Dr. Phillips football to open season in Georgia | Observer Preps

The Florida Gators and the Georgia Bulldogs college football teams will face one another Oct. 27, but football fans won’t have to wait that long this fall for a high-profile “Florida-Georgia” matchup.

State champions from 2017 from the two states will clash Saturday, Aug. 25, to open the high-school football season. Dr. Phillips, the 2017 champion of Class 8A — Florida’s largest classification — will travel four hours north to face Lee County, the 2017 champion of Class 6A — Georgia’s second-largest classification.

Given that context — state champions from tradition- and talent-rich states such as Florida and Georgia opening the season against one another — the showdown between the Panthers and Trojans should garner national attention.

“It’s very exciting,” Dr. Phillips head coach Rodney Wells said. “Champions from two of the largest classifications, from two of the best football states in the world? It’s got to be a big deal to everybody — not just our two schools.”

The game came to be, in part, because the head coach at Lee County is Dean Fabrizio — formerly an assistant at Dr. Phillips in the 1990s, when Wells was a player for the Panthers.

The game is the first out-of-state game for the program since Wells took over as head coach seven years ago, and although the main focus will be on earning a victory on a big stage — the game could end up televised nationally — the Panthers also will do their best to soak up and enjoy the unique experience it offers.

“It’s definitely an experience — it’s college-like,” Wells said. “You’ve got to go and stay in a hotel. You’re out of your element — you’ve got to find somewhere to eat breakfast and lunch and find a different place for your pregame practice. … The other thing is, we’re playing on a Saturday for the first time since I’ve been there.”