The high school football season has arrived and many programs across the country will kickoff their 2018 campaigns this evening.
That list includes five players committed to the Irish across the 2019 and 2020 classes. Blue & Gold Illustrated takes a quick look at the players kicking off their senior and junior years.
Players are listed alphabetically and not combined by class.
Charlotte Providence Day (0-0) vs. Fayetteville (N.C.) Trinity Christian - 7 p.m. ET
Notre Dame linebacker commit Osita Ekwonu and his Providence Day teammates open their 2018 season at home.
The Rivals250 prospect will look to build upon a junior year where he racked up 101 tackles, three sacks and three pass break ups. He also rushed for 600 yards and 13 touchdowns as a running back.
Trinity Christian boats 2019 three-star defensive tackle and NC State commit Zovon Linday.
Providence Day finished 9-3 last year and advanced to the North Carolina Division I title game. Trinity Christian fell in the Division II title game after going a perfect 10-0 prior the championship.
Royal Center (Ind.) Pioneer (0-0) @ Walton (Ind.) Lewis Cass (0-0) – 7 p.m. ET
Irish linebacker commit Jack Kiser and Pioneer will begin their quest to defend their Class A state tonight on the road.
The do-it-all three-star prospect led the Panthers last season to a perfect 15-0 record last year while throwing for 1,193 yards and 16 touchdowns as a passer while adding 1,964 yards and 38 touchdowns on 204 carries. Kiser racked up 100 total tackles including 7.5 for loss and eight interceptions defensively.
Pioneer defeated Lewis Cass (6-5) 30-0 to open last season. Kiser and company will aim to do the same and begin the year on a bright note.
Bowling Green (Ky.) South Warren (0-0) @ Hopkinsville (Ky.) High (0-0) – 8 p.m. CT
After moving up to Class 5A, South Warren and Notre Dame defensive tackle pledge Jacob Lacey advanced to the state semifinals in 2017 before falling to Notre Dame 2020 tight end commit Michael Mayer and Alexandria (Ky.) Covington Catholic.
The Spartans will look to finish the job in 2018 and will begin the year on the road.
Lacey registered 51 total tackles last year on his way to All-State honors and will anchor the South Warren trenches.
Hopkinsville finished 6-7 last year with South Warren winning their 2017 matchup 35-14.
Alexandria (Ky.) Covington Catholic (0-0) @ Union (Ky.) Ryle (0-0) - 7:30 p.m. ET
Like Kiser, Mayer and his team start their journey to go back-to-back as state championships this evening.
The Colonels finished the year a perfect 15-0 while claiming the Class 5A state title. Mayer contributed 235 yards and three touchdowns on 14 receptions as a receiver and 79 tackles and 7.5 sacks.
Covington Catholic defeated Ryle, a Class 6A program, 49-17 last year, but will have to make the trip to Union this fall. Western Michigan 2019 offensive line commit Jacob Gideon is the feature player for Union.
Atlanta Lovett (0-0) @ Norcross (Ga.) Greater Atlanta Christian (0-0) – 7:30 p.m. ET
Irish cornerback commit KJ Wallace and Lovett will begin the year with quite the test facing off against Norcross (Ga.) Greater Atlanta Christian.
The Lions will look to bounce back from a 7-5 year last season, which included a 46-14 loss to Greater Atlanta Christian. In 2017, Wallace recorded 63 total tackles, one interception and 11 passes defended while adding 537 yards and six touchdowns on 40 receptions as a receiver.
Greater Atlanta Christian finished 12-2 last year with a Class 3A state semifinals appearance. They are led by 2019 five-star defensive lineman and Michigan commit Chris Hinton, five-star 2020 offensive lineman Myles Hinton and three-star Vanderbilt tight end commit Jeffrey Blake.
BGI HITS THE ROAD
Like every year, BGI will be out on the road on Fridays checking out some of Notre Dame commits and top targets in action.
This week BGI will be in Carmel, Indiana watching Carmel High and Irish 2020 defensive tackle target Cole Brevard take on Louisville Trinity at 7 p.m. ET. Trinity Christian is the home of Stanford 2019 four-stat defensive end commit Stephen Herron and 2019 Cincinnati defensive back pledge Jacob Dingle.
Stay tuned for coverage of Brevard from the game and other Irish commits/targets throughout the fall.
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