IMG Academy's football team faced off against Ohio-based Bishop Sycamore recently and it wasn't a pretty result. IMG Academy looked absolutely dominant in a 58-0 win, which was supposed to feature two powerhouse high school football programs. IMG Academy, based in Bradenton, Florida, is annually one of the top programs in the country and boasts several four- and five-star prospects on a yearly basis.
Considering that this game was shown on a national broadcast, you'd think that this would be a competitive game. In fact, it bordered on the side of being extremely dangerous for this Bishop Sycamore team to be sharing the same gridiron as IMG Academy. Because following the game, there were several factors that led many to question the legitimacy of Bishop Sycamore as a football program.
Bishop Sycamore allegedly claims to make its home in Columbus, Ohio. However, according to The Sporting News, it appears that the school might not be real. Schools that boast the name "Bishop" usually are associated with the catholic church and are named in honor of local bishops or historic bishops. However, The Diocese of Columbus, Ohio, doesn't have any Bishop Sycamores throughout its history.
According to the Massillon Independent, Bishop Sycamore is described as an online charter school that students can attend. In addition, the school isn't listed in the Ohio High School Athletic Association's directory of schools, which leaves more question marks.
Instead of being a OHSAA school, Bishop Sycamore is reportedly a school in the Texas Christian Athletic League, which is another flag. However, Bishop Sycamore isn't the only non-Texas school in the conference as Ocean Springs Grace Baptist is a member and is located in Mississippi. It's worth noting that Duncanville High School, which is located in Texas, does still have Bishop Sycamore on its schedule for the 2021 season.
As far as Bishop Sycamore's experience on the gridiron goes, it's questionable to say the least.
The Centurions don't exactly have much of a background to look back on. According to the school's official website, there are five total blog posts regarding the football team dating to April 2021, but there hasn't been one since May 21. If the school is about to begin the football season, you'd think that there would be some kind of season preview content.
In addition, if you click on the "About Us," and "Staff" sections of the school's website, the sections are absolutely blank. The "Schedule" tab just says that the 2021 schedule is "coming soon."
There was also a GoFundMe page in Bishop Sycamore's name that was set up on Aug. 21, 2021. The description for the GoFundMe page said that Bishop Sycamore is a "new football program getting established in Columbus" and plays "a national schedule which is ranked 4th in the nation." The campaign had raised just $140 of a $20,000 goal, but is no longer accepting donations.
According to the team's schedule on MaxPreps, Bishop Sycamore is also slated to play several powerhouse programs across the country including DeMatha (Md.), Duncanville, and St. Thomas More (Conn.). Last season, the Centurions went 0-6 and were outscored 227-42.
However, MaxPreps didn't have Bishop Sycamore's game against Sto-Rox, which is a high school in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, from this past Friday on their schedule. According to TribLive, Sto-Rox defeated Bishop Sycamore 19-7, then Bishop Sycamore turned around and played on Sunday against IMG Academy.
Bishop Sycamore's roster is also extremely questionable. For example, quarterback Jailen Knight got the start against IMG Academy and his Twitter account states that he is a three-star prospect in the 2023 class. However, Knight's Hudl page says that he plays for Perry Hall High School in Baltimore. Knight also has a 247Sports recruiting profile that lists him as an unrecruited quarterback who graduated in 2021. Meanwhile, quarterback Trillian Harris is listed on Hudl as a senior quarterback from Bishop Sycamore. However, Harris' 247Sports profile lists him as a California quarterback in the 2021 class who wasn't recruited.
Whether Bishop Sycamore is a legitimate program or not, it was downright dangerous for a team that plays on Friday to then turn around and play Sunday against a team such as IMG Academy, which is loaded with some of the top players in the entire country.
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