The great thing about Inter-Lakes High School's stadium is the sheer beauty of New Hampshire. That begins with the great teams at Hampton High led by legendary coach Mike Smith, who won back-to-back national titles in 1997 and 1998. NFL/CFL/USFL: St. Louis Cardinals (1979), Hamilton Tiger-Cats (1980-82), Tampa Bay Bandits (1983-85), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1987). Interestingly, Leinart backed up another Heisman Trophy winner in Carson Palmer before taking over as the Trojans' starter. Northern High's greatest player of all time is probably cornerback Dewayne Washington, who went on to star at North Carolina State and was the No. Meridian is one of the oldest schools in the South. The wall does more than just look pretty. Smith starred as a freshman at Texas Tech, but injuries throughout his career dropped him to the fifth round of the 1987 NFL draft, where he was selected by the Washington Redskins. NFL: Minnesota Vikings (1994-97), Pittsburgh Steelers (1998-2003), Jacksonville Jaguars (2004), Kansas City Chiefs (2005). The stadium's seating got a big upgrade in 2011 with new bleachers on both sides. 18 overall pick in the 1994 NFL draft by the Minnesota Vikings. While Newell Stadium didn't technically open until six years after Benjamin Smith graduated, we're putting him on the list anyways. But that's what's on tap at Mickey Miller Blackwell Stadium, where the Gulf Shores High School Dolphins play their home games. The man who BREC Memorial Stadium's signature bowl game was once named after, Grantland Rice, is thought of by some as the greatest sportswriter of all time. He famously was overtaken for a bronze medal at the 1972 Olympics in the last 10 meters of the 5,000-meter race. Townsend moved to cornerback in college and was a three-time All-SEC selection for the Crimson Tide before playing 13 seasons in the NFL and winning two Super Bowls with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Hansen played 11 seasons in the NFL for four teams. 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. 9. Few high school football gameday experiences can compare to what awaits fans at Union-Tuttle Stadium in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where a $35 million upgrade was completed before the 2021 season began. For another thing, you know you're probably in a place where they take football pretty seriously. The key about going to a game at the Bulldog Bowl is making sure you get to take in everything going on in the town leading up to the game. Lovecraft probably would have imagined a high school football stadium would look like. Mesquite's. 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. Here are the 50 largest college football stadiums based off capacity according to CollegeGridirons.com: 50. There's a different feeling you get when you walk into a high school football stadium and don't see a track. Deshea Townsend was a star quarterback for South Panola High alongside future Alabama teammate and NFL linebacker Dwayne Rudd, leading the team to a 15-0 record and the state championship in 1993. This venue, located. Madison High School won just one game in 2010, but two years later completed a perfect 12-0 season with a win over two-time defending state champion Coeur dAlene in the Class 5A title game. It's a virtual who's who of pro football talent cutting their teeth here. 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. Carson Wentz grew from 5-foot-8 as a freshman at Century High in Bismarck, North Dakota, to 6-foot-5 as a senior and signed with FCS powerhouse North Dakota State. It has hosted some of the biggest concerts to come to the region as well as playing home to the University of Bridgeport football team until it disbanded in 1975. Both were then taken with the 187th overall pick in the NFL draft Tracey in 1988 and Scott in 1967. Dominique Franks starred at powerhouse Union High before playing college football right down the road at the University of Oklahoma, where he was an All-Big 12 selection in 2008. It was something the community needed dearly, and for the sheer amount of talent you can see here on any given Friday night, it's worth the price of admission. In the home of Wal-Mart, it's probably to be expected that the local high schools would have state-of-the-art facilities, but Tiger Stadium really goes above and beyond. One big reason for that was senior running back Kevin Brady, who rushed for 1,870 yards and had his No. He played six seasons in the NFL before knee injuries ended his career. Nick Reid was a star quarterback for Derby High School before becoming a linebacker at the University of Kansas, where he led the team in tackles for three years and was named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year in 2005. NFL: Washington Redskins (1986-94, 1999), Philadelphia Eagles (1995), San Diego Chargers (1996-98), Las Vegas Outlaws (2001). Valdosta High School and NCAA Division II powerhouse Valdosta State share Bazemore-Hyder Stadium, but it's Valdosta High that has won more games than any other school in U.S. history. It's a piece of architecture that now blends seamlessly with downtown Butte and seems like a perfect fit for the town. While this stadium has existed in some form since 1929, the updated Darlington Memorial Stadium that opened in 1989 has seen as good a display of high school football in the last three decades as any stadium. Gastineau was one of the most dominant defensive linemen in the NFL in the 1980s, leading the league in sacks twice and making five All-Pro teams. It's fitting that one of the greatest high school football experiences in the country can be had at a stadium that bears his name. The fire that shut down Butte High Stadium in 1973 kept it closed until renovations in 2011 let it reopen in grand fashion. Wistrom played nine seasons in the NFL and won a Super Bowl with the St. Louis Rams following the 1999 season. The following is a list of sports venues in the U.S. State of North Carolina. Tales of gridiron greatness start with high school football. 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. In 2019, the stadium got a $2 million upgrade that included smashing the bleachers on the north side of the stadium and replacing it with a grassy hillside. Because he led a pretty amazing life. Dawson, who was portrayed in the film "We Are Marshall" by Matthew Fox and had a cameo in the film as an opposing team's head coach, coached one more season at Marshall before leaving coaching for good. Jeffrey Bowie is the best prospect to come out of West Branch High in quite some time. As an assistant coach at Marshall University in 1971, Dawson was one of just two members of Marshall's traveling party who did not fly home on the team plane following a game at East Carolina a plane that crashed and killed all 75 people aboard as it prepared to land. Related:Best High School Football Player in Every State, Baltimore Colts (1973-78), Pittsburgh Steelers (1978), New York Giants (1979), Detroit Lions (1980-82), Best High School Football Player in Every State. For one thing, you know you're in a stadium that's probably pretty old. He went on to star at the University of Arkansas, then played 14 seasons in the NFL, where he won an NFL championship with the Chicago Bears in 1963 and was a four-time Pro Bowl selection. He flipped on a commitment to in-state Virginia to go play both sports for North Carolina, where he continued to play quarterback but switched to wide receiver for a seven-year NFL career. Northern High's greatest player of all time is probably cornerback Dewayne Washington, who went on to star at North Carolina State and was the No. As Webb City started winning state championships at a stunning clip 15 titles since 1989 the stadium grew along with it. Memorial Stadium is mainly used for football by all the High Schools in Mesquite. College: Marshall/Georgia Military College/Tennessee-Chattanooga. McCaffrey, who also led Central Catholic to two state basketball titles, was an All-American wide receiver at Stanford in 1990 before embarking on a 14-year NFL career in which he won three Super Bowls and made an NFL All-Pro team and Pro Bowl team in 1998. The Bismarck Community Bowl is putting in as much or more work as any high school football stadium. Coaches and players walk hand in hand from the high school to the field. Few players in Nebraska high school football history can hold a candle to what Norfolk Catholic High's Aaron Hughes did in 1991. 198 overall, one pick ahead of Tom Brady. Then Ramey led the Wildcats to a Peach Bowl win as a sophomore. Durham County Stadium is the best high school football stadium in NC. Each category may be sorted by venue name, location, tenant or usage, or capacity. Madison has won seven state championships, including three consecutive titles from 1982 to 1984. He was only informed of head coach Joe Gibbs' decision to start him in pregame warmups. Gary Knafelc owns some pretty interesting parts of football lore. The real key to going to a game here? After trekking across the junior college football landscapes of Kansas (Butler Community College) and California (Mt. 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. The stadium serves as the neutral field for high school football playoffs in Texas. High school: George Washington High School. 4 - St. Xavier Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio. The foundation of the stadium on the home side was originally meant to be a retaining wall for Reitz High School until a quick-thinking member of the school staff observed it could actually be the beginning of a football stadium. Alamo and Farrington field stadiums were the biggest high school stadium in Texas until 1976 when the Memorial Stadium was built. Bokyin probably would've played much longer in the NFL had he been able to stay out of trouble. Football is serious business in parts of the United States, and where the game is played is hallowed ground. CAM Stadium came with the new Belfry High School in 2005 and was immediately one of the great home-field advantages in the state of Kentucky. David has been one of the NFL's dominant linebackers over the last decade with the Tampa Bays Buccaneers. The 6-foot, 235-pounder ended his career as a three-time All-State selection and the Co-Conference Lineman of the Year in 2021. 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