You do not have to look far to find that the the Broward County High School National Football Showcase has become one of the premier events in country to kickoff the high school football season each and every year.

Going into the third year of showcasing games featuring some of the top teams from around the nation and three of the seven games will get to shine on ESPN’s family of networks.

The first of the three Broward Showcase games to air on ESPN will kickoff on Friday, August 23. That game will feature Milton out of Georgia against American Heritage (Plantation) with a 7 p.m. EDT kickoff at Brian Piccolo Stadium on the campus of St. Thomas Aquinas High School. Milton is a defending state champion in Georgia’s Class 7A from 2023 while American Heritage saw their 2023 season end with a loss to eventual Class 2M State Champion Berkeley Prep.

On Saturday a double-header of games will take place, with both at Brian Piccolo Stadium with kickoff times slated for 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. EDT.

The first of the two-double header games will feature Bishop Gorman out of Las Vegas against the host St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders, the defending Class 3M state champions. Bishop Gorman won Nevada’s AAAAA state championship and is coming after finishing the 2023 season with an undefeated record. This game will be televised live on ESPN.

The second of the double header games will feature St. John Bosco out of California who will be taking on the defending Class 3M state champion in Chaminade-Madonna (Hollywood). St. John Bosco comes into the game having finished the 2023 season without a CIF championship to their name. This game will be shown live on ESPN2

To purchase tickets for these games or to learn more about the Broward County High School National Football Showcase, click here

ESPN HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL KICKOFF SCHEDULE

Fri. August 16

Carrollton (Ga.) at Woodward Academy (Ga.), 8 p.m. EDT – ESPN

Thu. August 22

Grayson (Ga.) at Thompson (Ala.), 8 p.m. EDT – ESPN 2

Fri. August 23

Milton (Ga.) vs. American Heritage (Fla.), 7 p.m. EDT – ESPN

Sat. August 24

Bishop Gorman (Nev.) at St. Thomas Aquinas (Fla.), 4 p.m. EDT – ESPN

St. John Bosco (Calif.) vs. Chaminade-Madonna (Fla.), 8 p.m. EDT – ESPN2

Sun. August 25

Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School, (Ga.) at Baylor School (Tenn.), 1 p.m. EDT – ESPN

The post ESPN releases high school kickoff schedule including three Broward County National Showcase games appeared first on FloridaHSFootball.com.

The award, which was first announced by ESPN on Twitter Wednesday morning, will be awarded to the families of fallen heroes Aaron Feis, assistant football coach; Scott Beigel, cross country coach; and athletic director Chris Hixon.

The three coaches who sacrificed their lives to save students in the Feb. 14 mass shooting in Parkland will be posthumously honored at the 2018 ESPYS with the Best Coach Award. pic.twitter.com/UNHkZlKh89

— ESPN (@espn) June 13, 2018

ESPN said in a news release that the award had previously gone to coaches strictly for their work on the field.

The award will be received during the show on July 18.

The post Late Stoneman Douglas coaches to be honored by ESPN at the ESPY awards appeared first on FloridaHSFootball.com.

IT IS FOR REAL

For the first time since the 1974-75 season, every game in Florida is going to matter this season for teams in all eight classifications with the official launch of the new FHSAA Playoff Points system. That means Week 1 is going to matter now as much as Week 11.

Using a system modeled after Nebraska’s playoff points system, each game will earn points based upon the end of the season record of every team’s opponents during the season. Teams who scheduled an FHSAA playoff team or against a team from an out-of-state equivalent association from 2015 or 2016 gained three (3) additional bonus points which the FHSAA has calculated in their master schedules.

The biggest thing for this week though is to watch how close a lot of the Week 1 matchups are on the Scoreboard. This will be a telling sign for the rest of the season in how close we could expect to see matchups given the level of scheduling that we have not seen in years in Florida during the offseason.

The FHSAA will start issuing points system updates around Week 5, but will not give us what the picture might look until after Week 8 or Week 9.

OUT-OF-STATE MATCHUPS GALORE

Nearly two dozen games involving teams playing an opponent from out-of-state are on the schedule for Week 1, including several that will be nationally televised.

Of the out-of-state matchups on the schedule this week, the most talked about one is the matchup is the one between USA TODAY Super 25 teams No. 3 St. John Bosco and No. 5 St. Thomas Aquinas. St. Thomas Aquinas is also ranked No. 1 in FloridaHSFootball.com’s Florida Top 25 rankings. That game air LIVE from Brian Piccolo Stadium Friday night starting at 7:00 p.m. Eastern on ESPNU.

St. John Bosco was a national champion last season through several national ranking services and between them and St. Thomas Aquinas, both are potential candidates for a possible national championship this season.

Another big-time game on the schedule includes Bartram Trail at Cartersville, Ga., which will air Saturday on ESPN2 starting at 7:30 p.m. Eastern. Cartersville is the defending GHSA AAAA state champion while Bartram Trail is coming off a 2016 season, having reached the regional finals and is among the teams expected to have a potential chance to emerge as the team in Class 7A North to play for a state championship in Orlando in December.

Other big out-of-state games to watch out for include USA TODAY Super 25 No. 2 IMG Academy at Super 25 No. 7 Chandler, Ariz. which will air live at 10:30 p.m. on ESPNU, as well as Vero Beach at Oscar Smith, Va., Archbishop Wood vs. Oxbridge Academy at ESPN Wide World of Sports, American Heritage (Plantation) at Bishop Sullivan, Va., Venice at Camden County, Ga., Melbourne Central Catholic at Buford, Ga., Jones at St. John’s College, D.C., and Avon, Ohio vs. Merritt Island at ESPN Wide World of Sports.

RELATED: Florida Top 25 schedule for Week 1

THE BIG IN-STATE MATCHUPS

There is no shortage of top quality in-state matchups to kickoff Week One here in the Sunshine State.

As mentioned earlier, the new FHSAA playoff points system for football has really made schedules much more interesting for the first time in many years and Week 1 has produced a plethora of top matchups.

Starting on Thursday night, Traz Powell Stadium in Miami will host three straight matchups that will involve teams ranked in FloridaHSFootball.com’s Florida Top 25 rankings. The first one will come against No. 15. Chaminade-Madonna vs. No. 7 Miami Central on Thursday night. For, Friday and Saturday night will involve games as part of the first-ever Superintendent’s Cup which will matchup a team from Miami-Dade County with a team from Broward County. Those matchups include No. 10 Deerfield Beach vs. No. 3 Miami Carol City on Friday and No. 23 Cardinal Gibbons vs. No. 8 Miami Southridge on Saturday.

Some other big-time matchups include a rivalry renewal with Lakeland traveling to Manatee which is the first meeting between the two teams in quite a while. Also, keep an eye on matchups involving Cocoa at Trinity Christian (Jacksonville), Armwood at Tampa Bay Tech, Raines at Robert E. Lee, Dwyer at Park Vista, Plant at Hillsborough, Osceola (Kissimmee) at Lake Gibson and Charlotte at Dunbar.

RELATED: Statewide Week 1 game schedule

COULD ROUGH STARTS IN THE PRESEASON MEAN TROUBLE?

If you looked around at some of the scores from this past weekend’s preseason games, there were a few surprises to be found lurking around.

First, Manatee laying a complete goose egg against Armwood on the road in head coach Yusuf Shakir’s debut as the head coach at Manatee, some are wondering if the Hurricanes will reach .500 this season. However, Shakir has a knack of getting his teams on track after slow starts. Just look at the times that happened at Lincoln in Tallahassee, but as the Bradenton Herald has told Hurricanes fans, they need temper the expectations for at least this season.

Mainland was another team that seemed to have found trouble in the preseason in a road trip to Apopka. According, to the Daytona Beach News-Journal, the Buccaneers turned the ball over four times in the first half on six possessions, which is highly uncharacteristic for a program that has been in the state championship talk for the last few season. If the rust has come off, then Mainland should be fine at home against DeLand, but only time will tell the preseason is a bigger sign of things to come.

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK

Three brand new public high schools are officially opening this school year with Cypress Creek High School in Wesley Chapel, Windermere High School, and Bonita Springs High School all joining the party in the FHSAA. They will join a handful of new private and charter schools either launching teams or will be joining the FHSAA for the first time.

The biggest thing to note is that Cypress Creek and Windermere will hit the ground running quickly as they will open up with a full varsity schedule to start the 2017 season. Cypress Creek faired well in a loss against Fivay in their preseason game. For the Coyotes they open their season this week against at home against Gulf on Friday night.

Windermere, however, didn’t fare well at all in a huge loss to West Orange in a game meant to be the starter towards a rivalry, with Windermere taking over half of West Orange’s enrollment zone. With Windermere forced on the road for the first season, they will head over to Cypress Creek (Orlando) to officially start the 2017 season on Friday night.

As for Bonita Springs, which does not have a permanent home yet, won’t launch a varsity program until the 2019-20 season when the next FHSAA reclassification comes up. However, the Bull Sharks will build up a program starting with a Freshman-only squad this season, with the introduction of a junior varsity squad for the 2018-19 season as the school adds a grade level each school year.

Other programs getting a start this season includes Superior Collegiate in Pinellas County, Miami Christian, IMG Academy’s White team, also referred to as the Varsity team and Four Corners Charter in Osceola County while Miami Community Charter comes back with a program after a one-year hiatus.

The post Five things to know for Week 1 appeared first on FloridaHSFootball.com.

The ACC announced earlier today that it would be removing all neutral site championship games involving the conference out of North Carolina due to the controversial House Bill 2 also known as the “Bathroom Bill.”

Among those championships that are affected at is the ACC Football Championship, which is scheduled for December 3.

Various media outlets, including ESPN, reported that Orlando immediately expressed interest in potentially hosting the ACC Football Championship, later confirmed by the Central Florida Sports Commission itself in a news release in partnership with Florida Citrus Sports, the later which would be responsible for negotiating a contract to potentially host the game.

Just received confirmation that Orlando wants to host the ACC football championship game, along w/other ACC neutral-site championship events

— Andrea Adelson (@aadelsonESPN) September 14, 2016

Orlando is prohibitive favorite as new host of ACC title game, sources told @ESPN. They will meet w/ACC officials on Thursday

— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) September 14, 2016

However, the FHSAA has a contract with the Central Florida Sports Commission to host the Drive To December Championship games at Camping World Stadium that coincide on the same weekend as the ACC Football Championship.

The news of the FHSAA keeping Drive To December games in Orlando was announced in late July.

If the ACC were to award the Football Championship to Orlando, something will certainly have to be done about relocation the affected games, which would involve Classes 1A, 2A, 3A and 4A for that weekend.

In the meantime, the FHSAA has deferred all comment to the Central Florida Sports Commission in regards to the recent developments and apparently they haven’t been in contact with the FHSAA, according to a message received by Alison Posey at WTXL-TV in Tallahassee.

From FHSAA on potential conflicting weekend with Camping World hosting ACC Champ game: pic.twitter.com/UAqmFaTeLH

— Alison Posey (@AlisonPosey14) September 14, 2016

FloridaHSFootball.com has reached out via Direct Message on Twitter to the Central Florida Sports Commission seeking comments to questions we have in regards to this news and how they plan to handle affected FHSAA games if they indeed land the ACC Football Championship game. According to Posey though, the Commission is referring them to the ACC with questions.

Reached out to Florida Citrus Sports on if they were interested in hosting Championship game. Referred me to ACC.

— Alison Posey (@AlisonPosey14) September 14, 2016

This is a developing news story. Please check back later for further updates.

The post Could the first weekend of FHSAA’s 2016 Drive To December Championships be relocated? appeared first on FloridaHSFootball.com.

Judson ran through the defense and into the end zone.

The Tigers had done it.

The crowd erupted and Judson was ecstatic as he led his team to a 26-23 victory over the top-rated Class 3A team in the Florida, the Trinity Christian Conquerors while the nation watched on ESPN2.

THE INFO: Entering the game, the Conquerors were 14 point favorites, even 21 point favorites depending on the spread you were looking at online.

That didn’t matter to star quarterback Bruce Judson and company.

On the first drive of the game, Trinity Christian took the field and was forced to punt on a quick three-and-out.

Cocoa returner Juwan Armstrong returned the punt for 15 yards and Judson took the field.

After two short runs, the Tiger quarterback as he threw a screen pass to wide receiver Javian Hawkins, who broke through the defense and scored from 64-yards out, to take a 7-0 lead with just under five minutes taken off the clock in the first quarter.

PHOTO GALLERY: Check out all the photos from the game here.

On the second drive of the game, Trinity Christian was looking to answer back.

Quarterback Legend Brumbaugh took the field from the Conqueror 37-yard line to start the drive after the Cocoa kickoff was deliberately put out of bounds to keep a return from happening.

On third-and-five after a delay of game call, Brumbaugh let the ball fly to Ohio State commit Shaun Wade who went up and came down with the ball putting the Conquerors inside the five-yard line, for an 56-yard completion.

However, on the very next play, running back Rasheed Martin was tackled in the backfield for a loss of 10 yards.

Brumbaugh was then sacked which brought out the field goal unit to kick a with a 41-yard field goal from Frankie Onate to shorten Cocoa’s lead to 7-3 with just under seven minutes left in the first quarter.

The second drive of the game for the Tigers went nowhere and was forced to punt giving the Conquerors great field position at the 49-yard line.

However, holding was called on the offense on the first play of the drive forcing the Conquerors back the 39-yard line. On the next play, Brumbaugh was picked off with four minutes left in the first quarter.

Cocoa drove the ball down to the 26-yard line and led 7-3 at the end of the first quarter.

A flag on the play set the Tigers back 10-yards but Judson hooked up with Armstrong which got them back to the 26-yard line.

However Trinity Christian helped Cocoa out with two more penalties with being flagged for being offsides then getting called for a facemask penalty, putting the Tigers at the eight-yard line looking to extend their lead.

And the Tigers did just that when RB Timmy Pratt ran it in to give Cocoa a 14-3 over the Conquerors with 9:50 left in the first half.

On the next Trinity Christian drive, Cocoa started racking up numerous penalties eventually putting the Conquerors with the ball at Cocoa’s 26-yard line.

Unable to score a touchdown on a third down pass play that  was swatted down by the swarming Cocoa defense, Onate kicked a 49-yard booming field goal to cut the lead to 14-6 with just about eight minutes left in the half.

Cocoa came back on the field and scored a field goal of their own with 1:16 left, giving them a 17-6 lead

However, the on the kickoff, Cocoa made a big mistake that proved to help eventually lead towards a potential comeback.

ATH DJ Matthews  received the kickoff, something Cocoa had been avoiding to have happened earlier in the game and ran it all the way back to the house for a 80-yard touchdown return to cut Cocoa’s lead to 17-12 going into the half. 

In the third quarter, things started to appear they were swinging towards Cocoa’s way completely.

With 8:19 left the Conquerors punted the ball back to Cocoa, allowing the Tigers to start their second drive of the second half.

Cocoa was able to drive the ball 80-yards using nearly six minutes of the third quarter clock, eventually settling for a field goal to take a 20-12 lead. 

It appeared after that the Conquerors were deflated somewhat with the Tigers holding their own on defense. But that wouldn’t be the case towards the end of the fourth quarter.

In a change of events, the Conquerors were able to keep Judson from scoring to put the game away as the Tigers were forced to punt with five minutes remaining in the game. That breathed new life quickly for the Conquerors.

PHOTO GALLERY: See the thrilling plays of the game in photos here.

Brumbaugh took the field from his own 15-yard line and was able to convert a critical 4th-and-7 putting the Conquerors out their own 31-yard line. Brumbaugh then quickly threw the ball 36-yards to Matthews which set up the offense in scoring position on the five-yard line.

On the next play, Legend connected with Wade putting the score at 20-18 with just seconds left on the clock. The Conquerors pulled a trick play on the Tigers defense and Brumbaugh converted the two-point conversion to send the game into overtime tied at 20.

KEY PLAY(S) OF THE GAME: The Tigers won the coin toss and quickly deferred to having the ball second. Quickly, Cocoa’s defense shut down the door on the Conquerors in scoring a touchdown, having to settle for a field goal to take a 23-20 lead.

Now knowing Cocoa only need a touchdown to win the game Trinity Christian was going to need its defense to step up.

However, it wasn’t meant to be.

Judson took the field and handed the ball off to Timmy Pratt who picked up a couple of yards on the handoff. On the very next play, Judson took the game into his own hands as he pushed through the Conquerors defense to win the game 26-23 in overtime.

Video of the game winning touchdown from Florida Today.

STAR OF THE GAME: Bruce Judson, the 4-star quarterback, threw for 171 yards and rushed for 91 yards and scoring one passing touchdown and the game-winning rushing touchdown in overtime.

DID YOU KNOW: Entering the game, Trinity Christian hadn’t lost a game dating back to 2014 when the team lost 28-7 against IMG Academy on October 16th, 2014, a streak of 22 wins before today’s loss

The Conquerors have two players, Wade and Matthews in the ESPN 300 for the class of 2017 and three players, Tyreke Johnson, Eriq Gilyard, Chamarrie Conner in the ESPN 300 for the class of 2018.

QUOTABLE: “First off I’ve got to thank this team. I put the team on my back and everyone on the sideline was like ‘come on Bruce you can do this.’ We worked through the game, not just me, and we faced adversity during the game but coach told us to keep our cool. I mean big time players make big time plays in big games. When it’s time for me, I mean I don’t mean to to steal the spotlight, but when it’s time for me to do what I did, I put the team on my back,” said Bruce Judson on the game-winning touchdown.

WHAT’S NEXT: Next week, the Cocoa Tigers travel out west to face No.3 Bishop Gorman of Las Vegas, a team that won its 40th in a row against No.5 Cedar Hill. Trinity Christian travels to Ribault, a team that lost 9-6 against Miami Norland on Saturday night.

The post INSTANT CLASSIC: Cocoa upsets Jacksonville Trinity Christian in overtime appeared first on FloridaHSFootball.com.

Offense

The Rockets offense was abysmal and really an embarrassment to the great football that Florida is usually known for. For a defending state champion, coming out in your first official game in defending your state championship, you should be able to score points with your first string quarterback leading the way. It didn’t happen.

Known for having a strong running game, Miami Central didn’t use this fact to their advantage. It also didn’t help when the offensive line looked like a sponge allowing DeMatha to do what ever they pleased once they broke through, creating trouble for the running back and the quarterbacks.

Of course the offense could learn from all of this and be fine next week, but what we saw was exposure to an offense that really needs improvement. When you score the only points you get late in the game and against second team players from the other team, that is not what a state championship caliber team does.

Defense

Defense might be the only bright spot for the Rockets as they were able to put pressure on the Stags early on. In the first half, the Rockets were able to keep up for the most part, but we knew the Rockets would eventually be in trouble if the offense couldn’t get anything going and that is exactly what happened.

Usually halftime is a good way to catch your breath and regroup, but what ever was said by head coach Roland Smith to get the team turn the tide instead went south as they allowed DeMatha to be able to cash in on the opening drive of the second half and thus started the trouble.

Pretty much, you can blame the offensive woes, for the defensive breakdown and allowing the Rockets to just run out of gas.

Special Teams

The first chance that the Rockets got to be able to get some points with a field goal attempt that was ultimately blocked by DeMatha and allowing the Stags to return the blocked kick 80-yards for a touchdown. Such things have to be avoided and improvement is needed as special teams is the third, and most often forgotten part about a football game.

Discipline

Discipline or really the lack of it showed for the Rockets. I couldn’t remember the last time I really saw Miami Central lack so much discipline. It really has been a long while and we may have to go back to 2012 when the last time Miami Central lacked discipline in a game that cost them the entire game.

Hopefully between now and when they play Miami Killian next week that the Rockets realize that to four-peat as state champions, that discipline is a must.

Future Thoughts

I still think Miami Central has a chance to four-peat as state champions but the Rockets proved they are not the No. 1 team in the state and likely not the No. 1 team in Class 6A. Those spots will have to be earned back and something that could prove to be difficult this season. The next few weeks will show us if the Rockets have learned from the mistakes against DeMatha or if this will indeed be a long season for a team that has become the face of Class 6A football.

The post Thoughts on Miami Central after 38-14 loss to DeMatha Catholic appeared first on FloridaHSFootball.com.

FORT LAUDERDALE – The Booker T. Washington Tornadoes’ 41-game win streak is over.

And it figures that Fort Lauderdale’s St. Thomas Aquinas was the team big enough, fast enough and skilled enough to end the Tornadoes’ impressive run.

BTW, a Miami power which has won three straight Class 4A state titles, lost 35-3 on Friday night to host Aquinas, the defending Class 7A state champs, in the first game of the GEICO ESPN High School Kickoff.

Aquinas intercepted three passes in the first half, when it raced to a 21-0 lead, and BTW never got in the game.

RELATED: For coverage of all high school sports, visit our partners at USA TODAY High School Sports

Aquinas quarterback Jake Allen, a Florida commit, threw four touchdowns covering 20, 30, 23 and 32 yards. Two of those — for 32 and 20 — went to Miami commit Sam Bruce.

Part of the strong defensive effort was lineman Nick Bosa, an Ohio State commit. He left the game in the fourth quarter with cramping in his hamstrings and calf muscles.

“I just have to get used to the game speed again,” Bosa told USA TODAY High School Sports.

The Tornadoes fell one win short of the Florida record for longest win streak, but the loss was understandable given that Aquinas, which has won three state titles in the past five years, is ranked No. 5 in the USA TODAY High School Sports Super 25 poll.

BTW is unranked and played Friday’s game before a packed crowd estimated at 6,500 fans along with the national television audience.

USA TODAY High School Sports is a partner of FloridaHSFootball.com. Follow on Twitter@USATODAYhss

The post St. Thomas Aquinas ends Booker T. Washington’s 41-game winning streak appeared first on FloridaHSFootball.com.

ESPN release its kickoff weekend schedule today, according to a post made by Dallas Jackson on NationalHSFootball.com.

The schedule of 10 games will feature six Florida teams that are expected be ranked on the HSFB100 preseason rankings alongside statewide and regional rankings.

The schedule (all times Eastern)

Saturday, Aug. 23

• Miami Central at Hoover (AL),  Noon, ESPN
• Niceville vs. Clay-Chalkville (AL) at Hoover, Ala., 4 p.m., ESPNU
• Booker T. Washington at Oscar Smith (VA), 9 p.m., ESPNU
• Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) at Buford, (GA), 9 p.m., ESPN2

Sunday, Aug. 24

• Dwyer (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.) vs. American Heritage (Plantation, Fla.), 3 p.m., ESPN

The one game missing from the list is Lincoln at Camden County (GA) on Saturday, August 23. No word as of now if this game will air on television at all.

The post ESPN releases schedule for kickoff weekend appeared first on FloridaHSFootball.com.

The proposed High School Football Bowl Series is being proposed by Paragon Marketing, which currently runs the National High School Invite tournament in Basketball in which Florida has been a participant in over the past few years.

The concept of the proposed High School Football Bowl series would feature four of the top teams in the nation that would be selected based upon those eligible to play. National rankings would be evaluated to also determine what teams would be possibly invited.

The proposed series would take place after the traditional high school football season, likely sometime in January.

Location of where a tournament would be held at hasn’t been decided, but could either be at one of the four schools that is selected based upon ranking or a neutral site. Location of teams selected would also play a role in determine the location of the proposed tournament.

As such all games would be nationally televised, very likely on ESPN, according to documents the FHSAA has released on its website in advance of the Board of Directors meeting. Paragon and ESPN have been partners in broadcasting high school sports since 2002, according to the documents.

Compensation seems to be one thing that could lure the FHSAA into allowing Florida to being one of four states at minimum that would participate.

Paragon, would pay the FHSAA and other state athletic associations that agree to participate a $10,000 participation fee. However, if a team from a respective state participates, that association would get a $40,000 bonus from Paragon. That would likely provide the association alone in $50,000 money given Florida’s dominance of having several Top 5 or Top 10 teams nationally in almost any given year which would likely place one team alone into the proposed tournament.

For high school teams that are selected to participate compensation would include an all-expense paid trip for a traveling party up to 75 people that includes players, coaches, athletic trainers, staff and administration from each program. Plus they would receive a $10,000 product voucher from the athletic shoe and apparel companies or sporting goods retail store or a $5,000 cash fee at Paragon’s discretion.

There will be an educational component that goes along with the proposed tournament, including but not limited to educational field trips for student-athletes in the host city, a motivational speaker at the kick-off banquet and travel and internship opportunities involving marketing, event management, television production and journalism at the Bowl Game for students at each participating high school.

The FHSAA could vote on this proposal from Paragon at the June Board of Directors meeting, if interest warrants from the meeting on Monday, according to FHSAA documents.

A set date for the High School Football Series to launch has not been decided upon as of this time as the planning stages are still on going.

The Varsity Message Board: Discuss your thoughts on the proposed High School Football Bowl Series

The post A High School Football Bowl National Tournament on the way? appeared first on FloridaHSFootball.com.

In a deal first reported by NationalHSFootball.com, Miami Central officially agreed to play Alabama powerhouse, the Hoover Buccaneers, pitting the Rockets in a powerful season opening matchup. Also at the same time Niceville will participate in the doubleheader, matching up against Clay-Chalkville, another strong and well known Alabama powerhouse team.

The deals include possible rights for both games to be shown nationally on one of the ESPN Networks, which will have the Niceville-Clay-Chalkville shown first followed by the Miami Central-Hoover contest, most likely in primetime. Contract negotiation for those rights are still on going with ESPN and Paragon Marketing.

“The opening contest is intriguing as well because both teams are nationally relevant and provide the quality depth within the states. Both games register nationally and that us just great planning,” NationalHSFootball.com’s Dallas Jackson said.

However, the Miami Central-Hoover game will be closely eyed by many high school football fans around the country. The game has the potential to end the hopes of a national championship for either team.

“I think this is a national title eliminator. Hoover is probably a team that will be ranked in the Top 5 of the Preseason HSFB100 and Miami Central is Top 5 in Florida which almost always puts you in play for a national title,” Jackson said.

Miami Central has its work cut for themselves to start the season with three games that could set the tone for a possible quest towards a national championship. The Rockets will play against Stephenson, Georgia in Week 1 before finally coming home to face defending National Champion, Booker T. Washington in Week 2.

For Niceville, opening with Clay-Chalkville means its kickoff classic game is off against Pensacola Washington as well as home game against Greene County High from Mississippi.

Defending Class 6A State Champion Miami finished the season ranked No. 4 in the HSFB 100, while Niceville finished the season as the Class 7A State Runner-up, but unranked nationally.

The post Miami Central, Niceville set to play in season opening doubleheader appeared first on FloridaHSFootball.com.

The tone of the game was set in the very first play from scrimmage as Patriots quarterback Torrance Gibson launched an 80-yard touchdown pass down the middle of the field to Dallas Perez.

The high point for the Lightning was junior Danny Thomas, a transfer from Piper High. He registered several tackles throughout the game as well as a one-handed interception for a touchdown. Thomas acknowledged the fact that he had an above average game, but was not too pleased with the overall result.

“We played a great team,” Thomas said. “We just need to work on our little miscues and go back onto the football field again so we can be perfect, so then we can win games, go undefeated and win states.”

Five-star senior running back and Georgia commit Sony Michel had 136 yards on 13 carries as well as two rushing touchdowns for the Patriots.

After senior RB/DB Marquese Dudley-Gordon suffered a high ankle sprain on a 55-yard run in the 1^st quarter, he was forced to sit the rest of the game. Dudley-Gordon, a three-star recruit, has 20+ offers and looks to contribute on both sides of the ball this year.

Cypress Bay head coach Mark Guandolo mentioned that it will take some time for his “new look” Lightning to gel together.

“We had a lot of mistakes and had a lot of new players out there,” Coach ‘G’ said. “I told them that we are going to go through some adversity here early and it is not where you start, it is where you finish.”

Coach Guandolo mentioned that he and the rest of the team will use this game as motivation for the rest of the season.

“This is going to push us to get better and we just have to get ready for district play,” he said. “That is what is going to get you to the playoffs.”

Cypress Bay will now rest on an unusual Week 1 bye before playing host to the Boyd Anderson Cobras on Friday, Sept. 6.

The post Cypress Bay falls to American Heritage-Plantation in preseason opener appeared first on FloridaHSFootball.com.

During the August 24 game versus Byrnes (SC), the University of Nebraska verbal committed player was knocked over as he attempted to heave a pass for a touchdown in the final seconds of the game. The quarterback was taken off the field on a stretcher to another field where a helicopter landed and rushed him to a nearby hospital. Darlington was administered oxygen while on the field and as he was taken off on the stretcher.

Tiffany Greene of Bright House Sports Network, who has been traveling with the Apopka team during this road-trip, spoke with Apopka Athletic Director Fred Priest who informed her “Darlington suffered a concussion, but is responsive and in good spirits.”

Priest told Greene the cat scan came back negative; however, Darlington will be kept over night as a pre-caution. The team bus has to return to Orlando tonight, but Darlington’s family and “a few teammates” will remain in South Carolina tonight, according to Greene.

This is Darlington’s second concussion in three months, according to the Orlando Sentinel. He suffered a concussion during a conditioning drill earlier this summer the paper reports.

In more great news, Greene says that Priest informed her ESPN will be footing the bill for both the hotel and plane tickets for the Darlington family.

Greene says that when one of the assistant coaches told the team on the bus ride home about Darlington’s condition, “the mood shifted very quickly.” Some guys were asleep she said, but the bus full of teenage boys turned into a bus full of a “lively bunch [of] teenage boys.”

Darlington’s brother Ty, a center for the University of Oklahoma, tweeted out “Just want to let everyone know I’ve been in touch with my brother and he is fine (considering the circumstances). Thanks for the support!”

He later tweeted to another user that the situation was “just a bad scare.”

Apopka lost the game, their first official game of the season, by a score of 51-36. The game was nationally televised by ESPN.

The defending Class 8A state champions will host Oak Ridge on Friday night.

The post Darlington staying behind; results negative appeared first on FloridaHSFootball.com.

Updated at 10:38 PM ET – August 12

On Monday, the Florida Gators had one of the biggest one-day recruiting hauls in recent memory.

At around 4:45 PM EST, 2014 Plantation athlete Chris Lammons announced his verbal commitment to Florida on ESPNU’s ‘College Football: The Blitz‘

Some would call landing one four-star recruit in one day a success. But how about landing another four-star AND a five-star in the same day! For Florida head coach Will Muschamp and company they did just that.

Later Monday night on a broadcast with 560 WQAM, Homestead wide receiver Ermon Lane and University School defensive back Quincy Wilson made their pledge to the Gators as well rounding out a massive day for Florida.

“We were all set on being Gators. I knew I was going to commit here for about a month now and it just feels good to be a Gator,” Wilson later told me. “I had taken all my visits and Florida was my last one. Being at Friday Night Lights was just icing on the cake.”

“When Quincy’s dad took us up to Florida for spring practice I felt comfortable. I was just looking at the depth chart and I thought I could play right away,” Lane added.

Being among the best in the country in their respective positions, the trio all had a great deal of attention surrounding their respective recruitment.

“It feels great. This process can be very stressful. I’m happy to make the decision before the season so I can focus on my senior season,” Wilson said on the broadcast.

For the Gators, landing Lammons was a huge get. Lammons was heavily considering South Carolina until he had changed his mind at the last minute. Lammons said he wanted to commit to the Gamecocks on his July 25th visit; however, the Gamecocks did not have room for him in their 2014 class.

On August 25, Gator fans will be able to get a glimpse into the future as University School faces Homestead live in a nationally-televised game on ESPN. They will be able to watch future teammates go one-on-one literally as Wislon will likely be matched up against Lane the whole game.

Some people although think that Lammons and Lane may either flip or de-commit from Florida. Well Wilson has an opinion on the topic as well.

“I think we are all happy choosing Florida and that is where we are going to end up,” Wilson said.

Lammons, Lane and Wilson had hinted for months that they would all commit to the same university — today they made that dream a reality.

The post Lammons, Lane and Wilson all commit to Florida appeared first on FloridaHSFootball.com.

During the broadcast Lammons announced: “For the next four years, I’ll be attending the University of Florida.” With the selection of the Gators, he passes over his Tennessee and South Carolina, his other finalists.

“(Florida has a) great coaching staff, great facility and that is just somewhere I feel comfortable,” Lammons added.

Lammons, a consensus four-star recruit, is considered as one of the nations top cornerbacks. Although, Lammons also starts at quarterback for his high school team, the Plantation Colonels.

Plantation head coach Steve Davis had some good things to say about Lammons’ pledge to Florida: “I think it’s a great decision,” he said. “[The Gators] will have a need for corners in the next two years.”

Lammons is thought to be joined in Gainesville by two of his best friends, Homestead wide receiver Ermon Lane and University School defensive back Quincy Wilson as they both commit tonight as well. Florida has long been thought to have been the favorite for Lammons, Lane and Wilson.

The post Plantation 2014 ATH Chris Lammons commits to Florida appeared first on FloridaHSFootball.com.

The eight teams slated to be a part of ESPN’s HS Football coverage are:

• American Heritage (Plantation)
• Apopka
• Booker T. Washington
• Cypress Bay
• Homestead
• Lincoln
• University Christian
• University School

For American Heritage (Plantation), Homestead, Lincoln and University Christian, this will be the first time they will have appeared in a game on any of the ESPN networks.

Here is the schedule line up involving the teams listed above:

Friday, August 23

• No teams

Saturday, August 24

• Apopka at Byrnes (SC) – ESPN – Kickoff: Noon
• University Christian at Highlands (KY) – ESPNU – Kickoff: 3:30 PM
• Lincoln vs. South Gwinnett (GA) – ESPN  – Kickoff: 3:30 PM
• Booker T. Washington vs. Norcross (GA) – ESPN – Kickoff: 7:00 PM

Sunday, August 25

• University School at Homestead (at Cypress Bay High)* – ESPNU – Kickoff 11:00 AM
• American Heritage (Plantation) at Cypress Bay* – ESPN – Kickoff: 3:00 PM

* – Kickoff classic game; does not count towards teams regular season win-loss average

The post Eight teams will be shown in games on the ESPN networks on August 23-25 appeared first on FloridaHSFootball.com.