There are plenty of proposals among college football fans for a "plus-one" game after all the bowl games to determine a true national champion. This year, for example, if Texas beats Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl and Oklahoma beats Florida in the BCS National Championship, many still won't really recognize the Sooners as a legitimate national champion because of their regular-season loss to Texas.
A plus-one model also would be great for high school football. Hundreds of state champions are crowned each fall, but in many states, a heated debate rages on about which team is truly the best.
Here's a look at some of the states where we'd love to see a plus-one game. (Note: This list does not include California, Texas or Florida, which still have one week to go in their seasons.)
Arizona: Centennial vs. Saguaro
A plus-one game featuring Centennial (Peoria), which won the Class 5A Division II title over Westview, and Hamilton (Chandler), which won the Class 5A Division I crown over Brophy Prep (Phoenix), wouldn't make sense because Centennial beat Hamilton 35-16 in the regular season. A matchup against Saguaro (Scottsdale), though, would be intriguing. It's hard to say how good the Sabercats are; with the exception of one game, Saguaro clobbered everyone it played, including a 38-0 rout of Chaparral (Scottsdale) in the state final. Peoria High, which did not play Centennial this year, did play Saguaro and gave coach John Sanders' team its closest game in a 17-14 loss.
Illinois: Maine South vs. East St. Louis
Both of these state champions were unbeaten against in-state foes, with South (14-0) claiming the Class 8A honors and the Flyers (13-1) winning their final 13 games, including a Class 7A title over previously-unbeaten Geneva. East St. Louis lost its opener -- to Wayne (Huber Heights, Ohio) at the Kirk Herbstreit Varsity Football Series in Cincinnati -- but may have played the best ball in the state down the stretch. A plus-one game would feature a matchup of two potential All-America honorees in South quarterback Charlie Goro, a Vanderbilt recruit, and the Flyers' talented wide receiver-defensive back Terry Hawthorne, an Illinois recruit. South is ranked No. 21 in the FAB 50 and East St. Louis No. 42.
Louisiana: John T. Curtis vs. Destrehan
Both teams were unbeaten in-state and captured state championships -- which is nothing new for Class 2A champion Curtis (14-1), which has won a state-record 23 crowns. The lone loss for the Patriots was to FAB 50 No. 11 Trinity (Euless, Texas), which spent most of the season as the top team in the country. Destrehan (14-0), meanwhile, captured the Class 5A title over previously-unbeaten West Monroe and is ranked No. 39 in the FAB 50, 22 spots behind Curtis.
Mississippi: Meridian vs. Noxubee County
Meridian ended the nation's longest active win streak (89 games) by beating South Panola 26-20 in overtime in the Class 5A finals. Noxubee County (14-0), meanwhile, capped an unbeaten season by winning the Class 4A crown with a 12-10 win over previously-unbeaten D'Iberville. Meridian's lone loss was an early season setback to Wayne County, which, incidentally, was the last team to defeat South Panola. Maybe these two teams will play in 2009, since Mississippi plans to expand from four to six classes. Meridian is ranked No. 44 and Noxubee County No. 45 in the FAB 50. The state order is reversed in the final rankings by the Jackson Clarion-Ledger newspaper.
New Jersey: Don Bosco Prep vs. Wayne Hills
For the third straight year, Don Bosco (Ramsey, N.J.) ended the season ranked the state's No. 1 team by the Newark Star-Ledger. This year, the Ironmen (11-1) made it a three-peat as Non-Public, Group IV champion and are ranked No. 14 in the FAB 50. Don Bosco's lone loss was in its season debut at St. Xavier (Cincinnati), and the Prep rebounded with a coast-to-coast road win at FAB 50 No. 19 De La Salle (Concord, Calif.). Wayne Hills, meanwhile, captured its fifth consecutive Group III title and stretched its win streak to 52 games, the second-longest active win streak in the land. Seems like a natural plus-one game in Jersey.
Ohio: St. Ignatius vs. Glenville
No, these two Cleveland rivals didn't both claim state crowns, as they compete in the same division. But a third meeting this season would be highly anticipated since the two FAB 50-ranked powers split close decisions in their two meetings. Glenville (11-1) opened the season with a 20-17 win over St. Ignatius (Cleveland) in a game decided on a last-play field goal. In the postseason playoffs, the Wildcats (14-1) avenged the loss 8-7 and went on to their 10th state crown since 1988.
South Carolina: Byrnes vs. South Pointe
Which of these two FAB 50-ranked state champions is better? No. 12 Byrnes (14-1) avenged its lone regular-season loss, to rival Dorman, in the playoffs en route to winning its sixth state title in seven years in Class 4A-Division 1. South Pointe (15-0), meanwhile, went unbeaten and rolled to a state Class 5A-II crown. Since both teams are in the Rock Hill area, why not play a plus-one game?
Utah: Timpview vs. Alta
Both teams not only won state crowns, but Timpview has now won three in a row in Class 4A while Alta has won two straight in Class 5A. Timpview (14-0) was generally ranked higher according to most prep sportswriters in the state, but the Class 5A playoff field Alta prevailed in is generally considered to be much tougher. Alta's only loss in a 13-1 season was on the road against Grant (Sacramento, Calif.), which was picked to play Poly (Long Beach, Calif.) in the first California open division title game.
Virginia: Oscar Smith vs. Phoebus
This is a natural plus-one game since both unbeaten state champions (15-0) are ranked in the top 10 of the FAB 50 and both are located in the Tidewater area. Oscar Smith (Chesapeake, Va.) won the Division 6 crown with a 54-24 rout of Osbourn (Manassas, Va.) in the finals. Phoebus (Newport News, Va.) outscored its opponents 720-53 and won its second Division 5 crown in three seasons. The Phantoms have a strong argument to be in the conversation among the best teams in the talent-rich Hampton area, but are they better this year than Oscar Smith? Unfortunately, we'll never know.
Washington: Skyline vs. Bellevue
These two unbeaten (14-0) West Coast teams set state records this season while winning championships. Skyline (Tacoma, Wash.), the Class 4A titlist, hiked its win streak to 28 games by becoming the first Washington team to win back-to-back crowns in different classifications. Bellevue, meanwhile, captured a state record seventh title with the Class 3A crown and is a perfect 7-for-7 in title contests. Skyline is ranked No. 16 and Bellevue No. 33 in the FAB 50.
The Stuff
National coach of the week: Dudley Hilton
You'll have to excuse venerable Bell County football coach Dudley Hilton if career win No. 320 meant a little more than the others. Not only did the 15-13 victory over Bullitt East give his club the Kentucky 4-A state title Saturday afternoon at Papa John's Stadium, it give Hilton, who has been coaching for 34 years, his first 15-0 season. And something else -- a state title with his son, John Dudley Hilton, playing a large part. The elder Hilton won his first championship for Bell County in 1991, when the younger Hilton was just two weeks old. The second came in 1998 for Bourbon County and the then-7-year-old John was too sick to attend. This time, John caught a 9-yard scoring pass with 3:40 remaining in the game for a 15-7 lead, then was part of a defense that denied Bullitt East a two-point conversion that would have tied the game with 10 seconds to play. Additionally, Hilton had a key interception and was credited with 10 tackles. "I was praying to God I wouldn't be sick this time," John told the Louisville Courier-Journal. "There's nothing better than to come down here with your dad and win one with him."
Long Beach Poly looks to add to title collection
The very first state football playoffs organized by the California Interscholastic Federation were held in 1919. A team from the north, Berkeley High, was matched against a team from the south, Long Beach Poly, and in the end the lads from Long Beach, coached by Eddie Kienholz, emerged with a 21-14 victory. Times sure haven't changed much in 89 years, as Poly is still tearing it up on the gridiron. On Saturday night, the Jackrabbits (the school was known as a the Seasiders in those early days) will go for their second state football crown when they meet Grant of Sacramento at The Home Depot Center in Carson. Poly also has an outside chance of finishing No. 1 in the ESPN RISE FAB 50 national rankings if it wins and current No. 1 St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) loses in the Class 5A state final in Florida on Friday night.
Mark Tennis and Steve Brand also contributed to this column.