Knoxville Catholic preparing to play Trinity Christian, led by Deion Sanders and son, in nationally televised matchup
KNOXVILLE, Tenn (BVM) — A cross-state battle will be one of the highlights of ESPN’s High School Football Kickoff this weekend. On Saturday, Aug. 29, Knoxville Catholic High School and Trinity Christian School of Cedar Hill, Texas, will pit a pair of the country’s top programs and top quarterback recruits against one another in front of a national audience on ESPN at noon EST.
“Obviously Trinity Christian is an outstanding football team,” Knoxville Catholic coach Steve Matthews said. “We’re a young team, a building program so we’re definitely going to have our work cut out for us. But we’re excited about the opportunity playing on ESPN against an outstanding team and having a good validation of where our program is.”
NATIONAL BROADCAST – Don't miss @KCIrishFootball LIVE on @espn this Saturday, 8/29 at Noon vs. @TCCHFootball, featuring Catholic QB @kaden_17 and Tigers QB Shedeur Sanders, son of NFL Hall of Famer Deion Sanders. Learn more: https://t.co/QX76hYc30E #GoIrish ☘️ 🏈 @KCHSCCC pic.twitter.com/5SRgjkk2gQ
— Knoxville Catholic ☘️ (@KnoxCatholic) August 24, 2020
Trinity Christian will feature a pair of nationally recognizable names on its team. The Tigers feature Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders on the sidelines as the team’s offensive coordinator, marking his third year in the role. Under center for the Tigers will be another Sanders, Deion’s son Shedeur. Having Deion on the other sideline is a fun flashback for Matthews, a former NFL player himself who had played against Sanders during his stint with the Kansas City Chiefs.
“It makes it fun,” Matthews said. “We have mutual friends and I hear nothing but great things about Deion and his character. We’re excited to have him on campus.”
Shedeur is one of the country’s top senior quarterbacks and prospects regardless of position. Listed as the No. 8-ranked pocket-passer QB and the No. 41-ranked prospect overall in ESPN’s Class of 2021 rankings, Shedeur is sure to bring plenty of firepower to a Tigers offense that is looking to bounce back after a 27-26 loss to Mississippi’s Madison-Ridgeland Academy on Aug. 21. A Florida Atlantic University commit, Sheduer will look to live up to his high ranking in front of a crowd of eager viewers and Matthews expects him to be a difficult matchup for his defense.
“We have seen plenty of film on (Sheduer) and understand he is just an outstanding quarterback so we are definitely going to have our hands full,” Matthews said. “I’ve told our DBs you might think you got the guy covered, but he can fit it through very small windows so we’re going to have to play our best to be able to slow him down.”
Breaking the news that the team would be on the national network was additional fuel for the players and added extra motivation as they worked their way through summer camp.
“It was exciting,” Matthews said. “I think it helped us get through practice. Sometimes fall camp can be tough looking for motivation, but knowing that you’ll be playing in front of a nationwide audience was plenty of motivation. I think our guys are excited. I think they’ll go out and play as hard as they can. We’ve got a good group of young men and I think they’re extremely excited.”
Knoxville Catholic will be able to bring in some strong firepower of its own. The Fighting Irish will be led on the field by their star junior quarterback Kaden Martin. Martin, the son of former Tennessee Volunteers quarterback and current UT assistant coach Tee Martin, is the No. 297 player in ESPN’s Class of 2022 Junior 300. Matthews knows what he has in Kaden is special and, although he is still young for the quarterback position, he is a game changer.
“He’s fairly new to the position,” Matthews said. “Seeing him in fall camp this year, he is night and day from last year. He brings leadership, he has that ‘it’ factor you hear about. He has a great arm, a strong arm. He has a tremendously bright future and we’re excited about him hopefully playing really well.”
Currently uncommitted, Kaden has received a number of offers from the country’s top programs including Alabama, USC, and Tennessee to name a few. In the team’s home opener on Aug. 21, Kaden led the Irish to a dominant 42-0 win over visiting Chucky-Doak High School.
Fans from across the country should be excited that the game even ended up on the schedule for both programs. Initially, Knoxville Catholic was scheduled to play Corbin High School, from Corbin, Kentucky on Aug. 29. However, due to the Kentucky High School Athletic Association Board of Control announcing games wouldn’t start in the state until Sept. 11, the Irish were left without an opponent. Enter the Tigers.
“I was fortunate enough to coach in the Under Armour All-Star Game down in Orlando last year,” Matthews said. “Once the game against Corbin got canceled, I was able to make a few phone calls and (ESPN) was interested and we were interested. The hardest part after that was finding an opponent and they obviously called Trinity and Trinity felt confident coming up here and playing so it all worked out.”
This will not be the first time the Fighting Irish have played in front of a national audience. Last season, Knoxville Catholic hosted Brentwood Academy on Oct. 3 in a game that was televised on ESPN2. Knoxville Catholic would win, 42-37, with Martin recording five total touchdowns. The Fighting Irish will hope for similar results when the Tigers come to Knoxville. If that wasn’t enough, the game has also been sold out by the school meaning the teams will be playing in front of a full crowd. Matthews understands that there is some additional pressure with the attention of the game, but he has worked hard to keep those distractions off the field.
“We did play on ESPN last year so we’re a little bit used to it, but at the same time it definitely is different,” Matthews said. “All the ESPN trucks are here right now setting up and all of that creates a different atmosphere.”
🚨Irish Fans! The Knox Catholic/Trinity Christian game is now SOLD-OUT! Please watch the nationally televised broadcast on ESPN, Saturday, Aug. 29 at 12 p.m. God bless and Go Irish! ☘️ 🏈 pic.twitter.com/AfTJ701dOi
— Knoxville Catholic ☘️ (@KnoxCatholic) August 25, 2020
Matthews hopes that the game will allow the Irish to establish themselves even more on a national level. With a win against Trinity, Matthews thinks the team would be able to ride the momentum through the rest of their schedule.
“We’re kind of using this as a barometer of where we stand,” Matthews said. “This is most likely the best team we will play all year so we feel like if we can play hard and play well against these guys that it’ll set us up for the rest of the year. … I think if we could get a win against a team like Trinity, this could take us to the next step of being one of those perennial powerhouses at least in the state of Tennessee.”
With two top quarterback prospects and talent throughout both rosters, football fans all over the country will be able to find something to enjoy in the Trinity Christian-Knoxville Catholic matchup. While the Tigers will look to get back to their winning ways, the Irish will look to extend their hot start to the season and put themselves on the map in front of a national audience. With Martin under center, the Irish faithful should like their chances.
