Eight all-star football games, three of them flag football, will be played over the next four days at three sites around the state in what might be called all-star week.
Three organizations put them on, each with a different history and mission, and the games are played at three venues.
The Georgia Elite Classic, a mix of two flag football games and three tackle football games, will be played Friday and Saturday at McEachern’s Cantrell Stadium.
The games will be televised on Peachtree TV. In addition to the five high school games, the Elite Classic includes two middle-school all-star games.
The Elite Classic, run by Score Atlanta, was first played in 2012.
On Sunday, the Georgia Athletic Coaches Association will have two all-star games in Macon, one for juniors, the other for sophomores. The GACA all-star football games are the oldest, dating to 1938. They take nominations only from players’ coaches. The GACA played a flag all-star game last week.
The final all-star game, the Rising Seniors Junior Bowl, will be Monday at Atlanta’s Lakewood Stadium. Former Georgia Tech and NFL player Joe Burns started this all-star game in 2010.
Run by the Minority Coaches Association of Georgia, the Rising Seniors game is viewed as a four-day event that also seeks to educate players on recruiting and becoming a college athlete.
Though the games are full of college prospects, they players aren’t not necessarily the most highly recruited. The state’s top seniors often play in national games, such as the Under Armor All-America Game on Jan. 2 in Orlando or the All-American Bowl on Jan. 11 in San Antonio. The Elite Classic is the only statewide all-star game for Georgia seniors now.
For these all-star games, players are getting a higher-level of competition and exposure that will help prepare them to reach the next level.
“Playing in an all-star game gives kids the opportunity to compete and measure their skills and talents against players who they normally would not have the opportunity to play against,” said Ahmand Tinker, executive director of the Minority Coaches Association of Georgia. “In addition, they have a chance to make newfound friendship while building lifelong bonds.”
Georgia Elite Classic
Friday at Cantrell Stadium, Powder Springs
3:30 p.m. – Underclassman flag football game
5 p.m. – Senior flag football game
Saturday at Cantrell Stadium, Powder Springs
1:30 p.m. – Senior football game
4:15 p.m. – Junior football game
7 p.m. – Sophomore/freshmen football game
GACA All-Star Game
Sunday at Harry B. Thompson Complex, Macon
1 p.m. – Junior football game
4 p.m. – Senior football game
Rising Seniors Junior Bowl
Monday at Lakewood Stadium, Atlanta
2 p.m. – Junior football game
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