The National Football League in partnership with Nike will be putting-on a first-of-its-kind football classic to kick-off the 2022 high school football season at Nike World Headquarters in Oregon on Friday, August 26. The Nike Kickoff Classic will feature two high school football games, one boys game and one girls flag football game at Renaldo Field.
In the boys game, DeSoto (Texas), which finished 2021 No. 73 in the High School Football America 100, powered by NFL Play Football, will face St. Augustine from Louisiana.
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Interestingly, the game will count on DeSoto’s record, but won’t count for St. Augustine. That’s because it’s being played on Louisiana’s Jamboree Weekend, which is played one week before the start of the regular season. It counts for DeSoto, because it falls on the opening weekend of the Lone Star State’s regular season.
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In the girls’ flag game, it will be an all-Florida matchup between Alonso High School and Robinson High School from Tampa.
In addition to doubleheader, many NFL clubs will mirror the experience by hosting boys tackle and girls flag games in their home markets. The collaboration between Nike, the NFL and clubs will allow each of the participating boys and girls high school teams to play in the high school kickoff in their local markets.
“The Nike Kickoff Classic celebrates the return of high school football around the country,” said Roman Oben, NFL Vice President of Football Development. “Being hosted by Nike at their World Headquarters, the games will bring an unimaginable virtual experience to life for high school football players. We will extend the energy from Oregon to the participating NFL markets giving boys and girls high school football the shared kickoff experience it deserves.”
The Nike Kickoff Classic will be broadcast on NFL Network. In addition to television distribution, the moment will be shared socially @usnikefootball and @nflplayfootball.
