November 16, 2007
    Quarterback Tajh Boyd is listed in the game program as a 6-1 205 eleventh-grader who wears number 10 for the Phoebus Phantoms. After guiding them to a Division 5 state champion last year (in Virginia, Division 5 is the second-largest of the 5 Divisions, and Divisions 5 and 6 are Group AAA schools, the largest classification in Virginia) Tajh Boyd had led Phoebus to a 10-0 regular season entering tonight's game with cross-town rival Hampton High School. They were playing in a first-round Virginia High School League regional playoff football game.
    To get from Charlottesville in Central Virginia to Hampton I took the familiar route. I left very early for that 11-16-07 Friday night's 7:00 P.M. game, leaving Charlottesville at 1:30 P.M. After about 25 miles I got to Zion's Cross Roads, which college recruiters recognize as the exit for nationally famous Fork Union Military Academy. About 40 miles later, Exit 234 (for the College of William And Mary) appeared on my right.
    Right after that was Exit 243-A (for the entertainment park known as Busch Gardens). After going about 20 miles further on Route 64 east, the first sign for the city of Hampton appeared just before the 250-B Exit sign, and it said "Hampton 11(miles further)." Next, there was Exit 263 at the Hampton Coliseum. I took Exit 267, the Hampton University exit, which takes you through the downtown area past the space museum, and a mile away is Darling Stadium.
    The game was no contest. Hampton High may be 8th all-time in American high school football for most games won in their high school's history, but they lost tonight, 21-6. Hampton's offensive and defensive lines were pushed all over the field, any time Phoebus wanted to!
    More on Tajh Boyd. He is a graceful player who never seems to get flustered, hurried, or forced in to an awkward-looking play. To describe Tajh Boyd, he's an athlete who could play various positions at the Division 1-A level, including quarterback. He was wearing a gold helmet, jersey, and pants, with blue numbers. His team wore white socks and black shoes. Hampton High has the most expensive-looking football uniforms you're ever going to see on a high school team, which decades of success can produce: they wore black jerseys with red on the shoulders; black pants with red on the sides; red numerals with white outlines; and white shoes and socks. NFL teams would be satisfied looking like this. The field is surrounded by a reddish/orange jogging track for track and field events. When entering, fans must decide which side to watch the game from: fans are not allowed to switch sides of the stadium afterwards. Only one of the scoreboards was working. The weather was cold, around 40 degrees. Each school had a marching band, and Hampton High was the visiting team.
   The atmosphere was out-of-control on Tajh Boyds team's sideline, but he was unaffected by it (his coaching staff went bonkers during the first half over a call that was against Phoebus.) After the play, a Phoebus assistant could be seen walking up and down the sideline like a cheerleader, trying to get the fans to cheer. Is this against the rules? The officials did nothing about this particular act. My guess is that the referees didn't want to do anything further to increase the anger level in the stadium.
    Tajh Boyd scored first for Phoebus, zipping a 20-yard touchdown pass at the 11:36 mark of the 2nd quarter that gave the Phantoms a 7-6 lead. Unfortunately, he also threw an interception later on into an empty area of the field where a Hampton defender made a diving pick off at the 4:20 mark of the second quarter, which allowed the Crabbers to take over on their own 9-yard line.
    But Tajh Boyd came back with his second touchdown throw of the game, this time from 3 yards out, with just 20 seconds left in the first half, and this gave his Phoebus Phantoms a very surprising 14-6 advantage that they soon carried in to the halftime locker room. By then, the Hampton Crabber crowd had turned on their own QB, and the comparison between the two squad's quarterbacks was obvious.
    Boyd finished the first half completing six out of eight passes for 62 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. In the second half, Phoebus simply pushed Hampton's defensive line all over the field, and controlled the game with their rushing attack: Hampton could not get their hands on the ball. When they did, the Crabbers had no passing attack. Finally, they gave up passing the ball, and even though down 21-6, they were forced to run the ball even when conventional wisdom would have indicated that the only hope would have been to try to pass in order to catch up.

        November 9, 2007    
    A. J. Price . He's a senior at South Lakes High School, and I drove up Route 29 North, then took a right on to Route 66 East, to see him play tonight. It was very disappointing.
    A. J. Price is listed as being 6-4 175, and supposedly, according to 'rivals.com,' the University of Virginia is recruiting him very hard. South Lakes High is located in Reston, Virginia, but they were playing on the road in Vienna, Virginia against James Madison High in a Group AAA (large schools) playoff game.
   To describe A. J. Price , he was wearing jersey number 2, his team had on a white helmet, white shirts, white pants, white socks with high blue socks under those socks, white shoes, and he had a blue towel facing backwards behind his waist. The home team, James Madison High, had dark purple shirts, and black helmets, pants, socks, and shoes. The field was an expensive artificial turf that looked brand new. It was a large stadium behind a very old high school. For most of the first half, it was cold and raining: it was a good thing I was wearing several layers of clothing and jackets.    So I drove 100 miles or so from Charlottesville, Virginia to see the game. But A. J. Price did not catch a pass the entire game. Even worse, South Lakes High didn't even throw him the ball until the 6:59 mark of the second quarter! (High school football games are composed of four 12-minute quarters).
   Why didn't they throw A. J. Price the ball? From experience, I've noticed that there are always the same reasons for this. Usually, it's because the player is just not that good: a coach gets the ball in to the hands of his best player.
   South Lakes lost this game 35-3, ending their terrible season with a 3-8 record, while James Madison improved to 9-2. A. J. Price may be closer to 160 than 175: he is very thin. He might need a year at prep school after college for that reason. Who knows how good he really is? The quarterback on South Lakes does not have a college-strength arm, and did not seem able to throw the ball more than 20 yards past the line of scrimmage.
    A. J. Price also punts for South Lakes High, and he had a punt blocked when the defense poured in on him at the 8:50 mark of the first quarter. The fumble was returned for a TD, giving James Madison it's first lead at 7-6.
    A. J. Price made a nice slashing kick off return at the end of the first quarter. In the middle of the third quarter, South Lakes finally threw to him again, but by this point they were down 21-6, and he was double-teamed on each play: James Madison High was using one defender 5 feet from him at the line of scrimmage, and a second defender 15 yards back behind the first defender.
   So what should I make of all of this? A player can be a big-time player but play for a team that has no quarterback, no running game, poor pass-blocking, and a coach that doesn't know how to use him. He can also be a late bloomer due to a lack of physical strength. But as of right now, I'm skeptical about this player, and he looks more like a very tall Division 1-AA player instead of a Division 1-A prospect. (Yes, I know: 1-A and 1-AA terms are no longer used. But I prefer to use them until I'm convinced that their use is not coming back. Haha.)

    November 4, 2007    
    6-4 190 quarterback Quinton Hunter (see photo at right with him holding the football, ready to run or pass) plays quarterback for Orange County High School, which is about 25 miles north of Charlottesville, Virginia. He's a member of the Class of 2009, who colleges are watching closely.
    Quinton Hunter is a big-time threat as a runner or a passer for the Group AA school. He also has played basketball for the Hornets beginning with his freshman season. In his team's most recent game on November 2, Hunter passed for 186 yards and ran for 145. At least one ACC school has already offered him a scholarship. He played wide receiver as a freshman, when current West Virginia University quarterback Brad Starks was the Hornets QB.

    November 2, 2007
       Went to Sterling, Virginia. Drove up 29 North from Charlottesville up to Route 66, then took it east. Sterling is 112 miles from Charlottesville, Virginia.
   I was going to Dominion High School, a 5 year-old high school (Group AA) that was hosting Loudoun County High of Leesburg, Virginia in a 7:30 Friday night football game on 11-2-07.
   The Loudoun County Raiders won this game, 14-3. Dominion High looked terrible on offense: they had the worst passing game I've seen this year. However, I had come to this game to scout just one player-Dominion High's 5-9 165 freshman running back Deandre Reaves (see his photo at right, courtesy of Heather Terwilliger) of the Loudoun (Virginia) Times-Mirror.
   Deandre Reaves is their whole offense. He came in to the game averaging over 137 yards-per-game rushing. But he was stopped tonight, running for just 65 yards on 17 carries. With no passing game, his team could not keep the defense honest After tonight's game, he now has rushed for 1,274 yards on 202 carries for a 2-7 team, for a 6.3 yards-per-carry average. He has scored 11 total touchdowns on the season.
   One thing that stood out as I watched Deandre Reaves was his quickness. He reminded me of a Tiki Barber-type runner. Notice that I didn't say that he was another Tiki Barber! He just reminded me of a Tiki Barber-kind of a runner: fast, quick acceleration, very hard for a defender to get a good shot at, and tireless.
   To describe Deandre Reaves for those who have never seen him: he wore number 20, is African-American with fairly medium colored skin, 5-9 165 but seems much stronger for his weight, wore tape on both wrists, and like his team, everything he wore was black-his helmet, jersey, pants, socks, and shoes. His jersey number is white, and in his team's old-fashioned offense, one player lines up to the quarterback's left, diagonally behind the left tackle and facing the player snapping the football. Deandre Reaves may play this position, or he may play the same position on the quarterback's right. Of course, he may also play the third position, which is that of a running back who lines up right behind the quarterback or slightly behind and to one side of the quarterback.
   This type of offensive formation is ancient. It's also odd, because even with 4 players in the offensive backfield, the four line up as close together as possible to confuse the defense, and Deandre Reaves then winds up taking the handoff literally just a couple of feet behind the offensive line. In my opinion, this cuts down on taking advantage of his speed, and turns him more in to an inside runner.
   To describe the high school that Reaves plays for, Dominion High has had a poor season, and fan attendance was weak. Only about 1/3rd of the stadium was filled. It had just one banner out, that said, "Crush County!" referring to Loudoun County. On the top of the scoreboard were the words, "Home Of The Titans." There was a big "T" in the middle of the field, which was very worn out down the middle between the 20 yard-lines.
   It's hard to imagine that Deandre Reaves is merely a high school ninth-grader. If Deandre Reaves continues to put on weight, he'll be the best running back in Virginia as a tenth-grader next season. But who knows? Only time will tell. So much can happen after a player's freshman season in high school: it's a long time between then and college football. A player who appears to be a college football prospect can wind up being a future NFL prospect or a Division III (non-scholarship) college player, depending on if he keeps developing.
   It will be fun watching Deandre Reaves play and develop.

    October 26, 2007    
    It was a disappointing day: I phoned Brooke Point High School in Stafford, Virginia early this morning to ask if tonight's home game against fellow Group AAA member Albemarle High of Charlottesville, Virginia was still scheduled to be played. I was told that it was going to be played.
    So, I drove up. It was barely raining. Stafford is not too far from Washington, D.C. and about 80 miles from my home near the University of Virginia. When I arrived at Brooke Point High School, 3 hours before the game, I instantly knew something was wrong: the stadium was unlocked, but no one was there. A call to the local newspaper confirmed that the game had been postponed until Monday!
    Anyway, the player I had driven up to see was 5-9 180 11th-grader Chase Barnett of Brooke Point High (see photo above, courtesy of Fredericksburg.com). Chase Barnett rushed for 379 yards in his last game! On the season, he has ran for 1,301 yards on 172 carries, and has scored 15 times. He also was one of the summer stand outs at camps with his blinding speed.
    Unfortunately, in scouting high school players, bad weather and late cancellations come with the territory.

    October 19, 2007    
    Tonight I drove up near Washington, D.C. to Woodbridge, Virginia, and at Woodbridge High School I saw the host Vikings take on cross-town rival Forest Park High School, also of Woodbridge, VA.
    I was here to see Forest Park's Brandon Scott, a 6-4 190 11th-grade wide receiver. For the second straight Friday I also saw Woodbridge High's outstanding running back De'Antwan Williams (see De'Antwan Williams in the photo at right, wearing number 34). Williams is a terrific player who has now gained over 1,000 yards in each of his four seasons on the Woodbridge High School varsity! One thing that makes this impressive is that Woodbridge is one of the largest high schools in Group AAA, which is the biggest classification in Virginia, and it has a long tradition of having winning records.
    Although I come to scout players, not to report on games, two things made this game bizarre. For one thing, the game was delayed for over an hour in the third quarter when a Forest Park High player went down on the field, not moving. It was eventually learned before he was removed from the field that his leg was broken. But almost immediately as soon as he went down, it began raining. The rain came down harder and harder, and was soon followed by winds that caused umbrellas to serve no use! It was basically like a small hurricane. Most of the fans left the stadium, as did the Woodbridge football team. The player lay there with almost no one around him, through out this weather. Finally, when the weather died down, he was carted away.
    The game resumed on the quagmire of a field. After two plays, another player went down, possibly seriously injured with a spinal injury, the game was stopped for 20 more minutes, and a second ambulance took this player away also. Incredibly, the game was still continued. The game finally was played to it's finish with a small number of fans remaining!Woodbridge won 17-12.
    De'Antwan Williams had several great runs in this game. He had a 55 yard-run down to the Forest Park High 12 yard-line with 5:30 left in the game. At the 10:24 mark of the first quarter, he had a 59-yard touchdown run called back due to a penalty. His 3-yard touchdown run at the 1:45 point of the first period put Woodbridge ahead 14-3.
   But the player I came to see play was Brandon Scott of Forest Park High. Wearing number 7, he looks like a future NFL player. But so what? It's performance that counts, and he was unimpressive, as he has been all year. However, he has been held back by injuries. He has been held out of games this year due to an injury, and as a result, didn't even start tonight. He did catch a 9-yard pass with 6:51 to go in the second quarter with Forest Park ahead 14-12. Brandon Scott also caught a poorly-thrown, too-high 7-yard pass at the 10:41 mark of the third quarter.
    Those were his catches for the night. To be fair to Scott, Forest Park's offense puts him out near the sideline, which means that there are no short passes designed to get him the ball, and because Woodbridge High's pass rush was fierce, the Forest Park High quarterback just didn't have enough time to set up to throw the ball. Still, Brandon Scott did not look like one of the top 100 juniors nationally, as "rivals.com" has him rated!

    October 12, 2007    
    I went to Potomac High in Dumfries, Virginia to see them host Woodbridge High of Woodbridge, Virginia. Woodbridge High is located outside of Washington, D.C. in Stafford County. Woodbridge has one of the top juniors in the country, 5-7 180 running back De'Antwan Williams. He's rated among the top 100 11th-graders in the country by "Rivals.com"
   The game was played at Potomac High's Chuck Hall Memorial Stadium, where I've seen the Panthers play in the past. De'Antwan Williams wore his usual number 34 in the first half, and number 11 in the second half. According to sportswriter Dave Utnik of the "Potomac News", De'Antwan Williams was hit "so many times...Potomac... ripped the jersey right off his back."
   Although he's 5-7, he's powerful enough to play Division 1-A football right now. However, he needs to build up his shoulders to ever star at the highest level.    Although he did carry the ball 36 times for 198 yards, he didn't dominate this game: his team could only manage 5 points. However, he did have one superb 75-yard run down to Potomac's 4 yard-line with 10:15 left in the 3rd quarter
   Potomac led the Woodbridge Vikings 10-3 at the half. Potomac won 17-5. After 6 games, De'Antwan Williams now has carried the ball 127 times for 836 yards and 8 touchdowns for a team that is small in numbers and size.

    October 5, 2007
    Went to see a football game involving Group A Wilson Memorial playing on the road against host James River High School. Wilson Memorial has 6-0 170 junior placekicker Ben Hopewell, who came in to the game having booted 9 out of 16 field goals in just 5 games. Ben Hopewell is already probably the best field-goal kicker in Virginia.
   He had a strong leg on place kicks. His punting was very poor: however he's not known for his punting, and is not predicted to punt in college. As for his kickoffs? I don't know if he's going to kickoff in college. The future? Nothing special really.
   To describe Ben Hopewell, he wore number 3, his team wore gold helmets, white jerseys, and green pants. James River High School won this game 31-17, but it wasn't even that close. James River High wore black helmets, jerseys, and pants. James River High is located about 30 miles east of Roanoke, Virginia.
   Ben Hopewell's first punt was a 38-yarder that was poor: it was low and wobbled. But with 5 seconds to go in the first quarter, and his team trailing 7-0, he boomed a 37-yard field goal that would have been good from 50 yards-out!
   His following kickoff was not good: it just went from the 40, where he kicked off, to the other team's 15 yard-line. At the 2:07 mark of the 2nd quarter, after Wilson Memorial High School scored a TD, Ben Hopewell kicked the extra point: the snap was poor, his place-holder fumbled it, but Hopewell kicked it through anyway.
   His kickoff was tremendous: it went 8 yards-deep in to the end zone. His kickoff to open the second half was good: it went down to the 5 yard-line. At the 1:16 mark of the 4th quarter, he booted the PAT for his team's 17th and last point. What kind of a prospect is he? Well, you don't get a scholarship, no matter how many field goals you can kick in high school, unless you can kick kickoffs well, and he can't do that yet. But there is certainly plenty of time to improve on that. His field goal kicking makes him one of the nation's best for next year.

    September 28, 2007
   Saw the Hampton-Woodside game at Darling Stadium on Friday, September 28, 2007. The game was played at 7:00 P.M. The home team was 4-0 Hampton High. The Crabbers were hosting the visiting Wolverines of Woodside of Newport News, Virginia. 5-10 170 junior running back Tron Martinez of Hampton is amazing. Fastest high school player in Virginia? What a player! Hampton has other players who are Division 1-A prospects although they're just juniors. Hampton won 47-0. Went to see junior linebacker number 66 of Hampton High, Tyrel Wilson play, but he was not impressive at all. His coach, Mike Smith, once said that by next year, this Class of 2009 player will be the "best high school player in the country"!? Number 78 for Woodside, 6-3 330 sophomore offensive-defensive tackle Venson Jones has some college potential Tron Martinez ran for a 1-yard touchdown at the 0:29 point of the 1st quarter. He ran for a 13-yard score at the 8:27 mark of the first quarter. Then he ran for a 17-yard touchdown at the 4:40 point of the 2nd period. Finally he ran for a 2-yard TD at the 11:00 mark of the 4th quarter. He also had outstanding runs of 37 yards at 4:36 point in the 1st quarter, and 44 yards at the 1:22 mark of the 3rd period. What a player this speedster is!

     September 21, 2007
    I went Oscar Smith High School in Chesapeake, Virginia to see visiting Great Bridge High School of Chesapeake play the host team in a 7:00 P.M. Friday night game.
   Tim Smith, a 6-1 190 junior wide receiver for Oscar Smith High, was one of the underclassmen I had come to watch in this game. He's a target of many Division 1-A programs as a member of the high school Class of 2009. Throwing to Tim Smith was Phillip Sims, a 6-2 190 sophomore quarterback (see him in a not-very-good photo from the Oscar Smith High game program at below-right), wearing #14. He started as a freshman last season, and will be a Division 1-A prospect by his senior year.
    However it should be mentioned that only about 2/3rds of high schools I've been to even have game programs at all. And only about 1/5th of high schools have game programs that have individual photos of players. So let's hear it for Oscar Smith High!
    Oscar Smith destroyed Great Bridge, 47-0 in this massacre. Tim Smith caught a 9-yard touchdown pass with 10:20 left in the 2nd quarter of this game, making the score 27-0.
   An interesting side note to this game was the presence of a high school sophomore who has just transferred to Great Bridge High. I'll discuss him more later this year once he starts playing for Great Bridge. However, he appears to be anywhere from 6-8 to 6-10 and 300-400 pounds. He is brand new to the sport of football, and as of right now, is just out there on the field, giving moral support to his teammates as he observes pre-game warm-ups. We'll see what his interesting future holds.