ESPN RISE Announces New Event: ESPN RISE High School Football Kickoff
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Eight Matchups—Live On ESPN, ESPN 2 and ESPNU August 27-29
ESPN will begin its 2010 fall football programming with a newly developed TV event called the “ESPN RISE High School Football Kickoff,” featuring 16 teams from seven states in eight exciting high school football match-ups; the weekend-long event will precede all high school, college and pro-football regular-season fall football programming. Live from five states—Florida, California, South Carolina, Texas and Ohio—the ESPN RISE High School Football Kickoff will feature eight teams from the ESPN RISE FAB 50 2010 preseason ranking, seven ESPNU 150 ranked players and more than 60 Division One recruits. The eight games will be televised live on ESPN, ESPN 2 and ESPNU, August 27-29.
Team match-ups for the ESPN RISE High School Football Kickoff are: defending Fla. 5A champion Plant (Fla.) vs. Manatee (Fla.), Grant (Calif.) vs. Folsom (Calif.), defending Ala. 6A champion Hoover (Ala.) vs. Byrnes (S.C.), South Pointe (S.C.) vs. Northwestern (S.C.), Steele (Texas) vs. Madison (Texas), defending Texas 5A champion Trinity (Texas) vs. Tyler Lee (Texas), Good Counsel (Md.) vs. St. Xavier (Ohio) and Moeller (Ohio) vs. Huber Heights Wayne (Ohio).
Of the 16 teams playing during the ESPN RISE High School Football Kickoff, eight are ranked in the ESPN RISE FAB 50 2010 preseason ranking: No. 2, Plant (Fla.), No. 4 Grant (Calif.), No. 6 Trinity (Texas), No. 9 Hoover (Ala.), No. 15 Good Counsel (Md.), No. 19 Manatee (Fla.), No. 39 St. Xavier (Ohio), and No. 42 Northwestern (S.C.).
ESPNU 150 ranked players featured in the ESPN RISE High School Football Kickoff are: No. 1 Jadeveon Clowney (DE, South Pointe), No. 7 Malcolm Brown (RB, Steele), No. 8 James Wilder II (ATH, Plant), No. 15 Aaron Green (RB, Madison), No. 16 Braxton Miller (QB, Wayne), No. 96 Viliami Moala (DT, Grant) and No. 116 Mike Blakely (RB, Manatee).
The ESPN RISE High School Football Kickoff Television Schedule:
| Date | Games | Time | Network |
| Fri., Aug. 27 | Plant – Fla. (No. 2, FAB 50) vs. Manatee – Fla. (No. 19, FAB 50) | 7 p.m. EDT | ESPN |
| Fri., Aug. 27 | Grant – Calif. (No. 4, FAB 50) vs. Folsom – Calif. | 10 p.m. EDT | ESPN2 |
| Sat., Aug. 28 | Hoover – Ala. (No. 9, FAB 50) vs. Byrnes – S.C. | 12 p.m. EDT | ESPN |
| Sat., Aug. 28 | South Pointe – S.C. vs. Northwestern – S.C. (No. 42, FAB 50) | 4 p.m. EDT | ESPNU |
| Sat., Aug. 28 | Steele – Texas vs. Madison – Texas | 7 p.m. EDT | ESPN |
| Sat., Aug. 28 | Trinity – Texas (No. 6, FAB 50) vs. Tyler Lee (Texas) | 10 p.m. EDT | ESPNU |
| Sun., Aug 29 | Good Counsel – Md. (No. 15, FAB 50) vs. St. Xavier – Ohio (No. 39, FAB 50) | 3 p.m. EDT | ESPN |
| Sun., Aug 29 | Moeller – Ohio vs. Huber Heights Wayne – Ohio | 7 p.m. EDT | ESPNU |
The ESPN RISE High School Football Kickoff is produced in conjunction with Paragon Marketing Group.
About ESPN RISE
ESPN RISE represents ESPN’s commitment to engage and elevate high school athletes by providing them with recognition, resources, information and inspiration that can motivate them to improve their skills and achieve their goals to be the best athletes they can. ESPN RISE assets include ESPN RISE, GIRL, Hardwood and Gridiron magazines; ESPNRISE.com, and more than 160 high school events including Elite 11, Elite 24, ESPN RISE Games, ESPN RISE National High School Invitational, Faster to First, Area Code Baseball and Nike Combines/Nike SPARQ Mini Camps. ESPN RISE is uniquely positioned to provide high school athletes and the company’s core fans with compelling high school sports content across all ESPN platforms.
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Contacts:
Media
Crystal Howard, ESPN PR: [email protected]
