Although football season is a couple months away, die-hard fans can catch a sneak preview of the college season when the best graduated high school seniors in San Diego County clash on the gridiron at Mesa College.
On Friday, July 13, at 7:30 p.m., the 17th annual Alex Spanos All-Star Football Classic will match the best players from the southern region ” coached by Point Loma High School’s football coaching staff ” against the northern team led by El Camino High head coach Trace Deneke and his staff.
The players will only practice together for two weeks, which means they have to gel as a unit in record time before they face a northern team with players that many on the southern team have never met before.
“It’s really cool,” said Southern head coach Mike Hastings. “It’s a nice by-product of the game of football, as you play against each other all year and you read about each other in the paper and then you have a game like this and you get to know each other as people. It’s a lot of fun.”
“I think that’s the best part about this,” he said. “They’re gonna leave with 44 new friends and we, as coaches, will have lifetime memories with them. It’s just a fun experience.”
The game will showcase many local players who start their second varsity careers at the end of July, when most college programs begin their fall practice schedule.
PLHS star running back and defensive back Lester Arnold is expected to make an impact Friday, much the way fans counted on him to dazzle during his senior season. He will be headed to Colorado State University to open the next chapter of his life.
Todd Doxey, a strong safety/wide receiver, will head north to join the Oregon Ducks in a few weeks. But for the moment, the players are focused on this one last high school game.
“It’s a lot different because everybody’s All-Stars and they’re all good,” said Arnold. “I’ve been impressed by the offensive line. They’ve really learned the offense well, and very fast. I’ve met some new guys that I didn’t know before, so that’s good.”
For the players preparing to play on Saturdays this fall, the game is a chance to learn how to work witha new team. Most of the players have been with the same group for three or four years and will be learning new systems and how to work together.
They will enter a whole new realm when they get to college, encountering new plays, new coaches and new teammates. And the game gives the players a small taste of what’s it’s like to start from scratch.
“It’s been pretty fun, meeting new people, interacting with guys you’ve never played against, all the best guys in San Diego,” said Luis Villavicencio, a running back/defensive back for PLHS. “Getting to meet people you thought you’d never play against. I always wanted to play in this game.”
Because the game is more for fun and bragging rights, there is none of the typical scouting by the opposing teams. And while the players don’t really know what to expect, the coaches are prepared.
The PLHS staff has been on the leading edge of scouting during the past few seasons.
While they haven’t seen the northern team practice, they know what the El Camino system looks like and are preparing accordingly.
For more information, visit http://www.sdhoc.com/main, or call the San Diego Hall of Champions at (619) 234-2544.
Additional information about the game and tickets can be obtained by calling Mesa College at (619) 388-2672.