You hear that? Listen closely. Did you hear it? The bands. The cheers. The pageantry. That's right.
High school football has returned. It's back. We're back.
We've made it to our first Football Friday of 2026, folks. High school football returned around the country last night, and really kicks off tonight. College football is next week. The NFL is two weeks after that.
Thanks to the WNBA for holding it down this summer and giving us something to pass the time, but the king has returned. Your watch has ended.
With high school football, of course, comes the names. Like Marshall Manning, the freshman QB son of someone named Peyton Manning.
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Marshall made his debut Thursday night for Baylor School — a private, college prep school in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The game was televised on ESPN2, and also featured arguably the best player in the country in running back David Gabriel Georges.
And while Manning's debut went viral on social media because, well, he's a Manning, it was Gabriel Georges who absolutely stole the show.
What a specimen:
How great is high school football? So much to break down there.
For starters ... how about Marshall Manning's first career completion going to a kid named Cornbread Adams? How lucky are we to live in this country? God, I love it.
And yes, Manning is just a freshman and will play sparingly and was just in briefly last night to get his feet wet. I get it. But, it's Marshall Manning. This is the kid they've been hyping up for a few years now, in the same way they did Archie.
I think the pressure on both is insane, by the way, but it comes with the last name. It's not the worst problem to have.
Obviously, the star of the night was this David Gabriel Georges — a 5-star Tennessee commit who is apparently impossible to tackle. The kid never went down on first touch. He finished with three touchdowns and 250 total yards. He might be the next Derrick Henry. Who knows?
I don't know who makes the rankings, but if he's not the consensus No. 1 running back in the country, the whole thing is a sham.
I mean, look at this animal:
Lordy. He had social media in awe all night. The 6-foot, 210-pound senior was all over my timeline, making insane play after insane play.
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This one, in particular, might've taken the cake:
Goodness gracious. They didn't make 'em like that when I played high school football. Thank God.
Anyway, welcome back, King. It's good to have a Football Friday back.