Flying the friendly skies to kick off the football season

The benefits include a chance to play top-flight competition, an opportunity for team bonding, and time to enjoy some popular tourist attractions.

A trio of Southeastern Pennsylvania football squads – Archbishop Wood, Marple Newtown, and St. Joseph's Prep – will begin their respective seasons in Florida.

Wood, the reigning PIAA Class 5A champion, and Marple Newtown will play Friday night at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando. The Vikings will face Oxbridge Academy of West Palm Beach, Fla., at 8 p.m.; the Tigers will battle Florida High of Tallahassee at 6 p.m.

St. Joe's Prep, the defending Class 6A titlist, will visit Tampa's Jesuit High on Sept. 1 at 7:30 p.m.

This marks the seventh straight year that St. Joe's Prep, which is coming off a 14-0 campaign and has claimed state crowns in three of the last four seasons, has gone out of state to start its season.

The Hawks have opened in Washington, D.C., Florida, Texas, Illinois, Louisiana, and California. In 2011, they visited Gonzaga (D.C.) in Week 2.

"We rely on our early schedule to help us grow up," St. Joe's Prep coach Gabe Infante said. "I want the kids to play in hostile environments and see different styles of football."

Infante's squad is ranked No. 17 in USA Today's preseason Super 25. The Hawks were No. 8 in last year's final poll. "We've been trying to build a national brand," said Infante, now in his eighth season in charge. "We like the exposure."

Infante said another goal is to lift the profile of football of the Hawks and other Philly-area teams.

"I want people to respect what we bring to the table," he said. "That goes for our team, the Catholic League, and the entire Delaware Valley."

Wood has made several long road trips but is packing for its first plane flight. The Vikings opened at Paul VI (Va.) in 2007, faced Pittsburgh Central Catholic in Monroeville, Pa., in 2011, and visited Wayne (Ohio) last year.

"You want to play great competition," Wood coach Steve Devlin said. "It's going to make us better and prepare us for the Catholic League and beyond."

Wood has a brutal four-game stretch to start the season. After the Vikings return from the Sunshine State, they clash with North Jersey powers Paramus Catholic and Bergen Catholic, which is ranked No. 19 by USA Today, and then begin Catholic League Red Division play vs. St. Joe's Prep at Widener.

Marple Newtown is likewise taking to the sky for the first time. "It's something we've always talked about doing," Tigers coach Chris Gicking said. "Our plan is to do this every other year."

Fundraising events (Marple Newtown had a golf outing in June), booster-club contributions, and the money gained from program ad books and concession-stand sales play a major role in making the trips possible.

Infante said St. Joe's Prep will take about 115 players and coaches to Tampa. He said he expects between 100 and 150 supporters, mostly the family members of players, to make the trip as well.

Of course, Infante, Devlin, and Gicking have stressed to their players the importance of being on their best behavior at all times – be it on the field or at the hotel, amusement park or elsewhere.

"We want the kids to have a great experience," said Gicking, whose team went 11-2 and shared the Central League crown last season. "At the same time, we want them to represent our team, school and community in the best way possible."