DALLAS — Two defending state champions, arguably the most anticipated game on the 2022 schedule statewide and some of the very best high school football programs in all of Texas spotlight the 2022 broadcast schedule for WFAA’s Friday Night Football, which is set to kick off on Friday, August 26.
2022 will mark the fifth year of WFAA streaming broadcasts of local high school football games. The 2022 season of Friday Night Football will air across all of WFAA’s digital platforms, including WFAA.com, WFAA’s YouTube channel, WFAA’s mobile app and the station’s brand new WFAA+ streaming app.
WFAA sports anchor Mike Leslie will once again serve as the play-by play announcer all season long. Former Lincoln High School and Kansas State linebacker Hek'ma Harrison will serve as color commentator.
On October 21, two of the most storied programs in all of Texas high school football will square off on Friday Night Football in what may be the single biggest game on the schedule all season. Denton Ryan, the second-ranked team in the state, will host No. 3 Aledo in a game that has been eagerly expected ever since the UIL announced the new district alignments in February. Aledo enters the season with an all-time record 103-game district winning streak that dates back to 2007. Denton Ryan boasts its own lengthy streak, having won 48 district win games.
Three different top-ranked teams will appear on Friday Night Football this fall.
The No. 1 team in 4A-Division I, defending champion Stephenville, opens the 2022 season on the road against No. 20 Midlothian Heritage on Friday, August 26. The Yellowjackets won 4A-Divison I in 2021 and begin their title defense on Friday Night Football.
Defending 5A-Division II State Champion South Oak Cliff, the first Dallas ISD program to win a state title in decades, faces an incredibly difficult non-district schedule, including a road tilt with the eighth-ranked team in 6A, the Desoto Eagles. Desoto plays host to the top-ranked Golden Bears on Saturday, September 10, at 6 p.m. in a special Saturday edition of Friday Night Football.
The top-ranked team in 3A-Division I, the Brock Eagles, will host No. 17 Whitesboro in Week 8 of the regular season on Friday, October 14.
Also on the Friday Night Football calendar this year, perennial powerhouse Duncanville, ranked No. 4 in the state in 6A to begin the season, will have its stiffest test of the regular season in the penultimate game of their slate as they host eighth-ranked Desoto on Friday Night Football on October 28.
One of the top rivalries in Texas will take center stage on Friday Night Football on September 30, as No. 9 Colleyville Heritage squares off with No. 15 Grapevine.
On September 16, No. 6 Denton Guyer, featuring the top quarterback in Texas in Jackson Arnold, plays host to No. 26 Prosper.
On September 23, two of the top 4A programs in North Texas square off, as No. 19 Sunnyvale visits No. 21 Kaufman.
Midlothian Heritage again takes spotlight on October 7, as the No. 20 Jaguars visit one of the recent powers in 5A, for a game at No. 5 Mansfield Summit.
The 2022 regular season schedule wraps up with a special Thursday night edition of Friday Night Football, as No. 2 Lucas Lovejoy hosts No. 13 Melissa.
FULL 2022 FRIDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL SCHEDULE:
Aug. 26th – #1 Stephenville at #20 Midlothian Heritage
Sep. 10th – #1 South Oak Cliff at #8 Desoto
Sep. 16th – #26 Prosper at #6 Denton Guyer
Sep. 23rd – #19 Sunnyvale at #21 Kaufman
Sep. 30th – #9 Colleyville Heritage at #15 Grapevine
Oct. 7th – #20 Midlothian Heritage at #5 Mansfield Summit
Oct. 14th – #17 Whitesboro at #1 Brock
Oct. 21st – #3 Aledo at #2 Denton Ryan
Oct. 28th – #8 Desoto at #4 Duncanville
Nov. 3rd – #2 Lucas Lovejoy vs. #13 Melissa
