SAN ANTONIO— Old rivals Lufkin and Longview will be broadcast on Fox Sports Southwest during Week 1 of the high school football season to conclude Texas Football Days, a week of celebrating the game, the network and the University Inter-scholastic League announced on Tuesday.

The Lufkin vs. Longview game at Lobo Stadium in Longview is the second of a TV doubleheader set for Aug. 31. The first contest has Brock at Brownwood from Gordon Wood Stadium with a kickoff of 5:30 p.m. The Panthers and Lobos will kick off at 8:30 p.m.

For the first time, teams involved will be competing to take home a Texas Football Days trophy to commemorate the official start to the 2018 season.

“The goal of Texas Football Days is to celebrate and capture the cultural significance of football in Texas with unique stories that highlight our communities, legends and traditions,” said Steve Simpson, Fox Sports Southwest Senior Vice President/General Manager. “Our partners — UIL, THSCA and THSADA — helped turn our vision into an award-winning reality in 2017, and we look forward to delivering Texas Football Days again this season.”

“We were thrilled with the success of the inaugural Texas Football Days last year and are very excited to see this event continue and grow,” said Dr. Charles Breithaupt, UIL Executive Director. “FSSW is committed to celebrating and showcasing Texas high school football and the Friday night experience for high schools across the state, and Texas Football Days does that in a wonderful way.”

Texas Football Days officially launches at 7 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 26, with the debut of Texas High School Football Season Preview on FSSW.

The 60-minute special will be hosted by Erin Hartigan, with Ric Renner and Texas Football Managing Editor Greg Tepper offering up insight and expertise heading into the 2018 football season.

Additionally, FSSW will feature programming centered around football in the Lone Star State throughout the week, complete with replays of classic high school and collegiate games including last season’s UIL 5A Division I Championship battle between Highland Park and Manvel.

FSSW will deliver a 15-hour Texas high school football broadcast marathon on Friday, Aug. 31 starting at 10:30 a.m. Included is a special edition of Football Friday that will kick off live coverage from Gordon Wood Stadium at 4:30 p.m. Hartigan will host the one-hour show, with legendary coaches Ken Purcell and Brad McCoy adding analysis and Sarah Merrifield reporting. Football Friday will lead into coverage of the live doubleheader with game previews, custom features and a look in at game day activities across the state.

Ted Emrich will handle playby-play for the Brock-Brownwood game alongside McCoy, who will provide analysis, with Hartigan and Merrifield reporting from the sideline.

The broadcast team on-site at Lobo Stadium for the Lufkin-Longview matchup will be play-byplay man Mark Followill, analyst Shea Walker and sideline reporter Jen Hale.

In addition to the two marquee Texas high school football matchups on Aug. 31, FSSW will deliver live look-ins at 10 games across the state, capturing the local pageantry, fanfare and game updates throughout the night, including Gilmer at Atlanta.

Other games include: Euless Trinity at Waco Midway; Galena Park North Shore at Katy; The Woodlands at Cy-Fair; Lubbock Coronado vs. Lubbock Estacado; Silsbee at Port Neches-Groves; Sherman at Denison; El Paso Parkland at El Paso Burges; DeSoto at Odessa Permian; and Stephenville at Argyle.

FSSW’s signature High School Scoreboard Live show will serve as the postgame show and wrap up the night from Longview. Renner, Tepper and Walker will deliver a complete recap of Friday night football in Texas with scores, highlights and game reports.

The Texas Football Days celebration will continue on Saturday, Sept. 1 with the start of college football season. Games on the Fox family of networks will show features recapping the Friday night high school celebration.