The following article is an opinion piece and reflects the views of the author and not necessarily those of AllOnGeorgia.
Hey, hey, sports fans.
I suppose all of you are gearing up for Christmas and here’s hoping Santa Claus will bring you the one present you want most this year.
Of course today, high school and college football will be in the spotlight on this Wednesday in late December with the early signing period starting today for senior players.
It looks like the Georgia Bulldogs will be signing a group that rates as one of the best in the country again this season. And, it will be full of players who honed their skills right here in the high school ranks in the Peach State.
Some of these players were on display in the Georgia High School Football Association state championship games held last Tuesday and Wednesday in Atlanta including the state’s top overall prospect Jadon Haselwood who could possibly sign with Georgia sometime today and be another big addition to the Bulldogs’ receiving corps.
But speaking of high school football in our state, the state finals last week actually did not end the prep season here in Georgia.
This Saturday night, Lee County has accepted an invitation to host a game in the GEICO State Champions Bowl Series.
The Trojans, who won their second straight Class 6A state title last week, will welcome St. Frances Academy to Leesburg for one of the two games in this event slated for Saturday.
St. France, which is from Baltimore, won the Conference A championship this season in Maryland and the team is ranked fifth in the USA Today Super 25 national rankings.
The Panthers have six players currently ranked in the ESPN 300 and Junior 300 including linebacker Shane Lee who is committed to Alabama.
Last year, the Panthers also played in the Bowl Series and routed Bingham (Utah) 41-3.
Here’s thinking Lee will give them a better game. The Trojans were 15-0 this season in Georgia’s second-largest classification and are 29-1 over the last two seasons combined.
With a fast defense and several players with major college offers, look for Lee to possibly be more than St. Francis really wants.
If you are interested, the game will be televised on ESPU. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
The other game in the event will be played at 10:30 p.m. Saturday as Eastside Catholic (Washington) and Centennial (Arizona) square off.
Eastside won Washington’s Class 3A crown this season while Centennial won the Class 5A state title in Arizona and owns a top-25 national ranking as the No. 24 team in the USA Today poll.
I like this idea of rewarding teams for stellar seasons with games like this, but only a few states allow their teams to compete.
Georgia held out for a long time, but now the state allows teams to play in these events.
Currently, only Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Maryland, Nevada, Utah and Washington are the only states that have approved their teams to play in the State Championship Bowl series.
It’s probably time that more states start allowing their teams to play in these showcase-type competitions.
So, where are you Texas, California, Pennsylvania and Ohio, and all the rest of you who take pride in saying your state is one of the best for prep pigskin in the country?
Don’t you think it’s time to get with the program and revise your outdated line of thinking in this regard?
A lot of people would probably say “yes.”
And again, Merry Christmas to all of you.
I’m glad Santa is providing us with more high school football just two days before he makes his trip around the world.
