For the first time since 1992, high school football stars from Maryland will line up against their counterparts from the north.
In the new Mason-Dixon Shrine game, 34 of the best high school football players from Maryland, all seniors last season, will take on some of Pennsylvania's best players.
The game will be played at 7 p.m. tonight at Ken Millen Field in Carlisle, Pa., former site of the Washington Redskins' training camp.
The two states played eight all-star games from 1985 to 1992 in the Big 33 classic. Pennsylvania won six.
Maryland's team features eight Sun All-Metro first-team picks, including Loui Georgalas, a lineman from Calvert Hall, who was the Defensive Player of the Year.
Other All-Metro first-teamers are: Dahnel Singfield (Dunbar), 0' Warren Smith (City), Tanardo Sharps (Meade), Darnell Pearsall (Lake Clifton), E.J. Henderson (Aberdeen), Kirk Williams (Dunbar) and Jason Shupert (Hereford).
Brian Bandurchin (Hereford), Gregg Kellet (Oakland Mills), Reggie Leak (Walbrook) and Durrand Roundtree (Lansdowne) are the other Baltimore-area players on the roster.
Roundtree is listed at running back, but will start at defensive end, a position he may play in the fall at Maryland.
"He will be rushing the passer and should make a lot of plays," said Maryland all-star coach Ben Wright (Thomas Johnson). "He has lots of potential. He's big, strong and fast."
Look for City's Smith to play a lot of wide receiver, even though he'll start at defensive back. According to Wright, Smith, at 6 feet 4, matches up well against Pennsylvania's starting receivers, both listed at 6-4. Singfield will also start at defensive back.
Dunbar's Williams, an All-Metro linebacker, will line up at tight end for the first time.
"He's very athletic and has good hands for a tight end," said Wright.
On the offensive and defensive lines, the team is undersized.
"We're a little more hampered in terms of linemen," Wright said. "We'll be going up against guys who weigh 350, even 380 pounds."
Georgalas, who will start, weighs 225 pounds.
Wright said that's a problem he can work around. "We're quicker [than Pennsylvania] and speed will beat size any time," he said. "We can't run them over, obviously."
Coaches selected the players for the Maryland team after they were nominated by the media. "We picked kids for this game that can play both ways, to give us more depth," Wright said. "Almost every kid on the roster can play both ways."
This game is the brainchild of Jim Stephenson, the Mason-Dixon Classic managing director. He is a retiree from California who worked with Shriners Hospitals for Children. When he moved from California to Waynesboro, Pa., last year, he said, he was surprised that no game existed between the two states.
"I saw a lot of talent left on the board," Stephenson said. "There was so much talent not playing in all-star games."
This will be the second all-star game for Maryland this summer. Last month, Maryland defeated Northern Virginia in the Chesapeake Classic, 29-20. Maryland has participated in the Chesapeake Classic since 1993.
5'
Maryland Mason-Dixon Shrine roster
Name, Position, School, College
Jason Thompson, QB, Damascus, James Madison
Cornell Hawkins, QB, Gaithersburg, Montgomery College
Curt Rubinstein, P/K/QB, Bowi,e Fordham
Reggie Leak, DB/WR, Walbrook, undecided
Dahnel Singfield, DB/WR, Dunbar, Buffalo
Tre Brady, DB/WR, Potomac, Massachusetts
Marlon Moore, DB/WR, Potomac, Maryland
J.J. Jafari, DB/WR, Calvert, Towson
Warren Smith, DB/WR, City, Maryland
Tanardo Sharps, RB/DB, Meade, Fork Union Academy
Andrew Wimsatt, TE, Damascus, Northwestern
Zach Hilton, TE, G. Counsel, North Carolina
Durrand Roundtree, RB, Lansdowne, Maryland
Darnell Pearsall, RB, Lake Clifton, undecided
Kenny Watkins Jr., RB/LB, Allegany, Shepherd
E.J. Henderson, RB/LB, Aberdeen, Maryland
Gregg Kellett, RB/LB, Oakland Mills, Marshall
Kirk Williams, LB/RB, Dunbar, Maryland
Vaughn McAfee, LB, Riverdale Baptist, Norfolk State
Corey Smith, LB, McNamara, Maryland
Branson Wray, C, Calvert, Salisbury State
Jim Casey, L, Damascus, Lehigh
Tim Falls, L, Damascus, Penn State
Retesh Seegopaul, L, Laurel, Fort Valley State
Brian Bandurchin, L, Hereford, Towson
Hans Harris, L, Einstein, undecided
Joe Eader, L, Damascus, Evangel
Jason Shupert, L, Hereford, Towson
Loui Georgalas, L, Calvert Hall, Pennsylvania
Rashad Harris, L, Friendly, undecided
Kareem Licorish, L, Bullis Prep, Northwestern
Mike Seton, L, Wheaton, Towson
James Johnson, L, Magruder, Bowie State
Sedric Scott, L, Riverdale Baptist, undecided
Head Coach: Ben Wright (Thomas Johnson). Assistants: Eric Knight (Potomac), Ed Ashwell (Albert Einstein), Bruce Strunk (Randallstown). Trainer: Jim Abbott (Walkersville).
Fact box
What: Inaugural Shriners' Mason-Dixon All-Star Classic
Who: High school football all-stars from Maryland and Pennsylvania who were seniors last season
When: Tonight, 7 p.m.
Where: Ken Millen Field, Carlisle, Pa.
Tickets: $12 reserved; $8 general admission
Pub Date: 7/11/98