The 2026 high school football season is kicking off with a Florida vs. Texas showdown.
The lineup for the eighth edition of the Broward County Showcase was revealed Monday and features reigning Texas state champion
DeSoto traveling to Florida to take on 17-time state champion
St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale).
It marks the first time in recent history that a powerhouse program from the Lone Star State will travel to Florida to battle against a heavyweight from the Sunshine State.
High school football heavyweights DeSoto and St. Thomas Aquinas will battle for state bragging rights when they meet in August at the Broward County Showcase. (PHOTO: Alex Garza)
The two-day event is scheduled for Aug. 27-28.
"I thought it was exceptional. It's been several years since we've been fortunate to play a team from Texas ... in the early 2000s. To have Texas in Florida in the Broward County Showcase is a blessing," St. Thomas Aquinas coach Roger Harriott said in a video announcing the matchup.
"I was ecstatic," DeSoto head coach Claude Mathis about the pairing.
DeSoto went 13-3 last season capped with the Conference 6A Division 1 title, beating King (Houston) 55-27 in the championship. The Eagles finished No. 23 in the final MaxPreps Top 25.
The Raiders have won seven straight state titles, capping the 2025 season with a 14-1 record and a 29-0 shutout of Lakeland in the championship game. Aquinas finished ranked No. 10 nationally.
The Broward County Showcase features seven other games:
•
Columbus (Miami, Fla.) vs.
Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.)•
Chaminade-Madonna (Hollywood, Fla.) vs.
Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.)•
American Heritage (Plantation, Fla.) vs.
East St. Louis (Ill.)•
McEachern (Powder Springs, Ga.) vs.
West Broward (Pembroke Pines, Fla.)•
Bolles (Jacksonville, Fla.) vs.
Archbishop McCarthy (Southwest Ranches, Fla.)•
Western (Davie, Fla.) vs.
Pine Creek (Colorado Springs, Colo.)•
Mandarin (Jacksonville, Fla.) vs.
McArthur (Hollywood, Fla.)
