Hopkins and the Champions to face Desert Ridge in marquee game
WEEKLY BLOG: 6/12/20
After a three-year hiatus, weekly Thursday night varsity football will be back in 2020.
The package, which will be streamed on YouTube, will be produced by the JV Sports Show. Games will be called by the hosts of the Saturday morning radio show (AM 1060 from 9-10 am), James Poovey and Vince D'Aliesio with Brittany Bowyer as the sideline analyst.
Don't be fooled by the name "JV", it will indeed be varsity football. The JV comes from their first names, James and Vince. Expect to see junior varsity games involving teams from that week's game to be moved to Wednesdays.
Taking a dive into the history of Thursday night high school football in Arizona, cable television station Cox 9 was the innovator, launching with a trial game in 1999 from Brimhall Field at Westwood High School as the Warriors hosted Red Mountain on October 14.
Friday night high school games were televised on ASPN, a local sports cable station, starting in 1981 and throughout the 80's. ASPN, a channel similar to Fox Sports Arizona, showcased Arizona sports and later became the television home for the Phoenix Suns.
High school games from 1991-1998 were broadcast, but were shown on tape delay on Saturdays. Immediately after Harold Slemmer took over as the AIA director, the move was made to let the kids take center stage on Thursday night, and the product was launched - live.
A full season of Thursday night football began in 1999 with Cox 7 taking it over in 2004. Cox 7 continued through the 2016 season. In 2017, Cox 7 became YurView and the package was reduced to just three Thursday night games that year and only Friday matchups the past two seasons.
One of the unique elements of this first season of TNF for the JV Sports Show is not merely taking the big-name teams. You won't find Chandler, Centennial, Saguaro, or Hamilton among this year's Thursday night participants. It will give other schools a chance to be on the big stage as fans, coaches, and players from across the state can take the opportunity to tune in prior to their Friday night games.
The kickoff game will be on August 20 as Tucson High comes up to the Valley to face the Maricopa Rams. A total of 11 Thursday night games are on the docket with a pair of Saturday contests and bonus games on two of the Friday nights. All levels from 1A to 6A will be represented.
"It's unprecendented," D'Aliesio said in a YouTube video announcing the season schedule on Thursday. "I don't know if it's ever been done before for one broadcast team to cover every level of high school football in Arizona until this season."
Never seen an eight-man game? Check out Mayer and Tempe Prep on Saturday, Aug. 22.
A pregame show will air at 6:30 pm, followed by kickoff at 7 and a postgame wrap-up show. The Saturday morning JV Sports Show will also give an opportunity to get fans ready for the next Thursday night game while also taking a step back to recap the previous week's game.
An interactive element will be used to determine the game's MVP. Following the game, a poll on Twitter will decide what player gets recognized for the honor.
The show will make a trip to Tucson on August 29 as Sunnyside plays host to South Mountain. The Blue Devils are looking to rebound from a 3-7 season as newcomers will look to build on their experience from being on varsity last year.
"I played three freshmen and eight sophomores," Sunnyside head coach Glenn Posey said. "We took our lumps last year and hopefully, we can benefit from what we learned."
Just three years ago, Valley Lutheran was playing eight-man football in the 1A Conference. In 2019, in their second year at the 2A level, the Flames improved by three games to finish 4-6. VLHS will face Tonopah Valley on September 10.
"We graduated three seniors," Valley Lutheran head coach Brian Porter said. "We only had five juniors. The rest were sophomores and freshmen. It is nice to get that 2A some recognition that I think they deserve."
Of course, like everything else in this world, the schedule could be subject to change depending on what happens with the COVID-19 infections in the state. Nobody knows yet if games will be played with or without bands, fans, cheerleaders, or if they'll even be played at all. In the event that the schedule does take place and fans aren't sure whether they're ready for the bleachers yet, having the option to watch from the safety of home on a phone or computer is a something worthwhile.
"This streaming thing we're doing might be the wave of the near future because of everything going on with the coronavirus pandemic," Poovey said.
