High school football's No. 1-ranked team IMG Academy releases schedule

Of all the uncertainties surrounding high school football, one of the biggest on a national scale was when, or if, No. 1 IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) would play in 2020. We got our answer last week when No. 6 Duncanville (Texas) announced its schedule featuring an Oct. 10 showdown against the Ascenders at Globe Life Park in Texas.

Now we get the full picture of IMG Academy's schedule as the Ascenders unveiled a nine-game schedule this week that begins Sept. 4.

With most out-of-state games canceled for 2020, Duncanville-IMG will be the biggest regular season game of the year. IMG earned the preseason No. 1 ranking for the first time in program history and is loaded with talent.

Five-star Michigan commit J.J. McCarthy takes over at quarterback and is surrounded by playmakers like Ari Allen, Kaytron Allen, Jacorey Brooks, Lovasea’ Carroll, Malik McClain, Shawn Miller and Jake Renda.

The biggest strength for the Ascenders will be on the offensive line led by senior Alabama commit JC Latham. 247Sports pegs him as the No. 3 player overall and top-rated offensive tackle in the Class of 2021. Tyler Booker, Michigan pledge Greg Crippen, Knijeah Harris, Colin Henrich, Boston College commit Ilija Krajnovic, Dayne Shor, Luke Sudul and Tommy Varhall help give the Florida power tremendous depth in the trenches.

Markevious Brown, Omar Burroughs, Marlin Dean, Sam Ofurie, Xavian Sorey and Kamari Wilson give first-year coach Bobby Acosta starpower on the defensive side of the ball as well.

Taking over for Kevin Wright, Acosta spent the last six years at the college level with stints at Syracuse, Cornell, Bucknell and The College of St. Scholastica, where he was the offensive coordinator in 2019.

IMG's first game will be Sept. 4 against Venice (Fla.) as the Ascenders will play three teams ranked in the Top 30 in the updated national rankings.

Sept. 4 — at Venice (Fla.)

Sept. 17 — vs. No. 28 Edgewater (Orlando)

Sept. 25 — at Ravenwood (Brentwood, Tenn.)

Oct. 3 — vs. Life Christian Academy (Chester, Va.)

Oct. 10 — at No. 6 Duncanville (Texas) at Globe Life Park (Arlington)

Oct. 16 — vs. Bishop Sycamore (Columbus, Ohio)

Oct. 23 — Clarkson Football North (Mississauga, Ontario)

Oct. 30 — TBD

Nov. 6 — TBD

Nov. 13 — vs. West Toronto Prep (Toronto, Ontario)