ESPN to televise Cartersville football doubleheader

Speculation that the high school football doubleheader scheduled for Weinman Stadium would be televised has turned to reality today with the release of ESPN’s seven-game schedule for the 2017 GEICO High School Football Kickoff.

USA TODAY High School Sports reported today that the ESPN schedule will include the Cartersville Purple Hurricanes’ game with Bartram Trail (Fla.) at Weinman Stadium on Saturday, August 26 at 7:30pm. The game will be part of a televised doubleheader in Cartersville that opens at 3:30pm with Saraland (Ala.) playing Heard County (Ga.).

The opener will be televised live on ESPNU. The Cartersville game will be live on ESPN2.

The doubleheader is being billed as a quarterback showcase with Jack West for Saraland, Ohio State commit Emory Jones for Heard County, Auburn commit Joey Gatewood for Bartram Trail and Cartersville’s Trevor Lawrence who has committed to Clemson.

Five of the six teams in the USA Today final Super 25 rankings are included in the weekend slate of games that will appear on ESPN’s family of networks. The games will also feature 29 players in the ESPN300, including the top two: Lawrence and IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) defensive end Xavier Thomas.

Other games in the powerhouse lineup include three-time defending Super 25 champion Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.) hosting last year’s No. 4 DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.); No. 5 St. Thomas Aquinas (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) against No. 6 St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.); Tulsa Union (Okla.) vs. Broken Arrow (Okla.); IMG Academy (Fla.) vs. Chandler (Ariz.); and Wayne (Ohio) vs. Pine-Richland (Pa.).

ESPN will announce its regular season schedule of games at a later date.

ESPN’s GEICO OPENING WEEKEND SCHEDULE

Friday, August 25

7 pm — ESPNU — St. John Bosco (CA) vs. St. Thomas Aquinas (FL)

9 pm — ESPN — DeMatha (MD) vs. Bishop Gorman (NV)

Saturday, August 26

Noon — ESPN — Tulsa Union (OK) vs. Broken Arrow (OK)

3:30 pm — ESPNU — Saraland (AL) vs. Heard County (GA)

7:30 pm — ESPN2 — Bartram Trail (FL) vs. Cartersville (GA)

10:30 pm — ESPNU — IMG Academy (FL) vs. Chandler (AZ)

Sunday, August 27

1:30 pm — ESPN — Wayne (OH) vs. Pine-Richland (PA)