BALTIMORE — St. Frances Academy's football team will compete for a quarter of a million dollars on Wednesday night in the first-ever Overtime Nationals high school football championship game.
The Panthers will face the Corner Canyon Chargers from Draper, Utah, in a nationally televised game at Under Armour Stadium at Baltimore Peninsula. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. on ESPN2.
WATCH: St. Frances football to compete in nationally-televised game Wednesday
The winner takes home $250,000 for their athletic program in what organizers are calling a historic matchup between two powerhouse programs.
St. Frances brings one of the best defenses in high school football to the field, while Corner Canyon boasts one of the nation's top offenses.
The Panthers have had an impressive season, going 8-1 and remaining undefeated since September 5. Corner Canyon has won six state championships in Utah.
Hunter Mandel, general manager of Overtime Football, told WMAR-2 News he wanted the matchup to be a home game with a crowd.
"We went back and forth," Mandel explained, "'hey, should this be a neutral site? Do we want to play it in Florida, where the weather's a little bit warmer?' But at the end of the day, we want a home crowd. This sold out within a week, we're going to have a packed house tonight. It's going to be an incredible environment.
"Corner has a ton of people flying out for the game as well. At the end of the day we wanted an amazing atmosphere for the broadcast," he added.
In a statement, Panthers head coach Messay Hailemariam said his players are "energized to make history by competing against the very best in the country."
The game will feature ESPN commentators Joe Tessitore and Dan Orlovsky calling the action for the national television audience.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
