Bergen Catholic's Xavier Jackson celebrates during a 2024 New Jersey NJSIAA Non-Public semifinal in Oradell, New Jersey. Jackson and his Crusaders will play the East St. Louis Flyers Thursday in The Battle at the Beach in Ocean City, NJ.

The defending Illinois IHSA Class 6A champion East St. Louis [IL] Flyers are in New Jersey this afternoon to take on the defending champion Bergen Catholic [Oradell, NJ] Crusaders of New Jersey's NJSIAA Non-Public A ranks.

The two state champions will meet at The Battle at the Beach in Ocean City, New Jersey, and both enter the season ranked in The Sporting News High School Football Top 25 to kick off the season. The No. 17 Flyers finished 13-1 during their state title run a year ago while the No. 18 Crusaders compiled an 11-1 ledger.

The only loss for both teams was to the IMG Academy [Bradenton, FL] Ascenders. Bergen Catholic suffered a 27-14 loss to the Florida kingpins in the 2024 season opener while the Flyers were nipped in a 14-13 overtime loss in late October.

The winner of this game will add a major bullet to its resume in the hunt for the 2025 national title while the loser will be out of the picture.

HOW TO WATCH the No. 17 East St. Louis [IL] Flyers vs. the No. 18 Bergen Catholic [NJ] Crusaders

While you're getting ready for tonight's big game, get yourself up to speed on the preseason edition of The Sporting News High School Football Top 25.

Finally, don't miss out on The Sporting News Preseason All-American Teams that just debuted today!

The Sporting News High School Preseason All-American Offense 2025

The Sporting News High School Preseason All-American Defense 2025

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We'll check back in here in a while with a look at some more storylines and an update on the weather.

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