The Gateway High School football team has been ranked in some national polls. The Gators will get a chance to prove they belong when they open the season against an out-of-state team that has a national reputation.

Gateway will play Cardinal Mooney of Youngstown, Ohio, at 5 p.m. Saturday in Canton, as part of the Burger King Kirk Herbstreit Ohio vs. USA Challenge. Cardinal Mooney also has popped up in some national rankings and has four seniors committed to Division I colleges -- two to Penn State, one to Notre Dame and one to Oklahoma.

"Between this [Cardinal Mooney] team and the Central Catholic team that we lost to in the WPIAL championship game in 2004, those are the two best teams we've ever faced since I've been here," said Gateway coach Terry Smith.

The game will be played at Fawcett Stadium, next to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. It is one of 11 games in the event -- four Saturday at Fawcett and seven Saturday and Sunday at the University of Cincinnati's Nippert Stadium. Central Catholic, another top WPIAL team, also will be part of the event, playing Clayton Northmont at 3 p.m. Sunday at Nippert.

Seven of USA Today's top 25 teams in the country will play in the event. The top matchup has St. Xavier (Ohio) playing DeMatha (Md.) at noon Sunday at Nippert in a game televised live by ESPN. The Central Catholic game will be live on ESPNU. The Gateway game and the three others at Fawcett will be shown on the NFL Network Sept. 8.

"This game is a measuring stick for us. It kind of lets us know right off the bat where we stand, one way or another," Smith said. "For the kids, it's exciting to play in games like this."

Gateway is ranked No. 10 in USA Today; Cardinal Mooney is No. 25. In the rivals.com Fab 50, Gateway is unranked and Cardinal Mooney is No. 30. In SI.com rankings, Gateway is No. 17.

Cardinal Mooney has won two of the past three Ohio Division IV state championships. Division IV would be tantamount to Class AA in the WPIAL. Cardinal Mooney's two Penn State recruits are linebacker Mike Zordich (6 feet 1, 220 pounds) and running back Brandon Beachum (5-11, 220). Beachum recently chose Penn State over Wisconsin, Florida State and Nebraska.

Cardinal Mooney defensive end-linebacker Taylor Hill (6-2, 205) also made his college decision in recent weeks, choosing Oklahoma over West Virginia and LSU.

Dan McCarthy, a quarterback-defensive back, is one of the keys to Cardinal Mooney and has committed to Notre Dame.

But Gateway is not without its stars. Between the junior and senior class, the Gators have a half-dozen Division I prospects.

"[Cardinal Mooney] doesn't do anything special," Smith said. "It's throwback football. They're a very physical team and try to impose their will on you. ... It's almost like we're Florida and they're Ohio State. We kind of have the athleticism and skill and they have the powerful players. You never know how that's going play out."

This is the third year of the Herbstreit Challenge, named after the college football television analyst. But according to the Cincinnati Enquirer, the event nearly went under last year after losing almost $200,000. But Intersport, a Chicago-based marketing company, took over organization of the games and got Burger King as a title sponsor.

"This is like those good old rivalries between the Steelers and the Cleveland Browns or Cincinnati Bengals," Smith said. "There is a lot of tradition in both states. Central and us want to represent this area well because the WPIAL is one of the best areas in the country."