William "Red" Dawson was a star tight end and defensive end for Valdosta High and at Florida State before playing one season in the NFL, but it was what happened after his playing career was over that set him apart. He has 170 tackles, 9.5 sacks and 7 pass deflections. Andy returned to El Paso and was the coach at the University of Texas El Paso for 17 years. Caleb Williams was one of the breakout stars of the 2021 college football season, getting an opportunity after Heisman Trophy candidate Spencer Rattler was benched in the sixth game of the season against Texas in the Red River Rivalry. But the . Memorial Stadium is a football field in West Mesquite High School. TEXAS FOOTBALL: Take a look inside of Katy's $70 million high school football stadium Topping the list once again was Katy High School's Gary Joseph with $136,374, which represents a. It amplifies the noise for the home team to some pretty chaotic levels, and it also runs right up to a street in the middle of Guthrie. Manual has won six state championships in its history but none since 1966. We started with a group of more than 30 stadiums par excellence, then whittled down to our group of 16 via rigorous internal debate between the USA TODAY High School Sports staff in an effort. McKenzie. For one thing, you know you're in a stadium that's probably pretty old. After growing tired of sharing a field with rival school Male High, Manual High built its own stadium in 1924 with a massive seating capacity of 14,021. And if you do make it here, try to catch Bismarck vs. Century. Clark was so good he was part of the inaugural class for the College Football Hall of Fame in 1951 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963. He's been named NFL All-Pro three times and won a Super Bowl in 2021. Because he led a pretty amazing life. Coaches and players walk hand in hand from the high school to the field. And the Big Horn Mountains as the backdrop when the Rams play are pretty amazing. There are nicer football stadiums in Texas, where the best high school football in the country is played, but there just aren't any bigger ones than Mesquite's Memorial Stadium. Dunlavy Stadium, Sonora. One of the five or 10 best high school athletic programs in the entire nation resides at Bishop Gorman High, and much of that success has been propelled by its football program. Both went on to star at in-state colleges Tracey at Portland State and Scott at Oregon State, where he also played basketball. Central Iowa is home to many of the state's largest high school football stadiums. Ithaca High has won all five of its state titles in the last decade. And in the spirit of thinking outside of the box, we're tabbing the late, great Heath Ledger as the best thing to ever step foot in the Stadium Bowl. High schools: Pueblo Central High School, Pueblo South High School, Pueblo East High School, NFL: Miami Dolphins (2009), Denver Broncos (2010), San Diego Chargers (2010-12), Arizona Cardinals (2012-13). No stadium in the United States can say it was home to more future NFL talent than Miami's Traz-Powell Stadium a virtual who's who of pro football talent cutting their teeth here. Click on the stadium name for even more information about the stadium from TexasBob.com, including address, playing surface information and more. It opened its doors in 1886 and maintains an enrollment of almost 2,000. In 1991, Gouveia had an interception in each of Washington's three postseason games, including the Super Bowl, despite having just two interceptions in his career before the playoffs that year. What's really cool is Knafelc stuck around in Green Bay after his 11-year NFL career as the PA announcer at Lambeau Stadium from 1964 until 2004. It is a stadium for high school teams in the area including Kent-Meridian High School, Kentlake High School, Kentridge High School, and Kentwood High Schoolfootball, soccer and track teams. And while it's not Gridiron Classic in December like many people hope for - for one weekend it is an opportunity for 16 in-state programs, big and small, to play in the same NFL venue as the Seattle Seahawks. NFL: Washington Redskins (1986-94, 1999), Philadelphia Eagles (1995), San Diego Chargers (1996-98), Las Vegas Outlaws (2001). NFL: Minnesota Vikings (1994-97), Pittsburgh Steelers (1998-2003), Jacksonville Jaguars (2004), Kansas City Chiefs (2005). Raider Stadium. TexasBob.com. That being said, the best football player who ever called Darling Stadium home was Bethel High quarterback/defensive back/return specialist Allen Iverson. The Big 12 follows with 29 with the Pac-12 rounding out the top five with 27. There's nothing fancy about how Panther Stadium was built, but on a Friday night in the fall, it becomes a place where the home-field advantage can stand up to any team in the Midwest. Andy Cohen was a three-sport star at El Paso High in baseball, basketball and football. #3. This stadium was renamed for legendary running back and Pueblo, Colorado, native Dutch Clark "The Flying Dutchman" in 1980. For another thing, you know you're probably in a place where they take football pretty seriously. And sunset? Hansen's ferocity was rewarded in the NFL, where he played 12 seasons for four different teams, including for the Seattle Seahawks during their inaugural season in 1976. The Pit is built like a horseshoe, just like the big one in Columbus, and if you ever find a way to a game here, please know you've found your way to one of the true meccas of high school football in the U.S. College: Missouri (football and baseball). Year opened: 1937 (closed in 1973, reopened in 2011), NFL: Philadelphia Eagles (2010-13), Indianapolis Colts (2014-15), Buffalo Bills (2016-17). In this case, it's "The Red Army" for Quince Orchard High. The $4 million remodeling of Edgar Brown Stadium with its capacity of 6,800 isn't completed, but it nonetheless is one of the best high-school facilities in the state. Maiava was drafted in the fourth round of the 2009 NFL draft and played six seasons in the NFL. War Memorial hosts schools from the Maui Interscholastic League for high school football and still has a natural grass surface. Larry Jacobson was a football and basketball star at O'Gorman High before going on to star at the University of Nebraska, where he went 33-2-1 in three seasons as a starter, won two national championships and became the school's first of eight Outland Trophy winners as the nation's top interior lineman. In the 1970s, three semi-pro football teams called Kingston Stadium home. Few schools on this list can line up the absolute murderer's row of football players that Gonzaga College High School can. Allen I.S.D. Meridian is one of the oldest schools in the South. Mitchell Stadium also has enough fame in the state that a Division I football game was once played there when West Virginia University faced Virginia Tech in 1953. Focused on leaving a legacy in the Miami community as Super LIV came to the city in early 2020, Nike decided it would spend $2 million to renovate Traz-Powell Stadium ahead of the big game. Wistrom played nine seasons in the NFL and won a Super Bowl with the St. Louis Rams following the 1999 season. He lasted eight seasons in the NFL as a special teams player and backup safety. Join in AL.com's summer-long quest. The Ensphere, which can seat around 9,000 for basketball games, opened in 1991 at a cost of $11 million. Every Friday night, stadiums fill up to cheer on local heroes who sometimes go on to become college and NFL standouts. It's tough to make it in the NFL as an undrafted free agent, but Quince Orchard High product Zach Kerr has stuck around in the league for eight seasons since his All-CAA career at the University of Delaware. It's a hike to get to tiny Artesia, New Mexico, and if you're going out of your way to get there, you might as well catch one of the more unique experiences in all of high school football. Tracey Eaton represents one of the more amazing statistical anomalies you'll ever come across. NFL: Pittsburgh Steelers (1998-2009), Indianapolis Colts (2010). The fire that shut down Butte High Stadium in 1973 kept it closed until renovations in 2011 let it reopen in pretty grand fashion. Washington-Grizzly Stadium (Missoula, Mont.) 6 overall in the 2002 NFL draft. For the sheer amount of talent you can see here on any given Friday night, it's worth the price of admission. High schools: Washington High School, Lincoln High School, Roosevelt High School, O'Gorman High School. 24. College football teams like Washington State, Texas A&M, and Penn State all played games there in the 1940s. The $60 million Eagle Stadium is a sight to behold. Notable alumni . High schools: Salesianum School, Delaware Military Academy, St. Elizabeth High School, Howard High School of Technology, Saint Mark's High School, NFL: Cincinnati Bengals (2012-14), Houston Texans (2016). Bobcat Stadium's new press box features four separate rooms, and the turf was installed by the same company that has done several NFL fields. or Sign up with email. Allen High School has an enrollment of more than 5,600 students in grades nine through 12. High schools: Stadium High School, Woodrow Wilson High School, The steps of the Stadium Bowl were famously used by Academy Award-winning actor Heath Ledger during an epic song and dance in the movie "10 Things I Hate About You.". Wherever you're sitting at this stadium, you're going to be looking out at the Chugach National Forest, featuring a vast expanse of trees you have to see to believe. Madison County didn't spare any expense when it built a state-of-the-art, $8.8 million stadium for Madison High School as part of a $27 million bond issue that was approved in 2017. 18 overall pick in the 1994 NFL draft by the Minnesota Vikings. Tracey Eaton was a star defensive back at Medford High School in the early 1980s. Davis won a national title at Alabama in 2017 and was a second-round pick of the Miami Dolphins, where he made the NFL All-Rookie Team in 2020. The entire stadium is surrounded by the Appalachian Mountains on all sides. Watson Memorial Stadium was named for Hobbs High alum John Watson, a star football player for the Eagles who went on to play for the University of New Mexico before he returned home to Hobbs and spent decades as a businessman and civic leader. High school football is as good in Pennsylvania as anywhere in the country, and Allentown Central Catholic's Ed McCaffrey was one of the best to ever do it. Posted February 27, 2020. Warren G. Harding. The really great touch here was an LED-lighting system that is something to behold. After being named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and a consensus AP All-American in 2011, Still played four seasons in the NFL. The nickname for the stadium is "Death Valley," and if you are lucky enough to see a game here, make sure you're there when Valdosta High makes it way to the field. He played four seasons in the majors for the New York Giants. What will really take your breath away are the stunning views of Puget Sound and Commencement Bay. The former Pueblo Central and University of Colorado wide receiver/tight end is the only player to be carried off the field at Lambeau Stadium and won two NFL championships for legendary head coach Vince Lombardi in 1961 and 1962. By our count, the new $70 million structure is the second most expensive high school stadium in Texas, losing out only to Cy-Fair ISD's $80 million Berry Center in Houston that opened in 2006. The stadium itself has been around, in name only, since the 1930s, but when the school was razed and rebuilt in the same spot for $180 million in the late 2000s, the most densely populated city in the U.S. had to think outside the box. Gene Stephenson starred at Guthrie High in football and baseball before he went to the University of Missouri on a football scholarship. Note: Not all states are represented since capacity information isn't readily available for every high school football stadium. 08, 2015, 2:00 a.m. Ray Stadium also has played home to some big-time talent over the years. It's a bigger stadium than my No. Anderson spent two seasons on the practice squad for the Minnesota Vikings before making the roster for the Philadelphia Eagles. This venue was built in 1937 when 5,500 seats were planted on the side of a hill. Voters approved a $16 million bond in 2010 that ended up providing new artificial turf, new lighting and fixed the bleachers at the football stadium. "This is probably better than what we could have imagined, without a doubt.". The Bismarck Community Bowl is putting in as much or more work as any stadium on this list. Ward played eight seasons in the NFL and won a Super Bowl with the New England Patriots in 2004. Maybe it's when it starts to rain, and you realize you're in Oregon, where almost all of the stadiums have these bizarre, extended roofs, and you're not gonna get soaked like you usually would at a football game. The University of Utah even approached the Madison County School District in hopes of incorporating the same lighting system at their stadium. French Fieldis a multi-purpose stadiumin the northwestUnited States, located in Kent, Washington, a suburb southeast of Seattle. Published: ; Jun. Mason was drafted in the fifth round of the 2021 NFL draft by the Baltimore Ravens and bounced around on three different practice squads over his rookie season. Brady had 36 carries for 139 yards and the game's only touchdown in a 6-0 win over Winnisquam. That's quite a feat! The stadium, now named for World War II hero Eso Naranche, received a good enough makeover that it's able to host state championship games.
