Clash of Champions II

Can it get any bigger on the national football stage as far as public high schools?

The Clash of Champions II match-up of Katy vs. Bellevue High School in 2009 is arguably the top two high schools west of the Mississippi River, and two of best public schools programs across the country.

The Bellevue Wolverines have won 3A state championships in six of the last eight seasons and in 2004 knocked the biggest king in football history from its reign, ending Concord (Calif.) De La Salle’s winning streak at a record 151 games. Bellevue defeated another national power, Long Beach (Calif.) Poly, in 2005.

The host Katy Tigers have won back-to-back 5A state championships and have played for a state title in four of the past six years, including a 16-15 victory over Southlake Carroll in 2003. Katy’s only out-of-state matchup has been a 31-6 triumph over Weston (Fla.) Cypress Bay last season. Cypress Bay, which plays at 6A as one of the nation’s largest high schools, did not lose another regular-season game and finished 11-2.

In 2007, defending state champions Southlake (Texas) Carroll and Miami (Fla.) Northwestern played in Dallas in the “Clash of Champions.” The event attracted more than 31,000 fans at Ford Stadium in Dallas and was labeled by national media as the biggest game in the history of high school football.

The setting for Clash of Champions II will be 10,000-seat Rhodes Stadium in Katy. General admission tickets will be available on the visitor side and in the end zone at this web site later this spring. Home side is already sold out.