ESPN’s high school coverage on the rise

Posted Jul 9, 2010 by Katherine Smith

Updated Jul 9, 2010 at 04:34 PM

ESPN is amping up its high school football coverage and Plant will be a part of it.

As the Tribune first reported, Plant’s kickoff classic game against Bradenton Manatee on Aug. 27 will be broadcast on ESPN. That game will be one of eight football matchups ESPN is marketing as the “ESPN Rise High School Football Kickoff.”

The other games are Grant (Calif.) vs. Folsom (Calif.), defending Ala. 6A champion Hoover (Ala.) vs. Byrnes (S.C.), South Pointe (S.C.) vs. Northwestern (S.C.), Steele (Texas) vs. Madison (Texas), defending Texas 5A champion Trinity (Texas) vs. Tyler Lee (Texas), Good Counsel (Md.) vs. St. Xavier (Ohio) and Moeller (Ohio) vs. Huber Heights Wayne (Ohio).

Plant’s game against Manatee, a rematch of the Class 5A state championship which the Panthers won in December, is the first of two games on ESPN featuring Plant. Their Week 3 contest against Texas’ Abilene High will also be broadcast on the sports cable network.