No football bowl game for undefeated IMG Academy of Bradenton

IMG Academy's football season is officially over.

The Ascenders, who are ranked fourth in the nation, were in line to face Colquitt (Moultrie, Ga.) County next Friday in a bowl game pitting the top two ranked eligible teams in the country against each other. However, the Moultrie Observer reports that sponsorship fell through, so there won't be a game.

The matchup would have aired nationally on ESPNU.

Colquitt County is 14-0, ranked second in USA Today's Super 25 national poll and aiming for a state championship in the Georgia Dome on Saturday against No. 15-ranked Roswell.

IMG went 9-0 for the program's first unbeaten regular season and has slowly risen through the ranks with other programs faltering in their respective state playoffs.

No. 1-ranked Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas) and No. 3-ranked Allen (Texas) play in state associations that do not allow additional games past the state playoffs. Therefore, the Ascenders were in line at No. 4 to play in the bowl game.

If IMG was to play in the game, it would have been the first time the Ascenders played since Oct. 30 when they blasted Eastern Christian Academy (Elkton, Md.), 50-16. A week later, the Ascenders capped their unbeaten season when Texas-based Triple A Academy forfeited prior to the game taking place.

This story was originally published December 11, 2015 at 12:41 PM with the headline "No football bowl game for undefeated IMG Academy of Bradenton."