High school games to watch - Week 1
by Caleb Johnson
The 2008 high school football season begins this week, and Caleb Johnson will preview ESPN’s coverage of the top high school football games in the country.
Note: Most games will be shown on ESPNU, with a few being aired on ESPN and ESPN2. Before every weekend, New Era Scouting will provide information on players in these games who have potential to be stars at the college level and also review the previous week’s biggest performances. This Saturday kicks off with an intriguing match-up from the Hoosier state.
Saturday, August 23 – Noon EST – ESPN
Cathedral (IN) vs. Carmel (IN)
ESPN will start their coverage with a game featuring some of Indiana’s elite talent: Cathedral of Indianapolis and Carmel.
Cathedral saw its season end in a one-point loss to eventual Class 4A (second largest) state champion Evansville Reitz in the semi-finals. Coming off an 11-3 record, the Fighting Irish are aiming for the school’s seventh state title in 2008. Offensive guard Kyle Koehne is the team’s top senior prospect, holding offers from Boston College, Michigan State and Iowa. On the defensive side of the ball, linebacker Kakpindi Jamiru is also drawing college interest.
Carmel finished last year as the Class 5A (largest) state champions with a 13-2 record and a 16-7 win over then-undefeated Pike in the championship game. They will assume the role as favorites to repeat their success this season thanks to some elite offensive talent. Quarterback Morgan Newton will enter his third season as the starter. He burst onto the national scene last year, passing for 1,882 yards and 25 touchdowns and adding another 753 yards and 11 scores on the ground. He secured offers from the likes of Florida, Miami (FL), Clemson, Illinois and others before committing to Kentucky. Joining him in the backfield is fullback Kurt Freytag, who has racked up 1,519 yards and 17 touchdowns over the past two seasons. He is considering offers from Ball State, Central Michigan and Eastern Michigan. The offensive line has some impressive bookends in tackles Brooks Michel, a Minnesota verbal commitment, and Alex Pierce. On the defensive side of the ball, safety Joe Rippe is the leader and holds an offer from the Air Force Academy.
Key Match-up: In order for Cathedral — the state’s all-time leader in wins — to show that they are ready to compete for a 4A state title, they first need to show that they can hang with the state’s best team in Carmel. There are no great one-on-one match-ups as far as the national recruiting scene goes, but the game should be exciting and competitive.