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AFM Magazine

AFM Magazine


The Prep Report

by: Jamie DeMoney
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With seven 5A championships and a 118-16 record during the ‘90s, Skyline (Salt Lake City) was among the very elite prep football programs in the nation.

But things changed slightly for coach Roger Dupaix (AFM’s West Coach of the Year in ’99) and Skyline in the first half of this decade. The Eagles still were no slouches, making at least the state semifinals each year, but endured what seemed like forever to them – five years – without another championship.

The “slump” ended in unexpected fashion this year when Skyline emerged from a 5-5 regular season to score a 34-24 win over state-No. 1 Brighton in the state championship. Dupaix and Skyline were back on top. Order in the Beehive State was restored. Eight state titles in a decade and a half.

Dupaix won five state championships in a row earlier in his tenure, from 1995-1999. Among the Skyline Eagles he coached was former BYU quarterback Brandon Doman as well as his son Joe. The younger Dupaix is on the coaching staff at Cal Poly as quarterbacks coach.

Though he’s never been under anyone’s radar in Utah, now is a good time to reintroduce the affable Dupaix and his accomplishments to the rest of the nation. In 27 years (20 at Skyline), his overall record is 260-75 (.776), which is best in state history. His playoff record is 57-26, with more postseason wins than playoff games in which any other Utahan has even coached. In 2003, Dupaix was inducted into the National High School Athletic Coaches Association Hall of Fame.


The List
180 Degrees:
The Year's Bst Turnarounds


This month we spotlight some programs that experienced the biggest turnaround seasons in 2005. In some instances, the reversal of fortune took only one year. In others, ’05 was the end of a longer journey. We invite you to please email us at PrepReport@AmericanFootballMonthly.com to help us add to this list for upcoming issues during the off-season.

1. Douglas County (Castle Rock, Colo.) – Coach Jeff Ketron: In 111 years since the school opened, Douglas County had never won a state championship in football. In fact, the Huskies had won only five league titles before this season. But this year things changed in a big way as Douglas County rolled to a 13-1 record, punctuated with an impressive 35-13 win over Denver Mullen (coached by former AFM Coach of the Year Dave Logan) in the 5A championship.

2. Grand (Utah) – Coach Dennis Wells: The Red Devils endured 84 years without a state championship before taking the 2A crown with a 25-22 defeat of San Juan. In fact, Grand was winless just three seasons ago and hadn’t beaten San Juan in their last 19 meetings.

3. Plainview (Neb.) – Coach Joe Anderson: The Pirates defeated Cambridge, 21-6, for the Class C-2 championship, their first since 1975. Plainview won a total of three games from 02-03, the first two seasons under Anderson. The Pirates are 19-5 in the two seasons since.

4. Regina (Iowa City, Iowa) – Coach Chuck Evans: The Regals were a less-than stellar 102-120 with only one playoff appearance in the 27 seasons before Evans took the reins. Regina is 34-17 in the five seasons since and won its first state championship this year.

5. Raymore-Peculiar (Peculiar, Mo.) – Coach Tom Kruse: The Panthers were just 11-19 in Kruse’s first three years at his alma mater. They are 55-5 since, and are now a nationally ranked program with back-to-back state titles and a current 28-game winning streak.


Monthly Roundup

The two winningest coaches in prep football history each reached state championship games to end the season. Victory king John McKissick of Summerville (S.C.) just missed state title No. 11 when his Green Wave fell 33-32 to Gaffney in the 4A/I final. McKissick, 80, did add 12 victories to his formidable record of 531-127-13 in 54 years. . . . J.T. Curtis, who sits No. 2 on the all-time list for wins with a 427-48-6 mark in 36 years, guided John Curtis Christian (River Ridge, La.) to its 20th state championship. The Patriots are now an amazing 128-12 in playoff games under Curtis. . . . Larry Campbell of Lincoln County (Lincolnton, Ga.), the only other active coach within a season’s striking distance of 400 wins, led his team to a state championship for the 10th time in 34 seasons. Campbell has compiled a 389-68-3 record, all at Lincoln County. . . . Mike Smith, who sits just below Campbell on the win list for active coaches, led Hampton (Va.) to its 12th title in 35 seasons. Smith is now 372-53-2. . . . Coach Bob Ladouceur and De La Salle (Concord, Calif.) no longer have the longest winning streak in the nation, but they still own the longest run of state – or in this case, CIF section – championships. The Spartans blanked San Leandro, 14-0, to clinch their 14th straight North Coast Section 4A crown.


Feedback: Who ARE WE missing?
Please send me comments, story ideas and milestones related to high school football across the nation. Please include your name, city, state and coaching affiliation, if any. We reserve the right to edit your comments for use in future issues of AFM’s Prep Report. Please email us at PrepReport@AmericanFootballMonthly.com.

Jamie DeMoney is the editor of PrepNation.com





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