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If you are a fan of high school football, Saturday will certainly serve as a preview of what's coming during the next few weeks.
When the top graduated seniors from Ohio take on their counterparts from West Virginia in the Ohio Valley Athletic Conference's Rudy Mumley Charity All-Star Football Game, it will start the clocking ticking toward the third week in August and the opening of the 2024 high school football season.
Of course, there will be bragging rights on the line in Wheeling Island Stadium when the 78th game in a series that dates back to 1940 gets underway at 7:15 p.m.
But the game means more on a personal level --for some of the players who will dress tonight, the contest will be a final tuneup before they head off to college football training camps during the next few weeks. For others, though, the game will be the last time they ever step onto a football field.
While the game is important, the friendships that have been made since training camps opened earlier this week at Wheeling University will last long into the future. That makes the game -- and all of the events that have been scheduled around it -- about more than football. Those involved already have had the chance to participate in the annual George Strager Evening with the Stars, the Shriners social and the Queen of Queens competition. There will be a pep rally tonight and a reunion of those involved in the 1974 game Saturday.
When it's all totaled up, around 200 young men and women will be involved in the evening, whether as one of the players, a member of the McDonald's OVAC All-Star Band, a Queen of Queens contestant or a cheerleader.
All of that's important, but the event is about raising money. The conference reports that since it took over sponsorship of the game in 1972, more than $1 million has been earned for charitable organizations and scholarships.
Saturday's game means that the start of the high school football season is about one month away, with teams in Ohio opening up with games on Aug. 22, 23 and 24, and schools in West Virginia beginning play the following week.
To make sure you're ready for the season, you will want to make sure to get your copy of our award-winning high school football preview section, which will be included in our Aug. 21 editions. It's the region's premier football edition and will offer complete previews of each of our area high school teams.
High school football returns this weekend -- we hope you enjoy the games.