If the St. Thomas Aquinas and American Heritage football teams were not already excited about the start of their 2022 seasons, they likely are now.
ESPN announced this week that it will air a doubleheader on Aug. 27 as part of the network’s High School Kickoff, including a pair of games featuring St. Thomas Aquinas and American Heritage in their season openers.
The Raiders will compete in the first of the day’s two meetings at Brian Piccolo Memorial Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, as they will host Pennsylvania team St. Joseph’s Prep at 12 p.m. The game will be aired on ESPN.
The Patriots will follow that up by facing off against Los Alamitos of California, with kickoff slated for 4 p.m. at the same St. Thomas Aquinas stadium. That game will be broadcast on ESPN2.
St. Thomas Aquinas is coming off a 14-1 season in 2021 in which the team won a third consecutive state championship. The Raiders are helmed by Roger Harriott, who is entering his eighth season in charge of the program.
American Heritage went 6-4 last year, and is now led by new coach Mike Smith following the departure of Patrick Surtain to the Miami Dolphins’ staff.
Their respective Week 1 opponents are fresh off winning seasons as well, with St. Joseph’s Prep going 11-3 in 2021 and Los Alamitos finishing 9-2.
