First day of practice: Maine South holds on as one of the few public-school powers in high school football

Private schools have won the past four Class 8A football state championships and dominated most of the larger classes overall. The talent gap between public and private schools is even more stark this season. Catholic League teams will make up the majority of the preseason Super 25. There are many factors for the rise of the Catholic powers. One is coaching. Private schools are attracting the best young coaches. The few public schools managing to maintain relevance are coached by a handful of…