ESPN to Feature 26 High School Football Teams on Kickoff Weekend in Late August

by Jeff Fisher
High School Football America

You can hear Hank Williams, Jr. shouting..."Are You Ready for Some Football?"

High school football fans, ESPN will give you your high school football fix August 26th through the 28th with its annual ESPN High School Football Kickoff that will feature 26 teams from 13 different states.

Below is the three-day, 13-game schedule:

August 26th - Columbus North vs. Columbus East (Indiana) - ESPNU, 7PM EST
August 26th - Gainesville vs. Buford (Georgia) - ESPN3.com, 7PM EST
August 26th - Gaffney vs. Dorman (South Carolina) - ESPN3.com, 9PM EST
August 26th - Armwood (FL) vs. Bishop Gorman (NV) - ESPN2, 9PM EST
August 27th - St. Thomas Aquinas (FL) vs. Prattville (AL) - ESPN, Noon EST
August 27th - South Panola (MS) vs. Hoover (AL) - ESPN, 3:30 PM EST
August 27th - Indianapolis Cathedral vs. Warren Central (Indiana) - ESPNU, 4PM EST
August 27th - Sulphur Springs vs. Denton Ryan (Texas) - ESPN, 7 PM EST
August 27th - Hillcrest vs. Seneca (Missouri) - ESPNU, 9PM EST
August 27th - Pleasant Grove vs. Monterey Trail (California) - ESPN2,  10 PM EST
August 28th - Collegiate Academy (DC) vs. Taft (OH) - ESPNU, 11 AM EST
August 28th - Glenbard West vs. Wheaton Warrenville South (IL) - ESPN 2, Noon EST
August 28th - Cocoa (FL) vs. Colerain (OH) - ESPN, 3 PM EST

Big 12 Says NO to Longhorn Television Network Broadcasting High School Football Games

by Jeff Fisher
High School Football America

It's official, there won't be any high school football games broadcast on the new Longhorn Television Network this year.

Monday, the Big 12 athletic directors voted unanimously to put a one-year hold on the televising of high school games, plus recommended that the NCAA establish a national moratorium on such games until the governing body can study the situation closer.

Last month, the Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe hit the pause button on the LTN, saying it couldn't move forward with an 18-game high school football schedule until further review from all Big 12 members.

The LTN is a joint venture between the Big 12 member Texas and ESPN.

Longhorn Television Network Hits Pause Button on Broadcasting High School Football Games

by Jeff Fisher
High School Football America

As legendary college football play-by-play man Keith Jackson would say...."Whoa Nellie!"

According to published reports in the Dallas Morning News, Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe has put a temporary hold on plans by the newly created Longhorn Television Network to broadcast high school football games in Texas.

Beebe decided to push the pause button on the high school games after ESPN VP Dave Brown may have committed an NCAA violation by mentioning the names of two 2012 University of Texas recruits in a June radio interview.

The Longhorn Television Network, which is scheduled to launch August 26th, is a 24-hour network owned by ESPN.  The Worldwide Leader in Sports reportedly is paying $300 million over a 20-year period for ownership of the network that will be focused on U of T sports.

The LTN had planned on broadcasting 18 high school football games during the 2011 season, but those plans have been delayed while Beebe and his staff try to determine if such broadcasts are an NCAA violation.  Several Big 12 members reportedly feel the airing of high school games on the Longhorn Television Network gives a recruiting advantage to Texas.

Various media outlets are also reporting that Big 12 members Texas A&M and Oklahoma are considering a possible move to the SEC.

In addition to making sure the network doesn't violate NCAA rules, Beebe wants to also make sure that fellow Big 12 members are not put at a disadvantage.

Stay tuned!

National High School Football Powers De La Salle and St. Thomas Aquinas to Square-off in September

by Jeff Fisher
High School Football America

They've been two of the best high school football programs in their respective states for a long time...now De La Salle (Concord, CA) and St. Thomas Aquinas (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) will square-off on the field for bragging rights.  And, ESPN will be there to capture the action and give a national audience a look at the California/Florida bragging rights battle.

ESPN officials have announced they will televise the September 23rd match-up live on one of their networks.  Last year STA won Florida's 5A championship; De La Salle, which is riding a 25-game win streak, won California's Open Division title.

Of course that 25-game win streak doesn't hold a candle to the Spartans' national record 151-game win streak that was set between 1992-2003.

Maybe the only disappointment about the game is that long-time Raider head coach George Smith won't be guiding his team.  Smith announced earlier this year that he had decided to retire.  If the legendary Smith, who led Aquinas to six state titles, hadn't stepped-down, the game would have matched two of high school football's best.  De La Salle's Bob Ladouceur owns a 372-23-3 record since he took over in Concord in 1979.

"Playing a great program like St. Thomas Aquinas is a positive opportunity. Win or lose, they'll make us a better team. It should be an exciting game," said Ladouceur in a news release.

Former defensive coordinator Rocco Casullo will take over for Smith, but it was the former coach who spoke about the match-up in the ESPN news release saying "To have the chance to play a program like De La Salle is a great challenge for our program and to us a great thing for high school football in both states. It should be an outstanding game for both schools, both states and fans of high school football nationwide."

Join High School Football America at LinkedIn

by Jeff Fisher
High School Football America

In my hope of reaching the largest number of high school football fans, I've launched a High School Football America LinkedIn group page.

We've already picked-up 25 members, which ranks the group as the fourth largest in the high school football catagory.

Currently we have a good conversation going on whether fans enjoy the nationally televised high school football games that appear on ESPN, CBS College Sports, etc.

To join the group, click here.

Also, don't forget, you can follow us at Twitter and Facebook.  Click on the linked below to join.

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