When you talk about the toughest high school football schedules in the nation in 2021, Ohio’s Bishop Sycamore will be in the discussion. However, even the most well-informed high school football may be hard-pressed to know much about the Centurions from Columbus.
Here are the facts….
Bishop Sycamore, an online charter school helping at-risk students, will play a ten game schedule that includes eight teams in the High School Football America national rankings.
Related: 2021 Preseason High School Football America 100
The Centurions, coached by Roy Johnson, are not your typical high school football program. It would be better to call Bishop Sycamore a prep school with several post-graduate players.
With a roster of players from Ohio and around the nation, Bishop Sycamore is not part of the Ohio High School Athletic Association. However, last year, the school played three Ohio powers in Massillon Washington, St. Edward and St. Ignatius during an 0-6 season.
In 2021, Johnson and his troops will play St. Ed again, plus defending Division II champ Archbishop Hoban during Ohio’s season opening weekend. Hoban, which finished No. 5 last year in the High School Football America 100 powered by NFL Play Football, has won five state titles in the last six years.
Hoban begins the season ranked No. 23 in our national rankings. After opening against the Knights, Bishop Sycamore will stay in-state to play defending national champ IMG Academy (Bradenton, Florida) at Tom Benson Stadium on the campus of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton. That game will be broadcast on ESPN.
On this edition of the High School Football America Podcast (below), HSFA co-founder Jeff Fisher talks with Coach Johnson about building a program with kids that are dealing with more than their share of teenage problems. On the podcast, Johnson talks about a former player, who was shot and killed recently.
High School Football America Podcast
Johnson says that one of his near-term goals is to create a program with three teams — one that plays a high school varsity schedule in Ohio; one that plays a national schedule with only high school-aged players and a third that plays against prep schools with only post-graduates.
2021 Bishop Sycamore Schedule
August 19 – at Archbishop Hoban
August 29 – vs. IMG Academy (Florida) at Tom Benson Pro Football Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio
September 3 – at Johnson Central (Kentucky)
September 10 – at Duncanville (Texas)
September 24 – at St. Edward
October 1 – vs. DeMatha (Maryland)
October 8 – vs. St. Thomas More (Connecticut)
October 15 – at Liberty (Nevada)
October 22 – at St. Frances Academy (Maryland)
October 29 – at Life Christian Academy (Virginia)
