nutcrackin
05-24-2005, 10:27 AM
Colerain game may make ESPN 'You can call it Friday Night Lights, Ohio style'
Colerain game may make ESPN
'You can call it Friday Night Lights, Ohio style'
By Tom Groeschen
Enquirer staff writer
The Enquirer/Steven M. Herppich
Colerain High School football fans listens to coach Kerry Coombs during a rally for the school's football team for winning the state championship.
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The Colerain High School football team will play Tyler (Texas) powerhouse Robert E. Lee this coming season in Columbus, and the game might be televised nationally by the ESPN network.
The game, scheduled for Friday Sept. 9 (9 p.m.) at Columbus Crew Stadium, will pit the 2004 big-school champions from Ohio and Texas. Colerain (15-0 last year) is the reigning Ohio Division I champion, and Tyler Lee (12-3) won the Texas 5A, Division I title.
"We're flattered to be part of it," Colerain coach Kerry Coombs said. "When you talk about the tradition of Texas football and Ohio football, it doesn't get much better than this."
The Ohio High School Athletic Association has a regulation preventing live telecasts of Friday night football. Negotiations are under way for the OHSAA to grant a waiver and allow one of the ESPN networks (ESPN, ESPN2 or the new ESPNU) to telecast the game live.
"If we can get all the parameters squared away so that it's good for all high school sports, we certainly would like for it to happen," OHSAA commissioner Dan Ross said today.
Ross said football gate receipts are vital to non-revenue sports' athletic budgets. Ross said he would like to see any profits from a possible ESPN telecasts benefit more schools than just Colerain and Tyler Lee.
"We have to be careful about any precedents we set," Ross said. "If it's going to happen, I want it to be something that's good for all high school sports. Once you say yes, all of a sudden every Friday night you might have someone wanting to do live TV. We just have to make sure it's good for all our schools."
Ross said he received a written proposal from promoters last week and plans another meeting with the involved parties, perhaps next week.
Josh Krulewitz, ESPN director of media relations, confirmed that discussions have taken place regarding the game.
"Nothing is finalized or committed to at this point," Krulewitz said.
Krulewitz said the ESPN network has televised two prep football games. De La Salle (Concord, Calif.) played Evangel Christian (Shreveport, La.) on ESPN2 in 2003, and Texas teams Denton Ryan and Southlake Carroll met on ESPN2 in 2004, Krulewitz said.
The Columbus event officially is the inaugural "Kirk Herbstreit Ohio vs. USA Challenge" and is being promoted by Fahlgren Sports Marketing, a Central Ohio sports marketing firm.
The Colerain game will be the second of two games at 22,500-seat Crew Stadium that night. Columbus-area teams Westerville North and Westerville South will meet in the opener at 6 p.m.
Ohio State will play host to Texas the following night (Sept. 10, 8 p.m. on ABC-TV) at Ohio Stadium in Columbus. Former OSU quarterback Herbstreit, an analyst on the popular ESPN GameDay college football show, helped originate the Ohio vs. Texas high school idea.
"You can call it Friday Night Lights, Ohio style," said Ken Halloy, vice president of the Fahlgren Sports Marketing promotional group. "We wanted to do something big and have the bragging rights, in this case Texas vs. Ohio."
Friday Night Lights is a well-known book about Texas prep football, with the book made into a movie last year.
Colerain finished No. 5 in the final USA Today ratings in 2004. Tyler Lee, which lost three games partially because of injuries, was not ranked nationally but won the Texas big-school title.
"It's a privilege for us to represent the state of Texas up there in Columbus, and to play a team with Colerain's great tradition," Tyler Lee coach Mike Owens said.
Tickets will be $15 in advance and $20 day of game, with more details to come.
The game will occur in the third week of the 2005 Ohio prep season.
For 2006, Halloy said Elder might be part of the Herbstreit/Columbus event. The Panthers -- Ohio Division I champion in both 2002 and '03 --might play the same weekend as the University of Cincinnati-Ohio State game, which is Sept. 16, 2006 in Columbus
"They might play a team from California, if we can arrange it," Halloy said. "Maybe Mission Viejo or another team."
Colerain game may make ESPN
'You can call it Friday Night Lights, Ohio style'
By Tom Groeschen
Enquirer staff writer
The Enquirer/Steven M. Herppich
Colerain High School football fans listens to coach Kerry Coombs during a rally for the school's football team for winning the state championship.
ADVERTISEMENT
The Colerain High School football team will play Tyler (Texas) powerhouse Robert E. Lee this coming season in Columbus, and the game might be televised nationally by the ESPN network.
The game, scheduled for Friday Sept. 9 (9 p.m.) at Columbus Crew Stadium, will pit the 2004 big-school champions from Ohio and Texas. Colerain (15-0 last year) is the reigning Ohio Division I champion, and Tyler Lee (12-3) won the Texas 5A, Division I title.
"We're flattered to be part of it," Colerain coach Kerry Coombs said. "When you talk about the tradition of Texas football and Ohio football, it doesn't get much better than this."
The Ohio High School Athletic Association has a regulation preventing live telecasts of Friday night football. Negotiations are under way for the OHSAA to grant a waiver and allow one of the ESPN networks (ESPN, ESPN2 or the new ESPNU) to telecast the game live.
"If we can get all the parameters squared away so that it's good for all high school sports, we certainly would like for it to happen," OHSAA commissioner Dan Ross said today.
Ross said football gate receipts are vital to non-revenue sports' athletic budgets. Ross said he would like to see any profits from a possible ESPN telecasts benefit more schools than just Colerain and Tyler Lee.
"We have to be careful about any precedents we set," Ross said. "If it's going to happen, I want it to be something that's good for all high school sports. Once you say yes, all of a sudden every Friday night you might have someone wanting to do live TV. We just have to make sure it's good for all our schools."
Ross said he received a written proposal from promoters last week and plans another meeting with the involved parties, perhaps next week.
Josh Krulewitz, ESPN director of media relations, confirmed that discussions have taken place regarding the game.
"Nothing is finalized or committed to at this point," Krulewitz said.
Krulewitz said the ESPN network has televised two prep football games. De La Salle (Concord, Calif.) played Evangel Christian (Shreveport, La.) on ESPN2 in 2003, and Texas teams Denton Ryan and Southlake Carroll met on ESPN2 in 2004, Krulewitz said.
The Columbus event officially is the inaugural "Kirk Herbstreit Ohio vs. USA Challenge" and is being promoted by Fahlgren Sports Marketing, a Central Ohio sports marketing firm.
The Colerain game will be the second of two games at 22,500-seat Crew Stadium that night. Columbus-area teams Westerville North and Westerville South will meet in the opener at 6 p.m.
Ohio State will play host to Texas the following night (Sept. 10, 8 p.m. on ABC-TV) at Ohio Stadium in Columbus. Former OSU quarterback Herbstreit, an analyst on the popular ESPN GameDay college football show, helped originate the Ohio vs. Texas high school idea.
"You can call it Friday Night Lights, Ohio style," said Ken Halloy, vice president of the Fahlgren Sports Marketing promotional group. "We wanted to do something big and have the bragging rights, in this case Texas vs. Ohio."
Friday Night Lights is a well-known book about Texas prep football, with the book made into a movie last year.
Colerain finished No. 5 in the final USA Today ratings in 2004. Tyler Lee, which lost three games partially because of injuries, was not ranked nationally but won the Texas big-school title.
"It's a privilege for us to represent the state of Texas up there in Columbus, and to play a team with Colerain's great tradition," Tyler Lee coach Mike Owens said.
Tickets will be $15 in advance and $20 day of game, with more details to come.
The game will occur in the third week of the 2005 Ohio prep season.
For 2006, Halloy said Elder might be part of the Herbstreit/Columbus event. The Panthers -- Ohio Division I champion in both 2002 and '03 --might play the same weekend as the University of Cincinnati-Ohio State game, which is Sept. 16, 2006 in Columbus
"They might play a team from California, if we can arrange it," Halloy said. "Maybe Mission Viejo or another team."