STARKVILLE — Rashid Ghazi knew high school football had compelling story lines.
So in 2003, Ghazi and Paragon Marketing Group decided to bring those stories to the national public by way of televising games. They struck up a partnership with ESPN and in 2003 fans began getting a glimpse into the world of high school football and its stars.
This weekend, they are in the Golden Triangle.
Starkville High School’s Friday night game against Oxford High School will be televised by ESPNU. Kickoff is scheduled for 8 p.m.
“It’s filled a real niche in the market place,” Ghazi said who is a partner of the Chicago-based marketing firm. “The high schools first and foremost really enjoy having us come out because the games we televise are from high school venues featuring the bands, the teams and the communities. A number of times we’re in market places that don’t have college football teams, so it’s a chance for those local markets and those communities to kind of shine and present themselves in the best way possible.”
The first game to be televised was De La Salle High School out of California versus Evangel Christian Academy from Louisiana in October of 2003. De La Salle won a national-record 151-straight games from 1992-2004. Evangel was the two-time defending Louisiana state champion when the two met, but De La Salle won to push its win streak to 145 games.
Paragon and ESPN continued to show contests featuring teams from different states to set up compelling matchups. In 2005, former Florida Gator quarterback Tim Tebow led his Nease High School Panthers against the Hoover High School Buccaneers. Tebow passed for over 300 yards in the loss.
“We try to show the good stories, but really focus on the recruiting and good environments which high school football can give you,” ESPN’s senior director of college sports programming Dan Margulis said. “We’ve built a nice little portfolio over the years by compounding the ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU coverage to get there.”
Starkville’s local cable company MaxxSouth began televising local high school and youth sports this spring on tape delay. They will be heavily involved with high school football this fall, showing both Starkville and Oxford contests throughout the season.
“I think it’s great. No question, I think it’s fantastic. It’s an excellent highlight for the entire state,” MaxxSouth general manager Mark Boyer said of the ESPNU game.
The Starkville/Oxford matchup is one of 10 games to be featured during the 2015 GEICO ESPN High School Football Kickoff. The three-day event starts Friday with two games and concludes with a lone game Sunday. There are seven scheduled matchups for Saturday and all can be seen on the ESPN family of networks.
“I love the story of Oxford versus Starkville,” Margulis said. “I think it has such great potential to tell more about an SEC rivalry. It’s a little bit bigger than that. It’s a state rivalry and we love that.”
Mike Couzens and Cole Cubelic will be on the call for ESPNU.
The “Little Egg Bowl” — as it is dubbed after the name of the Mississippi State and Ole Miss rivalry game — began in 2013 with Oxford taking the first meeting with a 35-24 victory. The Yellow Jackets claimed a 52-29 win in Oxford last fall.
Oxford went on to play in the Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 5A State championship game last season, but lost to Laurel. Starkville lost to South Panola in the Class 6A North Half State finals a season ago.
“We also want to give football fans across the country an idea of what local rivalries are like, so we looked at local rivalries where it’s in-state matchups and this one kind of popped off the screen,” Ghazi said. “We thought the game would be competitive.”
The process to show Starkville versus Oxford began in January and February of this year. The television date was announced in June.
The Chargers are 1-0 this season after shutting out Southaven 35-0 at home in the season opener. The Jackets are 0-1 after falling to Noxubee County 26-20 in double overtime on the road.
ESPN will arrive today to set up its equipment to broadcast the game.
“I think it’s great for the town of Starkville and the program,” first-year Starkville coach Ricky Woods said. “It’s a good deal, but it’s all about the game. So don’t forget to play the game.”
Along with great story lines and compelling matchups, Paragon looks at each team’s top players before making a decision.
During the 10 games to be featured this weekend, there are 55 players ranked in the ESPN 300 and ESPN Junior 300. Starkville’s squad features two seniors in the ESPN 300, with wide receiver A.J. Brown at No. 71 and defensive tackle/offensive lineman Kobe Jones at No. 177. Starkville junior linebacker Willie Gay is ranked No. 204 in the ESPN Junior 300.
“It’s exciting to be able to play on national television,” Gay said. “We are going to do our thing just like we do every Friday. We’re not going to worry about all that.”
Both Brown and Jones are uncommitted and have double digit scholarship offers. Both have offers from MSU, Ole Miss and Alabama. Gay has four offers including MSU, Ole Miss, Alabama and Tennessee.
Oxford senior wide receiver DeKaylin Metcalf is committed to Ole Miss and is ranked No. 245 in the ESPN 300.
“When you look at the message boards from across the country, there’s quite a bit of anticipation for these games,” Ghazi said.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
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