‘Once in a lifetime experience’: Ohio’s North South Classic loaded with local all-stars

MASSILLON, Ohio (WKBN) – Twelve local players from 11 area schools have earned a spot in the annual North South Classic this season, one of the longest-running all-star football games in the country.

Watch the video above to hear from some of the local players taking part in Saturday’s game, sponsored by the Ohio High School Football Coaches Association.

“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience. And for them to play with the elite of the elite in our state, it kind of opens your eyes,” says Struthers Head Coach John Bayuk, who will serve as an assistant coach for Team North. “You’re not just the top dog in your area or your league, there’s good players all over.”

The Team North ‘Big School’ roster includes Canfield’s Vince Luce , Chaney’s Elijah Carter and two players from Austintown Fitch, Davion Pritchard and Deshawn Vaughn .

“It’s really, truly an honor,” says Canfield senior Vince Luce. “I’ve known about this game since I was in seventh and eighth grade, hoping to one day be able to play, and then when I got the call that I was going to be able to play it, there were really no words to describe the feeling.”

Of the 36 players on the ‘Small School’ roster, eight are from the Valley.

Struthers’ Anthony Carter , Poland’s Danny Nittoli , Western Reserve’s Luke Henning , Springfield’s Sean Guerriero and Columbiana’s Kian Hartley can all play on both sides of the ball.

United’s Dallas McCracken , Hubbard’s Nick Bowser and South Range’s Gus Valentine will help anchor the line for the North squad.

“It’s just amazing to see if there’s like other people like me,” says Columbiana senior Kian Hartley. “I like the intensity. I’m an intense guy. It’s really nice being on the field with people that have the same mentality as you because you feel at home. It feels like home out here.”

“It’s definitely humbling,” says Springfield senior Sean Guerriero. “The competition here is great. You get the opportunity to come here and compete with other guys, great coaches, great teammates. It’s definitely fun.”

“This is great. Everybody’s a good football player. So you see a lot of different things and you just see a lot of different talent out there on the field,” says Struthers senior Anthony Carter. “It’s definitely great to just be competing against that every day.”

“It’s a lot different. There’s just a lot more talent,” says United senior Dallas McCracken. “I’m not saying United’s not an awesome program, but there’s just a lot more like… our coach says, there’s a lot more Dallas’s out there than just me at United.”

“It’s definitely awesome,” says Hubbard senior Nick Bowser. “Meeting people from all over the state and obviously, we’re getting pretty excited about even just practices is really fine and so a lot of energy comes with it. It’s definitely an awesome experience that I get to leave school for.”

“I don’t know half of the schools but just knowing some of these guys. I know that they’re really good,” says South Range senior Gus Valentine. “It’s really good to compare myself, see what I got to work on, see what I do well. And so I like it.”

The North South Classic will take place this Saturday at Massillon’s Paul Brown Tiger Stadium. The ‘Big School’ game, featuring players from Divisions I-III, will kick off at 11 a.m. with the ‘Small School’ contest following after.

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