High School Football Powerhouses Set to Collide Labor Day Weekend in the
Kirk Herbstreit Varsity Football Series Presented by BURGER KING®.
30 Teams…15 Games…2 Days of the Best High School Football in the Nation
CINCINNATI and DALLAS (July 1, 2008) – As the football season kicks off this fall, the eyes of high school football fans will be on Ohio and Texas. Both states will be home to the Kirk Herbstreit Varsity Football Series Presented by BURGER KING®. The states’ 30 top-tier teams will compete against each other and other national powerhouses from across the country.
The Kirk Herbstreit Challenge, which has been held in Ohio for the past three years, expanded this year to include a series of competitions in Texas. Fifteen matchups will take place during two days at three renowned stadiums across Ohio and Texas. Eight of those will be held on Saturday, August 30 in Ohio — four at Pro Football Hall of Fame Field at Fawcett Stadium in Canton, and four at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati. In partnership with The National Football Foundation, four additional games will take place at Texas Stadium in the City of Irving, Texas. On Sunday, August 31, the final three games will be played at Paul Brown Stadium.
ESPN is slated to broadcast the premiere match up of Cincinnati Elder (OH) vs. St. Thomas Aquinas (FL) on Monday, September 1. Plans to televise other marquee match ups are being finalized and will be released soon.
“We’re excited to once again showcase some of the best high school football teams in the country and give these young men the chance to play on a national stage,” said Herbstreit. “Giving these young people an opportunity to play on national television in one of the best stadiums in the country and, in some cases, fly with their teammates to Ohio and Texas is a very rewarding experience for all of the event organizers, including myself. We all believe that high school football builds great character and can teach lessons that will stay with these players the rest of their lives.”
Chicago-based Intersport has once again partnered with Burger King Corp. and Herbstreit to stage this premiere high school series. Tickets are available now for only $14 for adults ($16 day of event) and $10 for student/youth fans ($12 day of event) for a three or four game session. Tickets can be purchased at local participating high schools, as well as online at Ticketmaster.com or Ticketweb.com.
“As a lifelong Ohio football fan, I’m thrilled that Burger King Corp. will again be part of Kirk’s spotlight on high school football. The expansion into Texas positions this series as the premiere national platform for High School football and is an excellent showcase of our nation’s high school talent. I lived in Texas for several years and witnessed first hand the passion Texans have for High School football,” said Russ Klein, president, global strategy, marketing and innovation, Burger King Corp.
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The schedule is as follows:
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Game Times |
Game Date and Locations |
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11:00 a.m. EST 2:00 p.m. EST 5:00 p.m. EST 8:00 p.m. EST |
August 30: Pro Football Hall of Fame Field, Canton, OH Game One: Warren Howland (OH) vs. Klein Forest (TX) Game Two: Canton McKinley (OH) vs. Indianapolis Cathedral (IN) Game Three: Youngstown Cardinal Mooney (OH) vs. Covington Catholic (KY) Game Four: Massillon (OH) vs. Jordan High (UT) |
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11:00 a.m. EST 2:00 p.m. EST 5:00 p.m. EST 8:00 p.m. EST |
August 30: Paul Brown Stadium, Cincinnati, OH Game One: Cincinnati Elder (OH) vs. St. Thomas Aquinas (FL) Game Two: Middletown (OH) vs. Warren Central (IN) Game Three: Cincinnati Colerain (OH) vs. McKeesport (PA) Game Four: Cincinnati St. Xavier (OH) vs. Prattville (AL) |
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11:00 a.m. CST 2:00 p.m. CST 5:00 p.m. CST 8:00 p.m. CST |
August 30: Texas Stadium, City of Irving, TX Game One: Justin Northwest (TX) vs. Woodland Hills (PA) Game Two: Mansfield Timberview (TX) vs. Buford (GA) Game Three: Cedar Hill (TX) vs. LaSalle Catholic High School (OH) Game Four: Arlington Bowie (TX) vs. Trotwood-Madison (OH) |
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12:00 p.m. EST 3:00 p.m. EST 6:00 p.m. EST |
August 31: Paul Brown Stadium, Cincinnati, OH Game One: Cincinnati Moeller (OH) vs. Montgomery Bell (TN) Game Two: Huber Heights Wayne (OH) vs. East St. Louis (IL) Game Three: Lakota West (OH) vs. St. Rita (IL) |
“We are proud to be part of the Kirk Herbstreit Varsity Football Series,” said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. “The event continues to grow and expand each year, providing a high-profile national platform for promoting the best high school programs in the country. We thank Burger King and Intersport for their leadership. They have created a great venue for encouraging more young people to play our sport who will subsequently benefit from the life lessons that football is uniquely positioned to teach.”
More than 63,000 fans attended last year’s Herbstreit Ohio vs. USA Challenge – a similar event that included just the two sites in Ohio. Besides the outstanding teams, the 2008 games feature several outstanding players who have been selected as 2009 Under Armour All Americans: Cedar Hill’s OT Ashcraft Thompson, Buford’s DT Dallas Lee and St. Thomas Aquinas’ WR Duron Carter.
MaxPreps.com – the largest, most comprehensive high school sports website – will serve as the official online media partner and photographer of the Kirk Herbstreit Varsity Football Series presented by BURGER KING®. The site recently released the first 2008 high school football rankings, which includes Series-participating schools: #9 Cincinnati St. Xavier (OH), #13 St. Thomas Aquinas (FL), and #21 Prattville (AL).
Additionally, MaxPreps.com contributed to the June 17 launch of the new Series website, which includes all ticket and event information: www.herbstreitfootballseries.com.
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About Intersport
For more than 20 years, Intersport has been recognized as an Emmy Award-winning creator, producer and distributor of original sports and entertainment programming as well as an industry leader in event marketing and corporate hospitality. The Intersport Media Group is one of the largest independent producers in the U.S. through the distribution of sports and entertainment content across all media platforms, including the company’s CelebTV.com online entertainment channel. The Intersport Event Marketing Group designs and executes national event marketing initiatives, including mobile marketing tours at professional, collegiate and youth sporting events as well as major event corporate hospitality programs. Intersport is headquartered in Chicago with offices in New York City and Los Angeles. For more information, please visit www.intersportnet.com or www.celebtv.com.
About Burger King Corporation
The BURGER KING® system operates more than 11,400 restaurants in all 50 states and in 70 countries and U.S. territories worldwide. Approximately 90 percent of BURGER KING® restaurants are owned and operated by independent franchisees, many of them family-owned operations that have been in business for decades. To learn more about Burger King Corp. please visit the company’s Web site at www.bk.com.
About The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame
Founded in 1947 with leadership from General Douglas MacArthur, legendary Army coach Earl “Red” Blaik and immortal journalist Grantland Rice, The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame, a non-profit educational organization, runs programs designed to use the power of amateur football in developing scholarship, citizenship and athletic achievement in young people. With 121 chapters and 12,000 members nationwide, NFF programs include the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Ind., the NFF Hampshire Honor Society, Play It Smart, the NFF-FWAA Football Forum, the NFF Gridiron Club of New York City, and scholarships of over $1 million for college and high school scholar-athletes. The NFF presents the MacArthur Trophy, the Draddy Trophy, presented by HealthSouth, and releases the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) Standings. Learn more at www.footballfoundation.org
