The eighth annual National High School All-Star lacrosse games will be played today as part of this weekend's US Lacrosse Youth Festival at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, Mass.

The boys high school game will include 85 players - eight from Maryland but only four from metro Baltimore - broken into four regional teams, North, South, East and West. The Marylanders will be on the South squad.

The high school girls all-star game will highlight 27 players - all from New Jersey and states farther north.

Players were selected from districts nationwide created by US Lacrosse, the Baltimore-based governing body for lacrosse in this country.

More than 90 teams from as far away as Florida and California - but none from the Baltimore area - are expected to compete in the under-15 and under-13 all-star Youth Festival.

High school standouts from Maryland in today's boys all-star game are (listed with high school followed by college): Dave Mueller (North County, St. Mary's), Andy Gallagher (DeMatha, UMBC), Steve Mull (Fallston, Towson), Bob Griebe (Boys' Latin, Towson), Dan Whitehurst (Centennial, Mount St. Mary's), Joe Conner (Urbana, Binghamton), Paul Andrews (Walter Johnson, Maryland) and Chad Day (Leonardtown, Lynchburg).