Legendary NFL coach Bill Belichick attends IMG Academy practice

Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy hits the road once again tonight as the Ascenders are in New Jersey to face Bergen Catholic. On Wednesday, former New England Patriots head coach and future NFL Hall of Famer Bill Belichick showed up to watch the Ascenders practice ahead of the clash between nationally-ranked IMG and New Jersey’s top program.

Belichick will also attend the game between IMG and Bergen Catholic this evening.

IMG Academy is the nation’s No. 22 high school football team and top in the state of Florida, per the On3 Massey Ratings. The Massey Ratings — which were officially used during the BCS era and have generated college high school sports team rankings since 1995 — rank sports teams by analyzing game outcomes, strength of schedule and margin of victory.

The Ascenders went on the road to Corner Canyon (Utah) in week one and fell to the Chargers in a 35-34 heartbreaker. Ascenders quarterback and SMU commit Ty Hawkins threw for 260 yards and three touchdowns, also accounting for a score on the ground. Elite Alabama IOL commit Michael Carroll, top-100 linebacker Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng and Ohio State EDGE commit London Merritt also feature on IMG’s roster.

Bergen Catholic comes into 2024 as the New Jersey Non-Public A defending state champions after the Crusaders downed Delbarton 24-14 in the title game last season. Four-star wide receiver Quincy Porter is a top-50 recruit nationally and committed to Ohio State, and he’s flanked by fellow Big Ten commits Naiim Parrish and Chris Vigna and four-star juniors Jermaine Kinsler and Jordan Thomas.

The showdown between IMG and Bergen Catholic is one of the national high school football games of the week, per On3. The game is set to kick off at 7 p.m. Eastern Thursday evening in Ocean City, N.J.