Graham-Kapowsin football’s season opener in Eugene will be broadcast on ESPNU

Graham-Kapowsin High School football will open the 2018 season later this month on national television.

The Eagles, who have advanced to the Class 4A state playoffs each of the past four seasons, travel south on Aug. 31 to play Oregon powerhouse Sheldon. The two programs will meet at 7 p.m. in Eugene on ESPNU.

The game will pit two of the nation’s top 2019 quarterback recruits — Graham-Kapowsin’s Dylan Morris and Sheldon’s Michael Johnson Jr. — against each other.

Morris, a four-year starter for the Eagles and longtime Washington Huskies commit, has returned from his late-season injury in 2017 to run the backfield for the Eagles. He threw for 3,086 yards and 31 touchdowns as a junior, averaging 257.2 yards per game through the air and completing 65.9 percent of his passes.

Morris is considered a four-star recruit by 247Sports and 247Sports composite rankings and is considered the top quarterback in Washington in the 2019 class, and the sixth-ranked pro-style quarterback in the nation.

He was one of 12 quarterbacks in the nation who punched their ticket to Nike’s The Opening Finals after competing at the Elite 11 Finals earlier this summer. He was the only quarterback from the Northwest to advance to The Opening Finals in Dallas.

Sheldon’s dual-threat quarterback, Johnson, is considered a three-star recruit by 247Sports and four-star by 247Sports composite. He threw for 1,218 yards and 21 touchdowns last season in leading the Irish to a 10-2 record. He rushed for another 745 yards and 12 scores.

Johnson committed to Penn State last week, passing up offers from 27 other Division I programs, including schools like Alabama, Georgia and several Pac-12 schools, including both in-state FBS universities. He is the top quarterback recruit in Oregon for the 2019 class, and ranked No. 14 as a dual-threat quarterback nationally.

Johnson also competed at the Elite 11 Finals this summer.

The game is part of the 2018 GEICO ESPN High School Football Showcase, which features 22 teams matching up in 11 nationally televised games.

There are 49 players across the 22 teams that will be featured — including Morris (No. 119) and Johnson (No. 211) — ranked in the ESPN 300 for the 2019 class.

This story was originally published August 7, 2018 at 10:37 AM.