The 2022 high school football season kicks off with a bang. In addition to a Texas vs. California showdown, the GEICO ESPN High School Kickoff, announced Tuesday, features a pair of nationally televised games with perennial powers, a five-star quarterback and interstate bragging rights.
The doubleheader, slated for Aug. 27, pits
St. Joseph's Prep (Philadelphia) against
St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) in a noon (Eastern) game followed by
Los Alamitos (Los Alamitos, Calif.) vs.
American Heritage (Plantation, Fla.) at 4 p.m. Both games will be played at St. Thomas Aquinas and broadcast on ESPN.
St. Thomas Aquinas finished No. 9 in the MaxPreps Top 25 after winning their third straight Florida state title, 42-14 over Tampa Bay Tech. But it's not just titles for the Raiders as the Fort Lauderdale school is a virtual pipeline to the pros with 18 former players drafted into the NFL over the past decade.
St. Joseph's Prep has also produced a ton of talent — Kyle McCord, Marvin Harrison Jr., Jeremiah Trotter Jr. — over the past several seasons. The Eagles' next big time player is Jeremiah's younger brother,
Josiah Trotter, a three-star middle linebacker and West Virginia commit
In the second contest, the national audience will get a look at five-star quarterback
Malachi Nelson. The 6-foot-3, 180-pound USC commit was a MaxPreps Junior All-American last season after throwing for nearly 2,700 yards and 39 touchdowns as the Griffins went 9-2 before falling to St. John Bosco in the Southern Section Division 1 postseason.
Five-time Florida state champion American Heritage is transitioning to a new head coach after Patrick Surtain left to join the Miami Dolphins' staff over the summer. He was replaced by longtime strength and conditioning coach Mike Smith and is tasked with keeping up American Heritage's legacy of winning football. The Patriots are 111-18 since 2012 and won state titles in 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2020.
In addition to the ESPN games, the weekend of big time football matchups starts with a California-Texas showdown as
St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.) heads to the Lone Star State to grapple with
Allen, a five-time Texas state title winner. The Braves finished No. 6 in the MaxPreps Top 25 and likely will be in the top 5 to start the 2022 season.
