DALLAS — Three defending state champions, a pair of No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchups and some of the very best high school football programs in all of Texas spotlight the 2024 broadcast schedule for WFAA's Friday Night Football, which is set to kick off on Friday, Aug. 30.
This season mark the seventh year of WFAA streaming broadcasts of local high school football games.
The 2024 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 WFAA+ streaming app.
The crown jewel of the ’24 slate comes on Oct. 11, when the top two teams in Texas square off on Friday Night Football, as No. 2 Duncanville visits No. 1 Desoto. Both teams won their second straight state championships last year in 6A, with Duncanville taking the 6A-Division I title and Desoto winning 6A-Division II. Their matchup this season stands as the single most anticipated public school high school football game in America in 2024.
And that's not event the only No. 1-meets-No. 2 matchup on the schedule this season.
One week prior, on Oct. 4, No. 2-ranked Denton Ryan visits No. 1-ranked Aledo in a game that figures to crown a district champion, and heavily impact seeding in the 5A-Division I postseason.
The 2024 Friday Night Football season slate opens with arguably the most historic rivalry in North Texas, as Ennis visits Waxahachie. The two teams have played "The Battle of 287" for over a century, dating back to 1908. This year’s meeting will mark the 86th consecutive year these schools have faced off on the gridiron.
In Week 2 of the season, Friday Night Football will broadcast the always-anticipated matchup between South Oak Cliff and Duncanville, as the former hosts the latter for a game featuring two teams ranked No. 2 in the state in their respective classifications.
On Sept. 13, it's another slugfest as Denton Guyer visits No. 5 North Crowley for an early season non-district test.
Then No. 3 Argyle hosts No. 6 Colleyville Heritage on Sept. 27 for a game between a pair of teams who'll be revisiting a thrilling faceoff from last year's playoffs.
On Oct. 18, it's a showdown between Rockwall and Kaufman counties as the upstart Forney Jackrabbits will visit Rockwall for yet another crucial district matchup.
Then, on Oct. 25, we'll revisit a Prosper-Allen rivalry that has only grown with intensity in recent years after Prosper snapped Allen’s 72-game district winning streak back in 2021.
Finally, the 2024 regular season schedule will wrap up with a pair of games on Nov. 1 and Nov. 8. Those two dates remain TBD, and will be decided upon as the the season unfolds and the best late-season matchups we can find are determined.
WFAA sports anchor Mike Leslie and Hek'ma Harrison will once again comprise the Friday Night Football broadcast team, working together for a third consecutive season in the booth.
Harrison played linebacker at Lincoln High School in Dallas before playing college football at both Kansas State and UNT.
Full 2024 Friday Night Football Schedule
- Aug. 30: #24 Ennis at Waxahachie
- Sep. 6: #2 Duncanville at #2 South Oak Cliff
- Sep. 13: #38 Denton Guyer at #5 North Crowley
- Sep. 27: #6 Colleyville Heritage at #3 Argyle
- Oct. 4: #2 Denton Ryan at #1 Aledo
- Oct. 11: #2 Duncanville at #1 Desoto
- Oct. 18: #28 Forney at #22 Rockwall
- Oct. 25: #15 Prosper at #17 Allen
- Nov. 1: TBA
- Nov. 8: TBA
*rankings via official preseason statewide polls in Dave Campbell’s Texas Football magazine in respective classifications