CLEVELAND (WJW) —  FOX 8’s award-winning ‘Friday Night Touchdown’ is coming back for its 27th season and better than ever.

The votes are in! The polls are closed and the first FOX 8 Game of the Week of the season is Hudson at Highland. 

It’s a battle of perennial powers in Division II. The Explorers finished 13-1 in 2022, while the Hornets went 12-1.

Friday night, they will face off in a season-opening game that could be worth major OHSAA Playoff points down the line.

Week #1 of the 2023 season of Friday Night Touchdown kicks off Friday, Aug. 18, at 11 p.m.

Join P.J. Ziegler, John Sabol, Ken Carman, John Telich, the Commissioner Dan Coughlin every Friday night for 30 minutes of highlights and analysis from the biggest high school football games across Northeast Ohio.

Each week during the 2023 high school football regular season, we will nominate four great match-ups for our FOX 8 Game of the Week.

We will announce the winning game live every Thursday night on FOX 8 News at 10:00 p.m.

CLICK HERE for more ‘Friday Night Touchdown’ coverage.