaluated for a potential concussion and shoulder injury as a result of the assault.
Edinburg won the game 35-21 to qualify for the playoffs, but the Edinburg Consolidated Independent School District (h/t Matt Howe of 247Sports), released a statement Friday, announcing the district removed Edinburg from the playoffs as a result of Duron's actions:
"The district has decided to remove the Edinburg High School football team from the playoffs after an unexpected incident involving a student that occurred during a football game on December 3, 2020. We extend a sincere apology to the referee and his family. On behalf of the Edinburg CISD Board of Trustees and administration, we apologize to the athletes, staff, and our school community. "We will take the appropriate disciplinary action once we understand the facts and circumstances underlining this incident. The district takes these matters very seriously; however, we cannot comment further on a pending investigation."
The Texas Association of Sports Officials is investigating the incident, and ESPN's Tom VanHaaren tweeted the TASO's statement on the matter:
Texas Association of Sports Officials is investigating the incident that occurred last night when a high school football player charged the field & knocked a referee to the ground.
Statement says “This type of blind-sided assault on an official...is not new to Texas football.” pic.twitter.com/JCFOugR8Zy
Per Andrew McCulloch of The Monitor, Thursday was not the first time Duron went after an official, as he previously did so during a soccer match, which resulted in him being suspended for the remainder of the 2019-20 season.
In football, Duron was named the District 31-6A Defensive Player of the Year last season, and he also serves as the team's kicker and punter.
Edinburg High School's Emmanuel Duron Body Slams Referee on Video After Ejection
Dec 3, 2020
A goalpost is seen before an NCAA college football game between Indiana and Ohio State, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2019, in Bloomington, Ind. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
A high school football player was escorted off the field by police after attacking a referee who ejected him on Thursday night just before halftime.
Edinburg High School's Emmanuel Duron sprinted from the sidelines and body slammed an official as teammates and coaches chased behind him. The referee was carted off the field and taken for medical attention. He did not return to the game.
According to Andrew McCulloch of RGV Sports and The Monitor, Duron had been Edinburg's star player all season and was set to compete for a state wrestling title this winter. He also served as the football team's kicker and punter.
Officers who removed Duron from the stadium reportedly declined comment.
Edinburg defeated PSJA High School, 35-21.
Arch Manning Leads Isidore Newman to 55-22 Win over Booker T. Washington
Oct 16, 2020
IMAGE DISTRIBUTED FOR NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE - In this photo released by the NFL, Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning and New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning visit Isidore Newman School in New Orleans on Thursday, July 9, 2015. (Jonathan Bachman/AP Images for National Football League)
The Manning family legacy will live on.
Arch Manning, the nephew of future Hall of Famers Peyton and Eli, grandson of Archie and son of Cooper Manning threw for 241 yards and a touchdown while running for two more to lead the Isidore Newman School to a win over Booker T. Washington, 55-22, in an ESPN2-aired matchup between a pair of undefeated New Orleans high school teams.
However, Manning wasn't named the GEICO Player of the Game by the ESPN crew—that honor went to Harvard-bound Sterling Scott, who added two rushing touchdowns and an interception in the win.
Harvard-bound Sterling Scott is probably the player of the game, with a 30-yard TD sprint, his second of the game to go along with a Pick 6. Newman leads 48-22 4:55 4Q. KIPP Booker T. Washington vs Newman | Football | 10/15 | MaxPreps https://t.co/GBfs0qJuO7 via @MaxPreps
The 6-foot-3, 195-pound Manning is the top-ranked quarterback and fifth-overall prospect in the Class of 2023, and had picked up 471 yards and six touchdowns while rushing for three more scores heading into Thursday night's game. In their first two games of the season, Isidore Newman had outscored opponents 68-7.
Facing their first true test of the season in Booker T. Washington, who they defeated 27-20 last season, Manning also faced a familiar opponent in senior defensive back Keith Hampton. Hampton intercepted Manning three times in their outing last season, accounting for half of his interceptions on the year, and through four quarters tonight, Hampton picked him off twice.
Manning set up a touchdown on the first drive of the game to give the Greenies a 7-0 lead before Booker T. Washington answered with a score and a two-point conversion. With a quick quarterback sneak from the 1-yard line, he set them back up for the 14-8 advantage. Harvard-bound Sterling Scott turned a pick-six back 20 yards to make it 21-8 at the end of the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Booker T. Washington turned to wide receiver Tyrese Johnson, an Arizona commit, to fill in at quarterback and run a 40-yard keeper, which brought a new energy to the contest. Manning got the ball back with Booker creeping in 21-16, and was whistled for intentional grounding on a throwaway play. At the end of the half, he found A.J. Johnson in the end zone on third down to give Newman a 28-16 lead. The insurance score was the pair's fourth touchdown of the season. Manning closed the first half with 14-of-18 passing for 154 yards and a touchdown, with two carries for 20 yards and another touchdown (h/t NOLA.com).
— Turk Sports / The Turk Foundn. (@Turk_Sports_) October 16, 2020
Manning was picked off by Booker's Keith Hampton to start the third quarter, but the Newman defense did the same on the next drive, and another run from Scott made it 35-16. As the Greenies advanced toward the Booker endzone, Hampton intercepted Manning a second time and ran it back 75 yards to the house to make it 35-22. In the fourth quarter, another keeper from Manning and a pair of scores from Scott and Joseph Pleasant ended it at 55-22.
— Turk Sports / The Turk Foundn. (@Turk_Sports_) October 16, 2020
Manning is coming off of a 9-1 freshman campaign that saw him collect 2,438 passing yards and 34 touchdowns while throwing just six interceptions. According to 247Sports, he has offers in place from Alabama, Boston College, Duke, Georgia, LSU, North Carolina, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Texas and Oklahoma.
Isidore Newman head coach Nelson Stewart noted that Manning is a versatile player who has "a great resource" with his family, but "is his own entity" (h/t ESPN):
"He's not just one thing and he's not a system quarterback. If you need him to run zone reads, he can do it. You see him scramble and can find someone in the back of the end zone, throw it 25 yards on a rope, and he can just spot-throw the points when he's moving around. That's where the special part of it comes, that he just has the innate ability that most people his age don't have."
Goal line marker on the field during an NFL football game in Detroit, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2019. (AP Images/Rick Osentoski)
There was no band on the field, but the Hillcrest High School Patriots from Alabama still pulled off one of the greatest game-ending lateral plays in football history Friday night to shock the Wetumpka High School Indians.
Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa (AL) was down 30-28 at their own 41-yard line with 2.9 seconds left.
WVTM noted Hillcrest quarterback Ethan Crawford started the play with a quick pass to running back Marcus Wilkins and then, after nine laterals and a fumble that narrowly squeaked out of the hands of a Wetumpka defender, Crawford was back in possession of the ball and ran for the game-winning touchdown.
The stunning 34-30 win kept the Patriots undefeated at 4-0, while the Indians dropped to 2-2.
It was reminiscent of "The Play," which saw the Cal Golden Bears use several laterals on a kickoff return to defeat the Stanford Cardinal as time expired during a game in November 1982. The Stanford band was already on the field, leading to an unforgettable play-by-play call:
As MLB legend Yogi Berra once said, it ain't over till it's over.
La Salle HS Football Player Isaiah Turner Collapses and Dies After Practice
Sep 5, 2020
NFL Wilson footballs sit on the field during warmups before an NFL football game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cincinnati Bengals at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Monday, Sept. 30, 2019. (AP Photo/Don Wright)
Isaiah Turner, who was a 17-year-old football player at La Salle College High School in the Philadelphia area, died after he collapsed following a Friday practice.
Phil Anastasia of the Philadelphia Inquirer reported the news, noting Turner was rushed to the hospital and eventually pronounced dead.
"He was a joy," Chris Carabello, La Salle's director of marketing and public relations, said. "He was one of those kids who knew he was loved at La Salle. He was loved by the kids, loved by the coaches, loved by the faculty. He was a tough kid not to love."
There was a memorial service for Turner on Saturday, which was attended by teammates, coaches and members of his family.
While he played defensive tackle during the 2019 campaign, he was expected to play offensive guard this season.
Turner also played on the school's basketball team.
Alabama HS Football Game Postponed over Racist Social Media Posts
Sep 4, 2020
A group of footballs waits for warmups prior to an NCAA college football game between North Carolina State and the Ball State in Raleigh, N.C., Saturday, Sept. 21, 2019. (AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker)
Officials from Huntsville City Schools in Alabama postponed a high school football game between Grissom High School and Huntsville High School after students posted racist messages in the buildup to the rivalry clash.
USA Today's Analis Bailey shared a statement from Huntsville City Schools superintendent Christie Finley:
"I was made aware of instances of inappropriate social media posts created and shared by several students. These posts turned racially motivated and violent images into 'rivalry material.' The students involved in this incident trivialized racism and violence. Huntsville City Schools does not tolerate or condone racism or violence, and frankly, I expect better of our students."
Josh Moonof the Alabama Political Reporter described some of the posts:
"In one, a photo from the scene in which George Floyd was allegedly murdered by Minneapolis, Huntsville was portrayed as the officer and Grissom as Floyd, lying on the ground.
"There were also screenshots of students' replies to the memes, which included threats of violence back and forth."
AL.com'sDennis Victory and Ben Thomasprovided Finley's full letter to parents. She explained the students who posted the racist messages "will be punished according to our Behavioral Learning Guide" but wouldn't disclose the nature of the punishments.
Finley added she moved to postpone the event for reasons of student safety.
The game was originally scheduled for Friday but pushed back to Sept. 24, which was an open date for both teams.
Utah HS Football Game Stopped Because Fans Not Following COVID-19 Protocols
Aug 21, 2020
Carolina Panthers kicker Graham Gano's game-winning field goal splits the uprights at the end of an NFL football game against the New England Patriots, Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017, in Foxborough, Mass. The Panthers won 33-30. (AP Photo/Bill Sikes)
A high school football game in Utah was temporarily stopped Thursday because some fans in attendance were not wearing masks or following social distancing guidelines.
As seen in the following video courtesy of Stadium, American Fork High School athletic director Jeremy Lewis addressed the fans and told them they must follow COVID-19 protocols in order for the game to resume:
American Fork High School AD Jeremy Lewis stopped his school's football game due to fans not following mask and social distancing requirements.
Several fans could be seen not wearing masks in the video, and many of them were seated close together rather than being spaced out in their proper seats.
American Fork beat Timpview High School 31-21 to improve to 2-0 on the 2020 season, while Timpview fell to 0-2.
Last season, American Fork reached the 6A State Championship Game, but the Cavemen fell 49-14 to Corner Canyon High School.
Because of the coronavirus pandemic, there isn't much uniformity across the United States in terms of when high school football will be played.
Utah is among the states that started on time, but several have decided to delay the fall season or move it to 2020.
Multiple FBS college conferences have opted to delay their seasons until the spring as well, although the SEC, ACC and Big 12 are among the conferences planning to play fall football.
The NFL season is scheduled to begin in September.
Texas Delays HS Football Season for Biggest Schools Until Sept. 24 amid Pandemic
Jul 21, 2020
A pylon displays a sign for the UIL state football championships in the end zone in Arlington, Texas, Saturday, Dec. 17, 2016. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
The University Interscholastic League has delayed the start of high school football for Texas' two largest conferences because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Class 6A and 5A schools were originally slated to begin practices Aug. 3 but will have to instead wait until Sept. 7, per the Dallas Morning News' Callie Caplan. As a result, their games will begin no earlier than Sept. 24.
Modified UIL Activities Calendar & COVID-19 Guidelines for 2020-2021 School Year
Caplan noted that schools in Class 4A and below can begin practices on time, but they could still be subject to local coronavirus-related restrictions. Dallas County, for example, has suspended all high school athletics until Sept. 7.
Under the current plan, the Class 6A and 5A playoffs would continue into January. They're traditionally over by Christmas.
UIL Executive Director Dr. Charles Breithaupt issued a statement on the move:
"Our goal in releasing this plan is to provide a path forward for Texas students and schools. While understanding situations change and there will likely be interruptions that will require flexibility and patience, we are hopeful this plan allows students to participate in the education-based activities they love in a way that prioritizes safety and mitigates risk of COVID-19 spread."
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott started slowly rolling back the statewide coronavirus-related measures in April. Mirroring the wider trend across the country, Texas began seeing an upward trend in confirmed cases as the summer has unfolded. Officials confirmed 7,404 new cases Monday, bringing its overall total to 332,434.
The state of California is experiencing a similar surge in the pandemic. The California Interscholastic Federation announced Monday it was pushing back the 2020 fall sports season until the spring of 2021.
Miami HS Coach Max Edwards Suspended; Allegedly Held Practices During Pandemic
May 23, 2020
Miami Northwestern's Brandon Drayton (6) runs for yardage against Southlake Carroll's Luke Anderson in a high school football game in Dallas on Saturday Sept. 15, 2007. Miami Northwestern won 29-21. (AP Photo/Mike Fuentes)
A high school football coach overseeing one of the top programs in Florida has been suspended for allegedly hosting practices during the coronavirus pandemic.
According to the Associated Press (h/t ESPN), Max Edwards of Miami Northwestern High School has been sidelined while the school district investigates. The district categorized football practices as an "unauthorized athletic activity."
Northwestern is a seven-time state champion, having won 6A titles in 2017 and 2018 as well as a 5A title in 2019.
Edwards took over the Northwestern program in 2014 after serving as an assistant from 1998 to 2004. The Bulls have gone 51-16 during his run.
The current roster boasts plenty of high-level recruits, per 247Sports, including 4-star receiver Romello Brinson and 3-star tight end Kahlil Brantley.
Brantley is currently committed to the Miami Hurricanes, while Brinson continues to consider offers from Miami, Alabama, Georgia, LSU and Texas A&M.
Even before Edwards was named head coach, the school had been churning out high-end NFL players. Northwestern's alumni include Teddy Bridgewater, Amari Cooper, Lavonte David, Eli Rogers, Sean Spence, Vernon Carey and DeAndre Baker.
According to Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald, Miami-Dade County Public Schools spokeswoman Daisy Gonzalez-Diego said in a statement that the investigation is only just beginning:
"Further action may be taken against others who may have been involved in this unsanctioned event. The school is in the process of communicating with parents of students who may have participated."
High school athletics were paused March 18, less than two weeks before spring practices were set to begin.
The number and intensity of Edwards' alleged practices during the pandemic remain undisclosed as the investigation continues. No timeline has been given for its completion.
