MONTGOMERY – North-South all-star squads for the for the 65th AHSAA North-South All-Star Football Game to be played at Mobile’s Hancock Whitney Stadium on Friday night, December 15 have been selected. The Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Classic is scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 16 at Hattiesburg (MS) – marking the first time both all-star football games are being played in the same week on consecutive days.
The Wal-Win coverage area will have good representation, with two offensive linemen: Gage Blanton of Oakman and Landon Nix of Winston County on the roster for the North Team, while Winston County’s Caleb Simmons will be on the North’s coaching staff.
Brandon Dean, Director of the Alabama High School Athletic Directors and Coaches Association (AHSADCA) made the announcement of the two 37-member squads Thursday.
Head coaches were announced for this year’s North-South clash are Arab High School head football coach Lee Ozmint for the North squad, and Kirk Johnson of Montgomery Catholic High School for the South squad.
The AHSADCA administers the game each year. All players selected are 2023 seniors.
The game, scheduled to kick off at 2 p.m., will be televised live over the AHSAA TV Network and live streamed over the NFHS Network. Vince Earley of WOTM TV is the executive producer.
“We have an abundance of talent in our state each year, and both teams selected reflect that talent,” said Dean. “We are looking forward to another exciting game this December.”
The All-Star selection committee, consisting of the two coaching staffs participating in this year’s game, chose the teams from nominations submitted by AHSAA member school coaches. “We thank our member schools for their nominations,” said Dean. He also praised Mobile for hosting the contest each year.
“We are grateful for the City (and County) of Mobile, the Mobile Sports Authority and the University of South Alabama for their continued interest and support of this all-star event,” he said. “We look forward to another momentous week in Mobile with some of the best student-athletes in this state. We also thank our member schools unwavering support of this game.”
The 64rd annual AHSAA North-South All-Star Game was played at Mobile’s Hancock Whitney Stadium last year with the South winning 42-7. The South now holds a slim 34-28-2 edge in the series which was played in Tuscaloosa from 1948-1984. Two games, a small-school and large-school contest, were played in 1984 with the North winning the 1A-2A game played at Auburn 21-20 and the South winning the large-school game at Tuscaloosa that year 7-6. Both games are counted in the overall series record.
The classic was discontinued in 1985 and reinstated as part of the AHSAA All-Star Sports Week in 1997. From 2010-2019 the game was played at Montgomery’s Cramton Bowl as part of the AHSAA and AHSADCA All-Star Sports Week. The game was cancelled due to the COVID Pandemic in the summer of 2020 and seniors of 2021 played in the first game of the series played in December of that year.
This year’s game will be the fourth classic played at Hancock Whitney Stadium in the North-South Game’s long history. The South won the 2020 Classic at Mobile 28-20 and the North won 14-10 at Mobile in 2021. The game was played at Cramton Bowl from 1997-2004, and then moved to Troy University for two years and Huntsville’s Alabama A&M University from 2007-2010. It returned to Montgomery in 2011.
The AHSADCA, which operates under the auspices of the Alabama High School Athletic Association (AHSAA) still plays its other All-Star Games in boys’ and girls’ basketball, baseball, softball, boys’ and girls’ soccer, volleyball, boys’ and girls’ cross country, tennis and golf during All-Star Week currently held in Montgomery each July.
Named to Johnson’s South coaching staff are Zach Golson, Mary Montgomery; Antonio Coleman, Williamson; Quinn Hambrite, Charles Henderson; LaBrian Stewart, Abbeville; Matt Johnson, Reeltown; Kyle Caldwell, Elmore County; and administrative coaches Lev Holly, Mobile County BOE, and Matt Dearman, Saraland. Caldwell earned MVP honors for the South in the 2011 North-South Classic won by the South 37-33. He set the All-Star Classic record for most yards passing – breaking the record set by future Heisman Trophy winner Pat Sullivan of John Carroll Catholic in 1968.
Joining Ozmint’s North staff are Scott Basden, Muscle Shoals; Caleb Simmons, Winston County; Darrell LeBeaux, Pleasant Grove; Jake Ganus, Moody; Ali Smith, Gadsden City; Tim Vakakes, Spain Park; and administrative coaches Andy Lambert, T.R. Millr, and Mark Heaton, Baldwin County.
Among the players in this year’s North-South Game are wide receiver Deuce Oliver and linebacker Jayden Davis of four-time defending Class 7A state champion Thompson; defensive backs Fletcher Taylor and Jmarcus Jones and offensive lineman Noah Sanders of defending Class 5A state champion Ramsay. The quarterbacks for the North are Luke Waldrop of Gadsden City and Peyton Floyd of Hewitt-Trussville.
The South squad includes linebacker Kam Weaver and defensive lineman Landon Marshall of defending Class 4A state champion Andalusia, and offenbsive lineman Brandon Autery of defending Class 6A state champion Saraland.
Both teams have outstanding size with Foley offensive lineman Logan Joellenbeck topping the chart for the South at 6-foot-6, 282 pounds, and offensive lineman Jamarian Acklin of Deshler the biggest man on the North roster measuring 6-4, 295.
The complete rosters for each team are listed below.
