Andy's Take: Winning in high school football means "Keeping up with the Joneses"

If you do a simple internet search on the saying “Keeping up with the Joneses”, you’ll find its a common expression used for the desire to equal or surpass the social status, riches, and situation of one’s peers.

High school football programs around the country are trying to do just that, whether that be it during the offseason or the thick of the regular season play.

Being a sports reporter that’s just 30 minutes or so from Allegiant Stadium, home of the Las Vegas Raiders, where the late owner Al Davis’ famous motto was “Just win, baby,” that’s exactly what it seems like high school football teams are doing at almost all costs.

That is because when it comes to football, no matter the level you administrate, coach or play at, it’s all about what have you done for me lately rather than what you have done over the course of time. Mindsets like that have put an unsettling amount of pressure on coaches of high school football programs all around the country. It has also put heavy duress on players trying to live up to the expectations of that wherever they attempt in landing at and for one reason or another, it potentially not working out.

The most notable situation of a get-to-winning quick type of scenario is easily the one that unfolded at Bishop Montgomery (Calif.) with 19 players being ruled ineligible by the CIF Southern Section after an investigation determined the players violated league bylaws upon transferring to the school to play football.

What unfolded at Bishop Montgomery went beyond the gridiron as the school fired longtime head coach Ed Hodgkiss and then saw president Pat Lee step down from his position. The Knights’ canceled the rest of their 2025 season after only playing in one game to start the season, sending players looking in vain for a new place to call home.

In steps in Mesa High School of Arizona that just welcomed four players from Bishop Montgomery as in-season transfers. The Jackrabbits are 1-2 on the season and the acceptance of the transfers can be looked at from afar as a chance to turn a below .500 season around. Adding players like Texas A&M four-star tight end commit Caleb Tafua will definitely be a boost for Mesa as they look to make a run the rest of the season. Mesa went 4-6 in 2024, missing Arizona’s Class 6A playoffs.

It is by no means just one area of the country where moving around in-season is occurring as we jump from one time zone to another and down to the Sunshine State, where a flurry of transfer action has taken place, especially at the quarterback position.

All coincidentally, former Miami Northwestern quarterback Leon Strawder confirmed with Rivals on Sep. 11 that he was transferring into American Heritage (Fla.), who at the time seemingly still had five-star Texas commit Dia Bell available for the 2025 season. Just three days later on Sep. 14, Bell announced that he would be shutting down the rest of his high school football career due to a minor procedure.

Strawder had been previously sharing time behind center with sophomore four-star phenom Niemann Lawrence at Miami Northwestern, just a season after the senior quarterback led the Bulls to Florida’s 2024 Class 3A state championship. Now, Strawder looks to be in line to start for American Heritage the rest of the way in a very competitive Broward County area. The pressure to win down in South Florida is immense and high school football talent is everywhere and Strawder to the Patriots certainly makes sense in many cases.

Another Florida high school that has seen transfers via the quarterback position is the four-time state champion Venice (Fla.). The Indians had started the season with presumably Sean Long and Alex Schafer as their two quarterbacks, with the former pulling away with the job. The latter has reportedly left for Lemon Bay High School, at the time seemingly leaving Long at Venice all alone. Not so fast, my friend, as Lee Corso would say.

On Sep. 8, with the Indians sitting at 1-1 on the season, Vinnie Portell of the Sarasota Herald Tribune reported that Howard commit Darryon Jones had transferred into Venice from Chaminade-Madonna Prep and would be available for the Indians’ very next game against Port Charlotte.

Results would say Jones was certainly of assistance in his Indians’ debut, with the quarterback throwing for 123 yards, a touchdown and adding another score on the ground in Venice’s hotly contested 29-22 victory over Port Charlotte. The Indians had another quarterback transfer in this week, per Portell, as senior Daniel Pangallo transferred over from Spoto High School in Hillsborough County. Pangallo threw for 333 yards and five touchdowns for the Spartans.

“I’m hoping we get one each week,” Venice head coach John Peacock said to Portell. “We have the system down of how to handle it. I couldn’t care less about the perception of our team. The only thing I care about is how we perceive it in the locker room.”

In Venice’s case, the Indians isn’t looking to per se keep up with anyone more so than remaining the team to beat when it pertains to their classification of Class 7A and also Florida’s South Suncoast region, comprised of Charlotte, Manatee and Sarasota counties. With Jones and Pangallo transferring in, with the team having struggled offensively in the season-opening loss to Tampa Bay Tech, perception by outsiders and naysayers is the Indians needed help at the quarterback position.

Then comes empowerment on high school football players end when deciding where is the best place to be is exactly at. On Wednesday, a report came out that Arkansas three-star commit Jayvon Gilmore is no longer enrolled at Gaffney (S.C.) and sent shockwaves throughout the high school football world in the Palmetto State.

Gilmore is coming off a season for the Indians in which the quarterback had thrown for 2,510 yards and 26 touchdowns, leading Gaffney to a 10-2 record and the South Carolina’s SCHSL AAAAA playoffs. The Indians have already equaled last season’s loss total of two, sitting at 1-2, and Gilmore leaves after sharing time behind center with newcomer Banks Bouton. If Gilmore doesn’t land anywhere for the rest of the 2025 season, the senior finishes this fall having completed 14 of 28 passes for 147 yards and a touchdown in three games.

Whether leaving Gaffney was for the lack thereof of winning, or having to share time with another quarterback or moving to another state, Gilmore leaving from outside looking in as a program is currently 1-2, seems head scratching at best. The seemingly best player the Indians had, an SEC commit, is now on the move, to where, a destination unknown.

Paralleling to what high school football’s direction in some areas of the country looks like, the game looks rudderless for some states. No matter where high school football is being played at, there’s always cases that give the illusion of just trying to “Keeping up with the Joneses”.

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.