BGA season opener vs Philip Rivers, St. Michael Catholic will be broadcast by ESPN

Battle Ground Academy’s season opener against coach Philip Rivers and St. Michael Catholic (Alabama) will be nationally televised, ESPN announced on July 30.

The game will take place Saturday, Aug. 22 at 12:30 p.m. (CT) at St. Michael Catholic in Fairhope, Alabama.

St. Michael, in its sixth season under the former NFL quarterback Rivers, went 13-1 last season, losing in the state semifinal to Jackson.

Rivers came out of NFL retirement briefly less than two weeks later to play quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts. His son, four-star North Carolina State commitment Gunner Rivers, is ranked as the No. 12 QB nationally in the 2027 class, according to the 247Sports Composite.

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BGA went 13-1 last season, winning the TSSAA football Division II-AA state championship with a win over Franklin Road Academy.

BGA includes star receivers Maximus Curry, a junior, and Maddox Porter, a sophomore. Curry is the No. 7 junior in Tennessee from the 2028 class, according to the 247Sports Composite. The Composite hasn’t released 2029 rankings, but Porter figures to be high on the board after becoming the first wide receiver to ever win the MaxPreps National Freshman of the Year honor.

They combined for 2,948 yards receiving and 47 touchdowns last season.

BGA first-year starting quarterback is Bo Bryan, who is the son of country music superstar Luke Bryan.

Tyler Palmateer covers high school sports for The Tennessean. Have a story idea for Tyler? Reach him at tpalmateer@tennessean.com and on the X platform, @tpalmateer83.

He also contributes to The Tennessean’s high school sports newsletter, The Bootleg. Subscribe to The Bootleg here.