Crew Stadium to host H.S. Football Series

Crew Stadium has announced the match-ups for its 2008 High School Football Series presented by OhioHealth, to be played at Crew Stadium in August, September and October. 2008 is the inaugural season for the High School Football Series, which will feature five match-ups between some of the top high school football programs in central Ohio. Thanks to its partnership with ONN, four of the five gridiron match-ups at Crew Stadium will also be televised via tape-delay.

The Series kicks off on Friday, Aug. 22, at 7:30 p.m. when the Groveport Madison Cruisers host their season opener against the Wolves of Worthington Kilbourne.

The Series continues on Friday, Sept. 19 with a classic Pickerington rivalry game as the Pickerington North Panthers hosts the Pickerington Central Tigers at 7:30 p.m.

Just one week later, the Series resumes with a high school football doubleheader on Friday, Sept. 26. The evening's action kicks off at 6 p.m. when the Olentangy Orange Pioneers visit the host New Albany Eagles. The second game of the doubleheader features an all-Olentangy match-up as the Patriots of Olentangy Liberty host the Olentangy Braves at 9 p.m.

Crew Stadium's 2008 High School Football Series presented by OhioHealth wraps up on October 3 when the Bishop Watterson Eagles play host to the St. Francis DeSales Stallions at 7:30 p.m.

"We are thrilled to host a high school football series like this at Crew Stadium," said Crew President and General Manager Mark McCullers. "These high school football showcases will offer a great opportunity for all ten schools involved. We have hosted various high school football events over the past nine years and look forward to providing an experience that all administrators, fans and, most importantly, the student-athletes will never forget."

Starting with the Pickerington North vs. Pickerington Central rivalry game on Sept. 19 and concluding with the Bishop Watterson vs. St. Francis Desales match-up on Oct. 3, ONN will televise the evening's game via tape-delay at 10 p.m. ET, later that night. The lone exception will be the second game of the Sept. 26 doubleheader between Olentangy Liberty and Olentangy, which will be televised the Saturday following at a time to be announced later.

Crew Stadium is a 20,145 seat facility, home to the Columbus Crew of Major League Soccer, as well as a target destination for other marquee sports and entertainment events including US Soccer matches, NFL exhibitions, NCAA soccer, and concerts. Crew Stadium has hosted various high school football games since its opening in 1999, including the Grange Insurance Ohio North-South Classic and the Inaugural Ohio vs. USA Kirk Herbstreit Challenge, as well as other high school regular season and playoff games.

All tickets are General Admission and will be $5 for students, $8 for adults and will be available for purchase from the two participating schools leading up to each game, as well as the Crew Stadium Box Office and Ticketmaster.com. Gates open at 6:00 p.m. for all 7:30 p.m. kick-offs and 4:30 p.m. for the 6 p.m. kickoff between Olentangy Orange and New Albany on Sept. 26. Parking for the event is set at $5.

A limited number of suites are also available for the contests in the 2008 High School Football Series presented by OhioHealth; please call 447-CREW for more information.