Friday Night Lights - On Saturday

With September comes football; and many are extremely excited. Myself, I shy away from the Sundays and tend to watch more on Saturdays. So what is the match up I can’t wait for, come Saturday, September 12th? Is it Mississippi State traveling to Auburn? A great SEC battle, but no. Is it the Fightin’ Irish of Notre Dame taking on Michigan at the Big House? While that is a classic match up, this is not it either. No, I will be focused on High School football, as my alma mater, De La Salle, takes on Don Bosco Prep in Ramsey, NJ.

A year prior, in front of a large crowd of 6,500 at Owen Owens Field in Concord, CA, Don Bosco pulled out the victory with a last minute field goal to win 23-21. This year, after three consecutive trips to the California State Championship Game, Coach Bob Ladouceur and his Spartans look to reclaim state bragging rights and national prestige as they play national powerhouses Don Bosco Prep and Lakeland High School (FL). Although the Spartans are now five years removed from their run of 151 consecutive wins, they have continued to dominate the West, posting double digit wins in every season except 2004.

Don Bosco Prep, the premier power of the eastern seaboard according to USA Today, is coming off an 11-1 season. The one loss the Ironmen suffered last season was a 17-10 loss to Midwest powerhouse St. Xavier of Cincinnati. Prep looks to get go undefeated this season, but will have to overcome a tough schedule, including their clash with Spartans, in order to do so.

The game will not be nationally televised on ESPNU as it was last season, so you’ll have to travel to Northern Jersey to get a piece of the action. So mark your calendars boys and girls, and know, that on September 12th, the best football in the Garden State will not be played at Rutgers University.

GO SPARTANS!

If you have any questions or would like to further discuss any sports topic, please email me at Michael.bobich@villanova.edu.