Texas, Florida high school football powerhouses to meet at Globe Life Park
The coronavirus pandemic altered Duncanville’s entire football schedule, but after multiple modifications, the Panthers’ slate is set and it includes one of the top teams in the country — IMG Academy, a private boarding school in Florida.
Duncanville will play the Sunshine State powerhouse at Globe Life Park in Arlington on Friday, Oct. 9, its third game of the season.
The Panthers and the rest of Class 6A and 5A won’t start practice until Sept. 7. Their first game is at home against TAPPS power Nolan Catholic on Sept. 24 before traveling to South Oak Cliff on Oct. 2.
The game will feature some of the best players in the nation.
Duncanville, which has reached the Class 6A Division I state title game each of the past two seasons, will have a new look at quarterback in 3-star Grayson James. Ja’Quinden Jackson is at Texas and Chris Parson, who started last season’s title game as a freshman, has moved to Red Oak.
James, who has 10 offers, comes from Plano John Paul II, which reached the TAPPS DI state title game last season. He threw for 3,878 yards and 42 touchdowns.
Other returners include 3-star receiver Roderick Daniels Jr. (Baylor) and 4-star linebacker Kendrick Blackshire (Alabama).
IMG Academy, which has gone 55-3 since the 2014 season, has three players ranked in Florida’s Top 10 for the 2021 class by 247Sports. It includes No. 1 J.C. Latham, a 5-star offensive lineman committed to Alabama.
Five-star quarterback J.J. McCarthy is the third-ranked pro-style QB in the country and No. 8 in Florida. He’s committed to Michigan. He threw for 2,820 yards and 34 touchdowns last season.
Overall, IMG Academy has five 2021s in the Top 50, eight in the 2022 Top 50 and two in the 2023 Top 20.
Duncanville isn’t new to playing out-of-state opponents. The Panthers beat St. John’s College (Washington, D.C.) last season, 35-14. IMG Academy last played a Texas school during a 2015 win over DeSoto.
MaxPreps ranked IMG Academy No. 1 among the nation’s Top 25. Duncanville came in at No. 6.
This story was originally published August 20, 2020 at 5:45 AM.
