25 high school football seasons ago a fledgling idea called the Senior Bowl was created.  The idea was to host an all-star high school football game where the top graduating players from Northern and Southern Alberta faced off against each other.  It was held on July 7, 1990 and was the first ever high school level game played at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton and saw a spirited contest that resulted in a 19-16 win for the “South”.  Since that time the game has grown and moved to the May long weekend in 1995 where it has been held ever since.  The “South” started strong winning seven of the first eight annual games but the “North” has gone 10-5-1 since that time and the series sits with a razor thin 12-11-1 advantage for the “South”.

Many future stars have passed through this game including current CFL stars Marco Ianuzzi (B.C. Lions receiver out of St. Francis in Calgary), Anthony Parker (Calgary Stampeders receiver out of Foothills in Okotoks) , Jeff Parrott (Montreal Alouettes lineman out of L.C.I. in Lethbridge), Gord Hinse (Edmonton Eskimos lineman out of Austin O’Brien in Edmonton) and Dan Federkiel (a lineman out of Medicine Hat High and currently with the Calgary Stampeders but also formerly with the Indianapolis Colts of the NFL where he was the only Alberta born and trained kid to win a Super Bowl)

Back to join us for the 25th Game is the MVP for the “North” in the first game in 1990, Chris Hardy, who as a QB out of Harry Ainlay in Edmonton tossed two long TD’s to Todd Cook of Eastglen in a valiant comeback effort that just fell short.  He went on to play 12 years in the CFL with the Edmonton Eskimos and Toronto Argonauts winning a Grey Cup along the way.  He will be the Guest Speaker at the Banquet the night before and perform the Ceremonial Kickoff.

Another interesting feature for the game is that it will return to Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton for the 25th game and be webcast by ICU Video.  Commentators Dave Rozak and former Edmonton Eskimo (and former Senior Bowl Head Coach) Blake Dermott will anchor the booth in a broadcast that will feature a live updated scoreboard on screen and instant replays.  The link for the webcast will be http://www.ustream.tv/channel/icu-video-productions .

Kickoff is 12:00 p.m. on Monday, May 19th at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton.