Florida High School Football Games of the Week: IMG Academy, Miami Central, Lakeland
Florida high school football opening week is here, and many of the state’s powerhouse programs will take on top opponents to kick off the season. Multiple Sunshine State programs will also be in action across the ESPN network in the coming days.
Below are the top games of the week in the state of Florida as teams look to start the 2024 season off on a high note.
The On3 Massey Ratings, officially used during the BCS era, is a model that ranks sports teams by analyzing game outcomes, strength of schedule and margin of victory.
Florida Games of the Week
August 22
No. 1 IMG Academy at Corner Canyon (Utah): One of the most anticipated games in the country, America’s No. 9 team, IMG Academy, will head out west to play No. 11 Corner Canyon in what should be an electric season opener for the Ascenders. Corner Canyon is coming off a dominant 70-42 win over American Fork (Utah), in which junior quarterback Helaman Casuga passed for nearly 500 yards and six touchdowns. IMG’s roster features a total of 17 blue-chippers in the junior and senior classes this season.
August 23
No. 4 Miami Central at No. 13 Lakeland: The top game between two Sunshine State teams this weekend features a pair of top-15 squads in Florida as Miami Central travels north to take on Lakeland. Central features blue-chip wide receiver Naeshaun Montgomery, Miami four-star safety pledge Amari Wallace and Penn State QB commit Bekkem Kritza, among others. On the other side, the Dreadnaughts should be a tough defensive test for the Rockets with junior four-star linebacker Malik Morris and senior Ole Miss safety commit Keon Young.
No. 6 American Heritage vs. Milton (Ga.): An ESPN High School Football Kickoff game this weekend includes No. 27 Milton traveling to play No. 78 American Heritage. The Eagles are fresh off of a big-time 13-10 win over Buford (Ga.) last week. Multiple big prospects will be on the field on Friday, from Milton Miami QB commit Luke Nickel and Florida State WR commit CJ Wiley to Heritage running back Byron Louis and elite junior Texas QB commit Dia Bell.
Watch: 7 p.m. ET on ESPN
No. 7 Venice vs. No. 20 Tampa Bay Tech: The second-biggest all-Florida game of the weekend highlights Vence and Tampa Bay Tech. Venice went 12-3 a year ago before losing in a 60-48 shootout to Lakeland in the 4S state title. The Indians are led on the outside by four-star wide receiver Winston Watkins Jr. Oregon five-star wide receiver Dallas Wilson will be a lethal threat for Tampa Bay Tech while four-star junior offensive lineman Canon Pickett holds things down in the trenches.
August 24
No. 2 Chaminade-Madonna Prep vs. St. John Bosco (Calif.): Chaminade-Madonna Prep, NATL. No. 16, will host California’s St. John Bosco on Saturday as part of the ESPN High School Football Kickoff at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN2 at St. Thomas Aquinas High School. The Lions once again feature an electric group of skill position players, including Miami corner commit Chris Ewald, Penn State receiver pledge Koby Howard and top-32 juniors Derrek Cooper and Jabari Brady.
Watch: 8 p.m. ET on ESPN2
No. 3 St. Thomas Aquinas vs. Bishop Gorman (Nev.): Bishop Gorman opened its season last week with a 33-7 win over nationally ranked Kahuku (Hawaii). The quarterback duo of Melvin Spicer and Maika Eugenio combined for four touchdowns for the Gaels. Now, they will head to the Sunshine State for the ESPN High School Football Kickoff to take on St. Thomas Aquinas at 4 p.m. ET on Saturday. Elite junior defensive back Justice Fitzpatrick headlines the secondary, while the Raiders should be able to look forward to a powerful running attack behind Illinois commit Cedric Wyche.
Watch: 4 p.m. ET on ESPN