Nation's No. 1 team is preparing to travel to Florida next season to take on Fort Lauderdale powerhouse.
Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, N.J.), which finished No. 1 in the Xcellent 25 National Football Rankings presented by the Army National Guard this season, is set to take on
St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) in 2012, a source with knowledge of the negotiations told MaxPreps Sunday night.
It will be a road game for Don Bosco Prep, which will travel to Florida for the Sept. 14 contest that will be televised by ESPN. In 2011, Don Bosco Prep won a road game against
Manatee (Bradenton, Fla.), which captured a title in Florida's Class 7A, the same playoff classification as Aquinas.
The contract is expected to be finalized this week, sources said.
Jabrill Peppers, Don Bosco Prep
Photo by Dan Coppola
The match-up would pit arguably the two top East Coast programs against each other. Both are familiar with playing out-of-state foes, as Aquinas captured victories against both
Prattville (Ala.) and
De La Salle (Concord, Calif.) in 2011.
Don Bosco Prep graduates a key nucleus of seniors, including
Darius Hamilton and
Elijah Shumate, but returns
Jabrill Peppers and
Alquadin Muhammad.
Aquinas returns a stout defensive line that includes
Joey Bosa and
Anthony Moten. It will also have running back
Frederick Coppet returning.
In addition to Aquinas, Don Bosco Prep could also face Maryland power
Gilman (Baltimore) and Utah heavyweight
Alta (Sandy, Utah).
