Post by brophy on Sept 21, 2007 12:14:19 GMT -6
National stage awaits Longview, John Curtis
By RICK KRETZSCHMAR
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
When Longview High School's football team hosts River Ridge (La.) John Curtis on Saturday, tens of millions of viewers have the opportunity to watch the game on television. This may include fans that wanted to see the game in person, but didn't get a ticket in time.
The Longview-John Curtis game, which begins at 11:30 a.m. at Lobo Stadium, will be broadcast nationally on Fox Sports Net. According to FSN senior vice president-general manager Jon Heidtke, the game will be available live in 72 million homes, including all markets in Texas and Louisiana.
Markets around the country that will broadcast the game live include New York City, Los Angeles, Detroit and the state of Florida. Another 9.5 million households will broadcast the game this week on tape delay.
John Curtis (3-0) is ranked No. 9 in the ESPN Elite 25 national high school football poll, No. 21 in the National Prep Football Poll and No. 20 in the Rivals.com Fab 50. A private school located in a suburb of New Orleans, John Curtis has won 21 state titles in the 37-year history of the school.
Longview (1-1) has advanced to the playoffs 32 times in school history.
"There are some compelling story lines. First, John Curtis is rebuilding from (Hurricane) Katrina issues," Heidtke said. "Second, when people think of high-school football, they think of Texas. They think Dallas and Houston, but when it comes to per capita in producing college football players, nobody can beat East Texas."
The broadcasters for the game are Randy McIlvoy and Shea Walker, while the sideline reporter is Leila Rahimi. Walker is a former receiver for Texas A&M. Rahimi is a former reporter with CBS 19.
As for fans who want to see the game in person, Longview ISD Director of Extracurricular Activities Pat Collins said it is hard to tell if the game will sell out.
Longview is sold out of season-ticket packages. Because of stadium construction to better accommodate handicapped spectators, there are 200 fewer seats on the home side than last year, leaving 1,500 general public seats on the home side.
"If you wait until Saturday to get a ticket, you probably won't be able to sit on the home side," Collins said.
Approximately 3,000 tickets were sent to John Curtis, but Collins said he doubts they will use all 3,000, making more seats available on the visitor side. Seating will also be available hillside on the west side of the stadium.
Tickets can be purchased at the Longview ISD athletic department at 201 E. Hawkins Parkway.
I'll try to post some clips Saturday night.
