Andy's Take: Parity around the high school football world?

Last week’s disorderly shakeup of high school football’s national hierarchy was on full display from coast to coast and we are all here for it. Parity on the national high school football scene.

I mean, who really likes to see everything on any level of sports remain status quo every year?

Seeing upsets is really what makes sports exciting and fun to watch on a weekly basis and that’s what football, no matter what the level, can bring to spectators in-person or watching from their living room. It’s what everyone got to see a glimpse of last week, which might’ve been one of the more exciting weeks of high school football in recent memory.

Like just a few years ago in the NBA when it was seemingly every season culminating in the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers facing off for the league title, that eventually just ran its course by 2018. Some still loved the budding feud between the teams, but like anything, people in time want some kind of change and folks have received it the last few weeks.

The domino effect this sports writer feels started on Aug. 28 with Santa Margarita Catholic (Calif.) 33-27 overtime upset win over Corona Centennial (Calif.), with the former not in the national conversation after opening the season with a 7-3 loss to Mission Viejo (Calif.). Just wait Diablos, we’re going to get to get back to you in a minute here.

It was the trickle down that began out in California that remained out West when a couple weeks later, the upset bug would strike again but this time Centennial would be the ones nabbing the groundbreaking win. The Huskies, for the first time since 2015, stunned then-No. 1 Mater Dei (Calif.) in a 43-36 victory on Sep. 12 that sent shockwaves around the high school football world.

Doubts still casted on whether this was something brewing around the country or just out in the Golden State. Nope, this was something that was going to keep on keeping on the following week.

The following Thursday sprung upon us all another upset special, but this time out of the Lone Star State when Rockwall (TX) defeated then-No. 9 North Crowley (TX), 37-35, handing the Panthers their first regular season loss since head coach Ray Gates took over the program back in February, 2022.

What happened on Sep. 18 continued into Friday night as more surprises popped up around the country. Another Texas high school football power, this time No. 7 Duncanville, was stunned in a game they had full control of, falling 28-27 to Waxahachie. Yeah, you’ve probably never heard of that school before, but you know of them now.

Corner Canyon was another team that fell to an unranked Top 25 team, falling to instate foe Lone Peak in a 42-21 decision. The Chargers had shown dominance at every turn throughout the season and then got dominated themselves by a Knights team that wanted to put their stamp on earning respect on a national level.

Maybe the most stunning upset of them all took place over in Nashville when McCallie School (Tenn.) throughly dominated No. 11 Mission Viejo (Calif.) in a 25-14 win and yep, we’ve circled back to talking about the Diablos. This one was the head scratcher that made you rethink a lot of things you thought you knew about teams around the country.

McCallie just the week before playing Mission Viejo had fallen by 10 points to Tim Hasslebeck’s Ensworth Tigers. I mean, is Ensworth another team from the Volunteer State to be reckoned with on the national high school football level as well?

These highlighted four upsets shows a little bit of a shift when it comes to seeing more parity at the top and that’s why seeing more interstate matchups surely helps put the puzzle pieces in the right place when it comes to who’s the best in the country.

For right now, St. John Bosco is right there at the top and then the rest of the country follows, with Mater Dei not too far away lurking. But unlike seeing the redux of the same ole teams every year, maybe it will be a different program representing the nation when it comes to the all mythical national championship?

Maybe, just maybe more upsets and stunners as the regular season progresses will validate that parity has taken over at the highest levels of high school football for a change.

How to Follow National High School Football

For high school football fans looking to keep up with scores around the nation, staying updated on the action is now easier than ever with the Rivals High School Scoreboard. This comprehensive resource provides real-time updates and final scores from across the state, ensuring you never miss a moment of the Friday night frenzy. From nail-biting finishes to dominant performances, the Rivals High School Scoreboard is your one-stop destination for tracking all the gridiron excitement across the country.