Pine-Richland football announces, deletes Week Zero matchup with IMG Academy

By: HSSN Staff
Monday, March 5, 2018 | 5:00 PM

Call it a false start.

Pine-Richland's football team announced Monday on Twitter that it will start next season against Florida powerhouse IMG Academy, which finished last season ranked second nationally.

But the tweet was later deleted, and athletic director Josh Shoop said there were no signed contracts in place yet.

The private Bradenton, Fla., school bills itself as a “multi-sport training destination” that attracts student-athletes from across the country. IMG's football team finished last season ranked second by both USA Today and MaxPreps.com.

Pine-Richland has used Week Zero to schedule an out-of-state opponent each of the past two seasons. The Rams visited St. Edward of Lakewood, Ohio, in 2016, and hosted Wayne, Ohio, last season. Both were nationally televised by ESPN.

Pine-Richland's deleted tweet from @PRRamsFootball said: “We are excited to announce that IMG Academy will be our Week 0 Football Game at Pine-Richland Stadium. Exact day and time TBA.”

Chris Harlan is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at charlan@tribweb.com or via Twitter @CHarlan_Trib.

Tags: Pine-Richland