ESPN GEICO High School Football Kickoff returns for 10th season

By Staff Report Jul 10, 2019, 10:00am

Seven big games in late August will help usher in 2019 prep campaign.

Video: Top 10 games of the season
Two contests from ESPN GEICO kickoff made the list.

At least a half-dozen nationally-ranked teams will take the field Aug. 23-25 as part of the 2019 ESPN GEICO High School Football Kickoff.

Games will be available throughout the weekend on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and the ESPN App.

Seventeen of the players expected to participate have already committed to FBS programs.

Here is the complete schedule (all times Eastern):

Friday, Aug. 23
6 p.m. – Mallard Creek (Charlotte, N.C.) at Dutch Fork (Irmo, S.C.), ESPN2
9:30 p.m. – St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) at De La Salle (Concord, Calif.), ESPNU



Saturday, Aug. 24
Noon – St. Frances Academy (Baltimore, Md.) at Central (Miami, Fla.), ESPN
4 p.m. – Deerfield Beach (Fla.) at Carol City (Miami, Fla.), ESPNU
9 p.m. – DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.) at St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.), ESPN2
11 p.m. – Narbonne (Harbor City, Calif.) at Buchanan (Clovis, Calif.), ESPNU

Sunday, Aug. 25
2 p.m. – Southern Columbia Area (Catawissa, Pa.) at Hammond (Columbia, S.C.)

MaxPreps will release its preseason national rankings July 22 but expect St. Frances Academy-Miami Central to be a battle of Top 10 teams. Aquinas-De La Salle and DeMatha-Bosco will also likely pit nationally-ranked teams against one another.

Sunday's matchup will feature two of the top five senior prospects in the country as No. 1 overall Jordan Burch – a 6-foot-5, 250-pound defensive end – leads Hammond against star wide receiver Julian Fleming of Southern Columbia.
Julian Fleming has over 3,000 receiving yards and 43 touchdowns in his Southern Columbia career.
Julian Fleming has over 3,000 receiving yards and 43 touchdowns in his Southern Columbia career.
Photo by: Paul Weaver