Since 2006, CBS Sports has followed prep football nationwide, through their MaxPreps division. During that time, they secured the services of the Freeman Scoring system, to devise an unprecedented national universal ranking on every known varsity team.
Ironically, Homeschool football was just establishing a national footprint during the same era. As we sent our researchers to study the archives, we uncovered and analyzed historical data on 10 of the most established homeschool programs in the nation.
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| Joe Blankenship |
- Tulsa NOAH, 2010 - Coach Joe Blankenship (2649)
- Maryland Christian 2010 - Coach Tony Dipaola (4154)
- Tulsa NOAH, 2009 - Coach Joe Blankenship (4197)
- Tulsa NOAH, 2008 - Coach Joe Blankenship (4766)
- Tulsa NOAH, 2011 - Coach Joe Blankenship (4947)
- Springfield Lighthouse 2008 - Coach David Lohn (5352)
- Maryland Christian 2011 - Coach Tony Dipaola (5588)
- North Georgia 2010 - Coach Roger McDaniel (6534)
- Richmond CVHAA 2012 - Coach Dave Hollis (6543)
Homeschool teams are often undiscovered to the rest of the prep sports world. In that capacity, one cannot be certain that the entire list of eligible teams was fully enumerated. But this is a good list to start the conversation about the pursuit of excellence and believing that all things are possible.
This list of great accomplishments is part of the legacy of great athletes who dedicated themselves to excellence. It's also a tribute to some excellent coaches who gave of themselves, beyond what most of us would call 'sufficient'.
One man's name is synonymous with that excellence, Coach Joe Blankenship of the Tulsa NOAH Jaguars(2004-2011). Blankenship is a respected and established name in midwestern football. Joe's father is a member of the Oklahoma Coaches Hall of fame. Joe and his brothers played for Tulsa University or Harvard University. His brother, Bill, coached many Oklahoma 6A state prep football championships and is now the head coach at Tulsa University (and the defending champion of Conference USA). Joe volunteered as the Jaguar coach while pastoring Springs of Grace Church and Representing Midwest Sporting Goods where he called on high school coaches throughout Oklahoma, as a football equipment supplier.
One man's name is synonymous with that excellence, Coach Joe Blankenship of the Tulsa NOAH Jaguars(2004-2011). Blankenship is a respected and established name in midwestern football. Joe's father is a member of the Oklahoma Coaches Hall of fame. Joe and his brothers played for Tulsa University or Harvard University. His brother, Bill, coached many Oklahoma 6A state prep football championships and is now the head coach at Tulsa University (and the defending champion of Conference USA). Joe volunteered as the Jaguar coach while pastoring Springs of Grace Church and Representing Midwest Sporting Goods where he called on high school coaches throughout Oklahoma, as a football equipment supplier.
When we researched further, we found that 10 of the more established homeschool teams also produced a remarkable chain of national honors. Here is MaxPrep's list of the top homeschool team in each of the past 7 years.
Annual Rankings Winner Each Year:
Annual Rankings Winner Each Year:
- 2006: K.C. Christ Prep (8223), Coach James Sanders
- 2007: K.C. Christ Prep (8959), Coach Dave Wallace
- 2008: Tulsa NOAH (4766), Coach Joe Blankenship
- 2009: Tulsa NOAH (4197), Coach Joe Blankenship
- 2010: Tulsa NOAH (2649), Coach Joe Blankenship
- 2011: Tulsa NOAH (4947), Coach Joe Blankenship
- 2012: Richmond CVHAA (6543), Coach Dave Hollis
David,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the kinds words. The years coaching NOAH football were a rich time for me. I didn't get involved in order to build a top ranked football program. I was just seeking a way to leverage my influence to help kids and further the gospel of Jesus Christ. Coaching provided a great way to use the gifts and skills God had given me. Tulsa NOAH's success is certainly not just about me but is reflective of the great players we had and how they bought into a way to play football with excellence and yet not treat football as though it were the most important thing.
I was a skeptic initially about the possibility of having a football team that could play at a high level. Brian Dowler was the first one who refused to take no for an answer and got the team started. He deserves a lot of credit. A lot of other people came along early on and played key roles. I was blessed with a unique relationship with great coaches who wanted to see us succeed on the football side and a church (Springs of Grace Bible Church) that supported me using my time in coaching and they embraced it as a ministry. I really believe we saw a lot of kids helped. Many of them are becoming great men today - men who are choosing great causes to live for rather than the next comfort the world offers. That means more than the records. Those young men worked hard and took on everyone we could. Several have gone on and played college football and congratulations to those guys but we ended up developing a whole lot of guys who understood how to play the game. We were still growing as a team when I felt I needed to resign a couple of years ago but those players achieved a lot. They led the entire state of Oklahoma in offense one year. The last three years statistically they were in the top five of all Oklahoma football teams in offensive production. Scored 24 points and had 430 yards of offense against national top 25 Desoto, Texas and players got the opportunity to play against many outstanding players who are playing at major colleges across the country. Any Saturday I can turn on the television and see our players or players we played against. Those NOAH players rallied together, learned how to be a team, to sacrifice for greater goals down the road - that is fun stuff to get to be a part of!
There were (and are) a lot of good homeschool football teams, (We had some great games with Springfield Lighthouse Christian and Dallas HSAA, and others) but those NOAH teams never lost to another homeschool team the entire 8 years we were there. So, in my books at least, it is hard not to rank those NOAH teams from 2008-2011 at the top. Thanks for the fun reminders and credit goes to all of the players and coaches and volunteers who made NOAH special in those days.