High school football: St. Frances Academy faces Georgia power Buford in 2023 season kickoff

The opening to the 2023 high school football season features a big-time showdown as St. Frances Academy (Baltimore) travels to Georgia to face Buford (Ga.) on Aug. 18. The first meeting between the two programs was set up by Prep Gridiron Logistics and will be streamed on FloFootball to kick off each team's schedule.

The only other time St. Frances Academy has played a Georgia squad was in 2018 when the Panthers beat Lee County (Leesburg) 43-14 in ESPN's GEICO State Champions Bowl Series.

St. Frances Academy finished last season at No. 8 in the MaxPreps Top 25 after going 9-1. It was the fifth straight year the Panthers finished ranked in the top 10; only St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.) and Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) have longer active streaks. The Braves extended their streak to seven while the Monarchs have done it six straight years.

The Baltimore power had four wins over teams that finished ranked in our expanded top 100 last season — No. 21 DeSoto (Texas), No. 25 Kahuku (Hawaii), No. 26 Dutch Fork (Irmo, S.C.) and No. 51 East St. Louis (Ill.).

Buford is coming off an 11-1 season that included wins over Alabama's 7A state champ, Thompson (Alabaster), along with being the only team to knock off Georgia's AAAAAAA state champ, Mill Creek (Hoschton). The Wolves were the top-ranked team in the Peach State all year until getting upset by Walton (Marietta) in the second round of the AAAAAAA playoffs. They finished ranked just outside of the MaxPreps Top 25 at No. 33.

Both teams return a lot of talent and will most likely be ranked when our preseason rankings come out next summer.

Four-star quarterback Michael Van Buren is one of five players for the Panthers rated as a three-star recruit or higher on 247Sports for the Class of 2024. He's joined by Dejuan Williams, Ify Obidegwu, Edrees Farooq and Simeon Coleman. Obidegwu and Coleman were both selected on the 2022 MaxPreps Junior All-America Team.

The Panthers also have plenty of 2025 and 2026 talent as well, headlined by Edward Baker, James Carrington, Damon Hall Jr., Maurice Medley, Peyton Nelson, Trent Wilson and Blake Woodby. Wilson was selected on the 2022 MaxPreps Sophomore All-America Team and played a huge role in the trenches for St. John's (Washington, D.C.) last season. Carrington and Medley were both selected on the 2022 MaxPreps Freshman All-America Team.

Buford has two five-stars returning next season in K.J. Bolden and Eddrick Houston, both of whom were 2022 MaxPreps Junior All-America Team selections. Bolden is the second-rated prospect in the nation on 247Sports in his class while Houston checks in at No. 14 overall. Three-star defensive back Tyshun White also returns and will be a key contributor for the Wolves in 2023.

They are loaded with future stars in the classes of 2025 and 2026 led by Jordan Allen, Justin Baker, Nick Brooks, Brayden Jacobs, Jadon Perlotte, Bryce Perry-Wright and Devin Williams. Perlotte and Williams were both MaxPreps Sophomore All-Americans. Perry-Wright was on the 2022 MaxPreps Freshman All-America Team.

This is the second marquee out-of-state game featuring Georgia announced this week. Prep Gridiron Logistics also set up a huge showdown between Colquitt County (Moultrie, Ga.) and Dutch Fork (Irmo, S.C.) on Aug. 19 in the Georgia vs. Carolina challenge. Lowndes (Valdosta, Ga.) faces Christ School (Arden, N.C.) in the other matchup. Valdosta (Ga.) vs. Washington (Massillon, Ohio) was announced in January and takes place Aug. 18 at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium in Massillon, Ohio.