Football season is still more than a month away, which seems like an eternity for many die-hard fans. Temporary relief is in sight, though.
Football addicts can get a quick fix this Friday night at Spartan Stadium in San Jose, the site of the Charlie Wedemeyer All-Star Football Game.
The game, celebrating its 25th anniversary, features Santa Clara County's top high school seniors from last season. Players are divided into two squads, North and South, determined by school location.
The North team includes eight players from area schools. Half of them are from CCS Division I champion St. Francis High: halfback Jeff Endaya, center Gabe Garcia, receiver Grant Mattos and lineman Michael Riccoboni. Homestead High has two representatives, defensive back Trumaine Green and fullback Ben Mika. Rounding out the list of locals are Mountain View High lineman Josh McDonald and Los Altos High's Alex Ware, a tight end, punter and kicker.
Another Los Altos player, lineman Pete Bjorklund, also was invited to play, but he declined because of a hamstring injury.
The two all-star teams started practice July 12, with the North working out at Santa Clara High. The North is under the direction of Santa Clara coach Chris Oswald, who led the Bruins to the playoffs last season.
Since the all-stars only practice 10 times, offenses are limited to four play sets. That suits Garcia just fine.
"There's still a lot of learning because we haven't played together before," he said. "We're not used to each other."
For Ware, the practices are a great way to get in shape for college football.
"I'm doing a lot of running," said Ware, who leaves for Dartmouth Aug. 25. "The practices are going well and I really like the team. There are some really talented athletes out here and it's an honor to play with them."
Ware and Garcia said they expect the North to perform admirably in Friday's game, which kicks off at 7:30 p.m. While both players intend to have fun, they also want to win.
"This most likely will be my last game," said Garcia, who believes he's too small to play at UC-Berkeley in the fall. "I'm going to be pumped up."
Said Ware, "I am definitely going to be up for it."
The game is named in honor of former Los Gatos High coach Charlie Wedemeyer, who was stricken with ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) 22 years ago. Proceeds from the event, hosted by the Almaden Valley Rotary Club, go to the ALS Foundation, various local charities and the Rotary scholarship fund.
Tickets, priced at $10, are available in advance through the San Jose Box Office and will be sold at the stadium on game day.
For more information, call Tony Santos at (408) 275-9400, ext. 128.