[ad_1]
Over the weekend IMG Academy faced Ohio-based Bishop Sycamore and it wasn’t a pretty result. IMG Academy looked absolutely dominant in a 58-0 win, which was supposed to feature two high school football programs. IMG Academy, based in Bradenton, Fla., Is one of the top programs in the country each year and has multiple four and five star prospects each year.
Considering that this game aired on a national show, you would think it would be a competitive game. In fact, it bordered on the extremely dangerous side for this Bishop Sycamore team to share the same ground as IMG Academy. After the game, several factors led many to question the legitimacy of Bishop Sycamore as a football program.
Bishop Sycamore claims to have made his home in Columbus, Ohio. However, according to The Sporting News, it looks like the school might not be real. Schools that bear the name of “bishop” are usually associated with the Catholic Church and are named in honor of local bishops or historic bishops. However, the Diocese of Columbus, Ohio, has no Sycamore Bishop throughout its history.
According to the Massillon Independent, Bishop Sycamore is described as an online charter school that students can attend. Additionally, the school is not listed in the Ohio High School Athletic Association’s school directory, which leaves more question marks.
Instead of being an OHSAA school, Bishop Sycamore would be a Texas Christian Athletic League school, which is another flag. However, Bishop Sycamore is not the only non-Texan school participating in the conference, as Ocean Springs Grace Baptist is a member and is located in Mississippi. It should be noted that Duncanville High School, which is located in Texas, still has Bishop Sycamore on its schedule for the 2021 season.
As for Bishop Sycamore’s experience on the grill, that’s questionable to say the least.
The Centurions don’t really have a history to look back on. According to the school’s official website, there are five blog posts in total relating to the football team as of April 2021, but there haven’t been any since May 21. If the school is about to start the football season, you would think there would be some sort of season preview content.
Also, if you click on the “About Us” and “Personal” sections of the school website, the sections are absolutely empty. The “Calendar” tab simply indicates that the 2021 calendar is “coming soon”.
There was also a GoFundMe page in the name of Bishop Sycamore which was created on August 21, 2021. The description of the GoFundMe page said that Bishop Sycamore is a “new football program that is establishing itself in Columbus” and playing “a schedule. national which is ranked 4th in the country. ” The campaign had only raised $ 140 of a goal of $ 20,000, but is no longer accepting donations.
According to the team’s schedule on MaxPreps, Bishop Sycamore is also set to play several powerful programs across the country, including DeMatha (Md.), Duncanville and St. Thomas More (Conn.). Last season the Centurions went 0-6 and were outscored 227-42.
However, MaxPreps did not have Bishop Sycamore’s game against Sto-Rox, who is a high school in Allegheny County, Pa., As of last Friday on their schedule. According to TribLive, Sto-Rox beat Bishop Sycamore 19-7, then Bishop Sycamore turned around and played against IMG Academy on Sunday.
Bishop Sycamore’s list is also extremely questionable. For example, quarterback Jailen Knight started against IMG Academy and his Twitter account says he’s a three-star prospect in the 2023 class. However, Knight’s Hudl page says he plays for Perry Hall High School in Baltimore. Knight also has a 247Sports recruiting profile which lists him as an unreached quarterback who graduated in 2021. Meanwhile, quarterback Trillian Harris is listed on Hudl as Bishop Sycamore’s senior quarterback. . However, Harris’ 247Sports profile lists him as a California quarterback in the 2021 class who was not drafted.
Whether Bishop Sycamore was a legitimate program or not, it was downright dangerous for a team playing on Friday to turn around and play on Sunday against a team like IMG Academy, which is packed with some of the best players from across the country.
[ad_2]
Source link