IMG Academy at The First Academy Live Updates: Florida High School Football

No. 1 IMG Academy puts its undefeated record and 13-game winning streak on the line Friday in a high-profile battle of the unbeaten at The First Academy in Orlando.

Sophomore Cayden Gould is IMG Academy's leading rusher with 198 yards despite logging just 22 carries in the first three games. He's also rushed for six touchdowns. | David Argyle

ORLANDO, Fla. — Two of Florida's top private college prep academies will meet on the gridiron Friday when the nation's No. 1 IMG Academy Ascenders visit The City Beautiful to take on The First Academy Royals.

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Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.

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Preview

Who: IMG Academy [Bradenton, Fla.] at The First Academy [Orlando, Fla.]
When: 7 p.m. EDT local
Where: Kroy Crofoot Field at Warden Stadium.
Live Stream: Watch Live on the NFHS Network

Both teams are undefeated, with IMG Academy sporting a 3-0 record coming off a bye week and The First Academy entering at 4-0. The Ascenders have won their three games by an average of 48.67 points, with their closest game being a 41-0 rout of Hawaii's St. Louis two weeks ago at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo, California.

The Royals, meanwhile, have sandwiched two big blowout wins around two games in which they were challenged. They held off Edgewater for a 21-14 victory Aug. 28 before needing overtime to outlast Port Charlotte, 23-20. The First Academy will have to be at its best to hang with the top-ranked Ascenders, who enter the contest riding a 13-game winning streak and boast one of the nation's deepest rosters in 2026.

At least 11 IMG seniors are consensus three-star prospects or better, led by five-star edge rusher Zyron Forstall, who is committed to Texas A&M, and four-star wide receiver Osani Gayles, who is committed to Alabama. Other four-star seniors include wide receiver Eric McFarland III (Texas A&M), cornerback Aaryn Washington (USC), cornerback Censere Gaylord (Washington) and edge rusher Jackson Vaughn (Notre Dame).

At least 10 more junior Ascenders are ranked as four-star prospects or better. Quarterback Jayden Wade, a Georgia commit, is the top overall prospect in Florida for the Class of 2028.

The First Academy counters with the state's top prospect in the Class of 2029, sophomore defensive lineman J'deion Jackson. The Royals will also lean heavily on senior leaders such as four-star offensive lineman Reed Ramsier (Auburn) and three-star prospects cornerback Kamauri Whitfield (Florida), defensive lineman Jeau-Pierre Furtado (Bowling Green) and safety Jaiziah Battle (South Florida).

The two teams met last year in one of Florida's preseason kickoff classics with IMG Academy winning 41-7 in a game that didn't count on either team's official record. Their only regular-season meeting to date came in 2013 when the Ascenders pummeled the Royals, 35-5, at home in Bradenton.

Game time is set for 7 p.m. EDT at Kroy Crofoot Field at Warden Stadium.

Refresh this page regularly during the game for live updates on the action in Orlando.

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. EDT at Kroy Crofoot Field at Warden Stadium.