Overtime announces 1st high school national championship football game

When the game between St. Frances Academy (Baltimore, Md.) and IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) was canceled, the Panthers lost the opportunity to for matchup they billed as the national championship between two of the top-ranked teams in the country.

St. Frances Academy has found a new way to tie a bow on its season. Overtime and Omaha Productions on Friday announced the inaugural Overtime Nationals High School Football Championship, designed to be the first of an annual showcase to crown a national champion on the field.

On Dec. 10, St. Frances Academy will play against Corner Canyon (Draper, Utah), a Utah powerhouse that just won its third straight state championship in the Utah High School Activities Association 6A bracket. The game will take place at 7 p.m. ET at Under Armour Stadium in Baltimore and broadcast on ESPN2.

“When you think about football in America, every level has its championship, the Super Bowl, the College Football Playoff, except high school,” said Hunter Mandel, GM of Overtime Football, in a press release. “We built Overtime Nationals to finally give high school athletes that same pinnacle moment.”

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In a phone interview with USA TODAY High School Sports, Mandel said Overtime first started ideating on this idea last December. Through the organization's relationships within the high school, college and draft space, as well as the 7x7 football league OT7, they wanted to commemorate the high school season.

He said this was not in direct response to the cancellation of the IMG game against St. Frances Academy, but rather the culmination of a year's effort. Mandel and Panthers coach Messay Hailemariam first connected in January to discuss the idea.

Hailemariam was excited, telling Mandel, "This is something I've always wanted to do, and talked about for the last 10 years. We need to do it," the Overtime GM recalled. Mandel added, "We vibed immediately. We understood what this space needed."

St. Frances Academy has been one of the best teams in the country this year, boasting a plethora of Div. I talent with wins over talented teams like Chaminade-Madonna (Hollywood, Fla.), St. Joseph's Prep (Philadelphia) and The First Academy (Orlando, Fla.). Ranked No. 5 in the Super 25 national rankings, St. Frances Academy's sole loss on the year is to St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.), which held the No. 1 spot for much of the season.

On the other side is Corner Canyon, which has proven itself as a team with national strength through its championships and a victory over IMG last season. Mandel said quarterback Helaman Casuga's performance at OT7 helped establish the team on Overtime's radar, and Mandel spent more time evaluating Utah football this season.

"Utah has some incredible football that is definitely overlooked," he said. Corner Canyon was not guaranteed a spot, as Mandel considered multiple Utah programs, but the Chargers were eager to play and secured another championship.

"I think it's a great matchup. You have really one of the top offenses vs one of the top defenses," Mandel said. "The way Corner plays, it's quick football. Helaman is going to Texas A&M, he can obviously sling it. They have a strong left tackle in (Esun) Tufa, for USC. It's going to be a really interesting matchup."

The winner of the game, in addition to being recognized by Overtime as national champion, will receive a $250,000 donation to the athletic program. Subway is the official sponsor.

Mandel has a vision of expanding the tournament into anywhere from four to 16 teams. It will be a complex process, in part because there's a big difference between high school and college football: Fifty states means 50 different associations, with 50 different schedules and playoff formats. Nevertheless, it gives the sport the opportunity to do something that has yet to be accomplished: Take the "mythical" out of "mythical national champions."

"We need to start somewhere," Mandel said. "We want this to be the college football playoff for high school."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY High School Sports Wire: St. Frances Academy, Corner Canyon to play in Overtime championship