High School Indoor Classic

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High School Indoor Classic

The Columbus Lions in conjunction with WTVM, Columbus Regional, and Columbus State University announce the first annual Georgia vs. Alabama Indoor Football Classic, which will take place on Sunday, February 22, 2009 at 4 p.m. in the Columbus Civic Center. This new event celebrates football in the Chattahoochee Valley by gathering outstanding seniors from area high school football teams to participate in an Indoor Football style all-star game.

There will be two teams of 20 players from Georgia and Alabama. Brookstone Head Coach Blair Harrison will be coaching the Georgia squad and Russell County High School Head Coach Rico White will coach the Alabama team. Assisting these men will be the Columbus Lions coaches and players.

A portion of the proceeds from the Georgia vs. Alabama Indoor Football Classic will be donated to purchase Automated External Defibrillators (AED’s) for area high schools that are participating in the game. Lions Head Coach Jason Gibson said, “Providing financial assistance for defibrillators will ensure the continued health and well-being of our community’s student athletes as AED’s have proved to be so critical in saving lives.”

The game will include all of the excitement of a Lion’s game including team introductions, cheerleaders, and mascots. At halftime, the nationally ranked Columbus State Cheerleading Team will be performing and the Columbus Lions will be giving away a $1000 dollar scholarship to CSU. Following the game, the high school all-stars along with the Lions players, will be on the field for a post game autograph session

www.columbuslions.net//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=47&Itemid=42
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The league chooses to report this rather than discuss issues like schedules?

No matter what the Lions do they follow their every move. I'm not saying they shouldn't but there are 13 other teams in this league who rarely get anything on the league website. maybe it's time to hear about what they are doing rather than follow up with what was on message boards yesterday. it could have been posted on here a couple of weeks ago when the Paper had an article on it but i didn't because it really has nothing to do with the AIFA.

What in the hell is everyone else doing to make this a great league because all i see is Harrisburg and Columbus being tossed back and forth on the league website.I know Reading is active but rarely see anything from the league about the things they are doing in their community!

Come on give all these other teams some exposure

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The reason is Columbus and Harrisburg are the only ones to send anything to the league site. The other teams choose not to or don't. Don't rip the league for posting information. Call all of the other teams and rip their PR department.

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I agree some of the teams just lack any news at all which is a disaster waiting to happen. I wouldn't rip the league if they were a little more forth coming with news that never is discussed. Just because other teams lack PR doesn't mean they have to. Tell them to rip those teams PR departments so that we get news from these teams that people are waiting to hear.

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Players won’t risk eligibility in game

Alabama high school football players planning on playing in the Georgia vs. Alabama Indoor Football Classic do not have to worry about drawing a penalty from the Alabama High School Athletic Association.

Because the players are not being sent to the game by their schools, the event does not need to be sanctioned by the AHSAA, and participants will not lose eligibility for other sports, AHSAA executive director Steve Savarese said.

“They’re all seniors, so they don’t have eligibility left, so they won’t lose any,” Savarese said. “They’re going to the game as individuals, so we don’t control that.”

Players often are permitted to represent their schools in state and national all-star games. But playing in an non-sanctioned game during that sport’s season can cost players eligibility, said AHSAA communications director Ron Ingram.

“Football, more than a lot of other sports, has a lot of rules,” he said. “For instance, only 50 percent of an all-star team can be made up of players from one high school, to stop a team from being able to play year-round. There are other rules that deal with AAU, and there are a lot of other rules that could hurt their eligibility in the state, but (the indoor classic) won’t.”

Non-sanctioned games are an area of interest for the AHSAA because high school athletes are covered by the organization’s insurance during their sport’s season.

The AHSAA rules became a concern to Columbus Lions coach Jason Gibson, whose team is hosting the inaugural event Feb. 22 in the Columbus Civic Center.

“I wanted to make sure we weren’t hurting the players, but it’s not against the rules for them to play when the season is over,” Gibson said.

Russell County coach Rico White will coach the Alabama all-stars. Unlike players, he must get approval from the AHSAA. The paperwork is “mostly a formality,” Savarese said.

Brookstone coach Blair Harrison will head the Georgia squad.

The involvement of players and coaches in the all-star game did not raise any issues with the Georgia High School Athletic Association, Gibson said.

Each all-star team will have about 20 players. The game will use indoor football rules.

A portion of the proceeds from the game will be used to purchase an automated external defibrillator for each head coach’s school. The Lions also will give away a $1,000 scholarship to Columbus State University to one player at halftime.

www.ledger-enquirer.com/293/story/603654.html

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Old rivals learning to work together during indoor football classic

Chattahoochee County quarterback Caleb Horvath remembers taking a lot of hits, but few as vividly as those delivered by linebacker Richard Schoett.

“I used to hate playing against Rich Schoett,” Horvath said. “I’m just glad he’s on my side for once.”

The two are playing together for the first time as members of Team Georgia, which plays in the Georgia vs. Alabama Indoor Football Classic at 4 p.m. today at the Civic Center.

Brookstone coach Blair Harrison will lead the Georgia senior all-stars and Russell County coach Rico White will lead Alabama. Columbus Lions players and coaches will help out with coaching duties.

At first the lineups made for some odd pairings of longtime rivals, but players quickly settled into their new roles as teammates and friends.

“It’s funny to talk to these people and be on their team after thinking this is your enemy for so long,” said Schoett, who played for Pacelli for three seasons before transferring to Hardaway for his senior year. “But after a couple of practices, everyone’s now good friends.”

Both sides are full of rivalries.

Five of the seven Georgia high schools represented — Brookstone, Chattahoochee County, Schley County, Central-Talbotton and Pacelli — are all Region 2-A teams. And Alabama players from Russell County, Opelika and Central-Phenix City will be playing alongside their 6A-Region 3 opponents.

The lineups offered a new perspective on many players, Pacelli and Georgia quarterback Stuart Wilkerson said.

“I think it’s great,” Wilkerson said. “These are guys that you played against for years and you finally realize how good they are. You can watch them at practice and see what they can do.”

While players have spent the week trying to get up to speed with their new teammates, they’ve also been learning a new style of play. The game will be played with indoor football rules, which means a smaller field, 8-on-8 play, live passes off the end-zone netting and running starts for receivers.

“It’s going to be a lot faster,” said Horvath, who recently signed with Lindenwood University out of Missouri.

“It’s quick, and it’s what college football is going to be like in some ways. I wish we could play this style more often, and I’m just glad we’re playing again because I can’t wait to get to college and play.”

The new rules present a different challenge for defenses.

“It’s a lot different for us, and there are a lot of little things we can’t do on defense,” Schoett said. “The pace is so quick it’ll be hard to do the kind of things you’d normally do as a defense, so you have to be quick, too, and do different things. I think it’ll be exciting.”

www.ledger-enquirer.com/sports/story/625655.html

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Al 21 vs GA 54 FINAL

This game was a huge success for the area players and schools that were involved. I'm not sure about the final number in attendence but it was well over 2000 by my guesstimation. Hopefully the Lions will benefit also from all the other counties gathering to watch these players but it was a great game none the less. These High school players adapted to the indoor game fairly well. Makes me wonder if, in the future, high schools across the nation could possibly participate in a 'spring league' that would adhere to the indoor style of play. Maybe a little to far fetched but it would be great to see

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www.ledger-enquirer.com/sports/story/626490.html

Team Georgia wins inaugural Indoor Classic


Chattahoochee County’s Caleb Horvath threw five passes and connected for touchdowns on four of them to lead Team Georgia over Team Alabama 54-21 on Sunday in the inaugural Georgia vs. Alabama Indoor Football Classic at the Columbus Civic Center.

Horvath finished with 95 yards on 11 attempts, and helped Georgia build a 20-7 halftime by finding three different receivers for his team’s first three touchdowns. His fourth came in the fourth quarter.

Central-Talbotton’s Marquavious Trice and Schley County’s Carmetrick Ross each dragged in a touchdown pass from Horvath, and Schley County’s Deondrick Pina brought in two.

“Coach (Blair) Harrison did such a good job putting together schemes for us,” said Horvath, who was named the Offensive Player of the Game. “Everyone came out here and did excellent, from the receivers to the offensive and defensive lines. I think I was touched only twice in the whole game because of the way the offensive line played.”

Pina’s first touchdown came on a 13-yard pass from Horvath on Georgia’s first possession, and Brookstone’s Neal Amos missed the extra-point attempt.

Alabama took its first and only lead of the game less than two minutes later. Alabama quarterback JaCorey Battle, from Russell County, moved his team across midfield with a 20-yard pass to Lanett’s Lander Chappell and then carried the ball the final five yards himself to tie the game. Russell County’s Jay Sparks gave Alabama the lead with his point-after attempt.

Horvath found Trice on a 20-yard touchdown pass in the opening minutes of the second quarter, and closed the half with a 10-yard scoring pass to Ross.

Beauregard’s Derrick Porter brought Alabama to the Georgia 1 with a 39-yard reception, and Battle once again finished the drive on a short run. Sparks’ kick made it 20-14.

Georgia defenders Walter Lunsford, of Pacelli, and Cortez Reeves, of Shaw, forced Battle into fumbling the ball away at his own 2 later in the third quarter, and Chattahoochee County’s Cedric Wilson pulled in the loose ball and dove into the end zone for the first of Georgia’s two defensive scores. Wilson, a linebacker, was named Defensive Player of the Game.

“I was surprised (the defenses) were so good,” Battle said. “Both of them went hard the whole game. They did a good job of stopping the ball on both sides.”

In the final seconds of the quarter, Pina found Shaw’s Jonathan Jones for a 13-yard touchdown on a trick play. Amos’ fourth straight successful point-after attempt put Georgia ahead 34-14.

Pina scored on the longest play of the game near the middle of the fourth quarter when he hauled in a pass from Horvath at the Georgia 15 and bolted the rest of the way to the end zone for a 49-yard touchdown.

A high snap on Alabama’s next possession allowed Hardaway’s Steven Riley to fall on a fumble in the end zone for another Georgia defensive score.

Alabama’s final score came with just less than three minutes to play when Lanett’s Antonio Harper caught a 6-yard pass from Chappell in heavy coverage.

Wilson carried the ball 21 yards on Georgia’s next possession to set the ball at the Alabama 5, and Pacelli quarterback Stuart Wilkerson carried it the rest of the way on the next play.

Players from both teams said they enjoyed the experience of playing, including the indoor-football rules, the atmosphere in the Civic Center and being able to play with longtime friends one last time.

“This game was a lot faster than high school football, and it was very fun,” Chappell said. “It was a lot of fun getting to play with all these guys I knew from playing high school football, and we really bonded practicing for this and playing.

“A game like this is every high school player’s dream. If you don’t want to come play in a game like this — whether it’s indoor, outdoor or whatever — you don’t love football.”

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www.ledger-enquirer.com/sports/story/626487.html

Chattahoochee County players stand out in Indoor Classic

More than a dozen high schools were represented at the Georgia vs. Alabama Indoor Football Classic on Sunday at the Columbus Civic Center, but only one had the honor of having both the offensive and defensive players of the game.

Quarterback Caleb Horvath was named Offensive Player of the Game after throwing for four touchdowns and linebacker Cedric Wilson was named Defensive Player of the Game. Both played for Chattahoochee County.

“This is like a dream because I’ve never won anything like this before,” Wilson said as he gripped his trophy after the game. “Everyone knows we play for Chattahoochee County, and Chattahoochee County never gets respect.”

Horvath was announced first and said he was excited to be joined at midfield by his teammate, who playfully fell to the ground in excitement when his name was announced.

“I thought it was just crazy that I won,” said Horvath, who ranks No. 6 on Georgia’s career passing yards list with 7,568. “I was even more happy for Cedric because he really deserved this a lot.”

Nowhere to run

Pacelli’s Stuart Wilkerson didn’t take long to adjust his running game.

The Georgia quarterback took a big hit into the wall on a short run early in the game and learned the padding didn’t make the impact any easier to take.

“I found out it hurts pretty bad,” Wilkerson said. “I stepped away from the wall after that and just decided to cut up the middle with it when I had to run.”

The other quarterbacks seemed to learn from Wilkerson and avoided the sidelines, where they can usually seek refuge from head-hunting linebackers.

“I didn’t meet the wall, but I heard from Stewart it didn’t feel too good,” Horvath said.

Getting defensive

Indoor football was designed to produce big-time offensive numbers. Nobody told Georgia’s defense.

The all-stars scored twice on Alabama fumbles and accumulated three sacks, a pair of interceptions and a four-play goal-line stand.

Wilson and lineman Steven Riley each scored on fumble recoveries, Hardaway’s Denoris Scott picked off Alabama quarterback JaCorey Battle, of Russell County, on the last play of the first half and Shaw’s A.J. Stevenson intercepted Alabama’s Lander Chappell, of Lanett, on the final play of the game.

The Georgia defensive line stood up Alabama on its first possession of the fourth quarter. After moving to the Georgia 3, Battle got off a 2-yard run before getting stuffed for no gain on the next two plays. Chappell was stopped at the 1 on fourth down.

The stand was a highlight for Georgia’s Santavious Hall, who came up with key tackles on two of the plays.

He shook off any notion that his job was any more difficult with the pace of the indoor game.

“It felt good to make that stand,” Hall said. “We had good plays down there. … It was easy.”

The Alabama defense did their job disrupting throws – Georgia had 15 incomplete passes – and enjoyed the challenge of adapting to the speed of the game as well.

“We had to play a lot faster,” said Alabama cornerback and wide receiver C.J. Harris, who played for Russell County. “We had to play man-to-man and stay right on them. It was an experience.”

Give it the boot

With the game indoors, the weather had no effect on the kicking game. That doesn’t mean it was any easier.

Regulation high school goal posts are 23-feet, 4-inches wide. The indoor football goals the Columbus Lions use to meet AIFA standards are 10-feet wide.

“It looks small, and it looks even smaller when you’re about to try and kick the ball,” said Georgia and Brookstone kicker Neal Amos, who made six of his eight point-after attempts.”

The terrain also made the job a little more difficult, according to Alabama kicker Jay Sparks, who went 3-for-3 on point-after attempts.

“It was definitely a little different,” Sparks, of Russell County, said. “It was on turf, so there were places where it was bunched up or wasn’t flat. It wasn’t easy but it was really fun.”

Jones wins scholarship

Spencer’s Chris Jones was awarded a $1,000 scholarship to Columbus State University at halftime.

Jones was selected for his essay on what it means to be a student-athlete.

The scholarship was presented by CSU President Timothy Mescon and Lions managing partner John Hargrove.

In addition, each head coach’s school was given a voucher for an automated electronic defibrillator. Brookstone’s Blair Harrison coached Georgia and Russell County’s Rico White coached Alabama