High school football: De La Salle, St. Frances Academy, IMG Academy, Chandler highlight ESPN broadcast schedule

High school football has kicked off in a few states already and most of the country sees gridiron action back later this month.

ESPN announced Monday its 2022 GEICO ESPN High School Football Showcase schedule spanning from the first weekend in September through November. The 11-game schedule features national contests, regional and intrastate rivalries and six teams in the preseason MaxPreps Top 25 rankings.

The 11 games are in addition to the seven games in the kickoff weekend televised by ESPN.

2022 GEICO ESPN High School Showcase schedule

Sept. 2 — Serra (San Mateo, Calif.) at De La Salle (Concord, Calif.), 8 p.m., ESPNU
Sept. 9 — Lake Gibson (Lakeland, Fla.) at Lehigh (Lehigh Acres, Fla.), 8 p.m., ESPNU
Sept. 15 — St. Frances Academy (Baltimore) at Venice (Fla.), 8 p.m., ESPN2
Sept 16 — Brookwood (Snellville, Ga.) at Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas), 7:30 p.m., ESPNU
Sept. 23 — IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) at Central (Phenix City, Ala.), 7 p.m., ESPNU
Sept. 30 — Collins Hill (Suwanee, Ga.) at Buford (Ga.), 7 p.m., ESPN2
Oct. 6 — Zachary (La.) at Woodlawn (Baton Rouge, La.), 7 p.m., ESPNU
Oct. 7 — Corner Canyon (Draper, Utah) at Lone Peak (Highland, Utah), 8 p.m., ESPNU
Oct. 20 — Allen (Texas) vs. Guyer (Denton, Texas) at C.H. Collins Stadium, 8 p.m., ESPN2
Oct. 28 — Basha (Chandler, Ariz.) at Chandler (Ariz.), 8 p.m., ESPNU

• The opening week pits Serra and coach Patrick Walsh against De La Salle, the school where he played high school ball. The Padres reached the CIF Open Division finals last season, losing to MaxPreps National Champion Mater Dei. The Spartans saw their Northern California win streak of 319 games snapped by Serra rival Saint Francis.

• Preseason No. 3 St. Frances Academy, which journeys more than 8,500 miles for its road games, heads to Florida to challenge Venice, the reigning 8A state champion. The Indians are No. 37 in Zack Poff's expanded top 100 rankings. The Panthers are 42-2 since 2017 and have given up 167 points over the last three seasons.

• IMG Academy, the preseason No. 4, heads to Alabama to take on 2021 7A runner-up Central. The Red Devils likely will battle for Yellowhammer State supremacy again and a win over the Panthers would help their national ranking prospects. The Ascenders went 9-1 last year and have finished ranked in the MaxPreps Top 25 seven consecutive years. They roll into this season with 18 players rated as a four-star or higher.

• No. 6 Bishop Gorman, No. 11 Buford, No. 8 Chandler and No. 19 Guyer are the other four teams ranked in the MaxPreps Top 25 on the schedule.

• The final game of the showcase features a good ol' fashioned Oklahoma showdown between Jenks and Bixby. The Trojans won the 6A-I title last season, going 13-1 with their lone loss to Bixby. The Spartans also won a Sooner State title, capping a 13-0 season with a 63-14 6A-II championship win over Deer Creek. Jenks and Bibxy have met 19 times in the MaxPreps era with the Trojans holding a 15-4 series edge, although Bixby has won the last three matchups.