11 football showcase events that can't be missed in 2012

Strength in numbers applies to blocking and defense in football. It also applies to games.

Events that pack multiple contests into one major extravaganza add extra appeal for fans. And the matchups in those extravaganzas are usually of the marquee variety.

Here is our list of football showcase events that can't be missed:
Sollenberger Classic: Glendale, Ariz.

Where: University of Phoenix Stadium
When: Aug.18
Top Game: Palo Verde (Las Vegas) vs. Desert Vista (Phoenix)

The event honors the Arizona Interscholastic Association's late historian, Barry Sollenberger, and has become a staple of the high school football kickoff season in matching Arizona vs. Nevada teams. This year's games feature Blue Ridge (Lakeside, Ariz.) vs. Moapa Valley (Overton, Nev.), and Desert Vista vs. Palo Verde. Blue Ridge is the defending AIA Division IV champ, with 11 titles and four runners-up since 1987. Moapa Valley defeated Show Low at the Sollenberger last season. Desert Vista beat Chandler Hamilton in last season's AIA Division I final at this same stadium.

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Bluegrass Showcase: Louisville, Ky.

Where: Papa John's Cardinal Stadium
When: Aug. 25
Top Game: St. Xavier (Louisville, Ky.) vs. Dutch Fork (Irmo, S.C.)

The second-annual Click It or Ticket Bluegrass Showcase, produced by Carried Away Productions, features teams from five states: Kentucky, Florida, Indiana, Tennessee, and South Carolina. The final of five games matches 14-time Kentucky state champion Louisville St. Xavier vs. Dutch Fork. Dutch Fork is coached by Tom Knotts, who made his mark in prep coaching by leading Independence (Charlotte, N.C.) to a record 109-game winning streak. The day begins with defending KHSAA champ Central (Louisville, Ky.) taking on 11-time Indiana champ Reitz Memorial (Evansville, Ind.).



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Horseshoe Classic Games: Indianapolis

Where: Lucas Oil Stadium
When:  Aug. 25, Sept. 8
Top Game: Scecina Memorial (Indianapolis) vs. Speedway (Ind.)

The Indianapolis Colts have played a major role in the growth of Indiana high school football since arriving in the state in 1984. Nothing says more about that growth than the two, four-game showcases the Colts hold at Lucas Oil Stadium, presented by Herff Jones, in-part by the Indiana National Guard and Under Armour. The 2012 Horseshoe Hall of Fame Classic will be played Aug. 25 at Lucas Oil, home to the 2012 NFL Super Bowl, followed on Sept. 8 by the Hoosier Heritage Conference (HHC) Challenge, a four-game event featuring eight teams from the HHC.

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Detroit Sports Commission Classic: Detroit

Where: Wayne State University
When: Aug. 24-25
Top Game: Cass Tech (Detroit) vs. Brother Rice (Bloomfield Hills)

This award-winning event, formerly known since its inception in 2005 as the Big Day Prep Showdown, has a new name this season. It also has a new home at Tom Adams Field on the campus of Wayne State University. The final contest in the two-day, six-game event will feature a matchup of defending MHSAA champs: 2011 Division 1 titlist Cass Tech against last season's Michigan Division 2 champion, Birmingham Brother Rice. The DSCC will also mark the program debut of East English Village Prep (Detroit).

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Simmons First/Hootens.com Kickoff Week: Arkansas

Where: Three Arkansas locations
When:  Aug. 27-30
Top Game: Fayetteville (Ark.) vs. Memphis University (Tenn.)

The 12 participants in this year's kickoff week combined for 94 wins (7.8 wins per team) last season. Eleven of the top teams in Arkansas, as well as Memphis University School, will help make up the schedule of games, which will be held at University of Central Arkansas, Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Reynolds Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville. Defending Arkansas Class 7A champ Fayetteville faces against Memphis University in the event finale Aug. 30 at the University of Arkansas.

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Skyline Chili Crosstown Showdown: Cincinnati

Where: Various Cincinnati-area venues
When: Aug. 17-26
Top Game: Trotwood-Madison (Trotwood, Ohio) vs. University (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)



The 2012 Skyline Chili Crosstown Showdown, presented by Meijer / Dr. Pepper, is celebrating its 15-year anniversary in grand style. The nation’s biggest and longest-running high school showcase has expanded to include 42 schools playing 21 games over a 10-day period in both Ohio and Kentucky. The final three days includes matchups such as Middletown (Ohio) vs. St. Xavier (Cincinnati), Colerain (Cincinnati) vs. Pickerington Central (Ohio), Trotwood-Madison vs. Fort Lauderdale University and Archbishop Moeller (Cincinnati) vs. Gilman (Baltimore).

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Patriot Classic: Annapolis, Md.

Where: Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium
When: Sept. 6-8
Top Game: Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, N.J.) vs. Gilman (Baltimore)

Year One of the Patriot Classic in 2011 commemorated the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks with a solemn and heartfelt pregame ceremony at the Naval Academy. This season, the final day  - seven games in all - will be marked by a compelling Maryland vs. New Jersey challenge: defending national champ Don Bosco vs. MIAA champ Gilman, Our Lady of Good Counsel (Olney, Md.) vs. St. Joseph Regional (Montvale, N.J.) and McDonogh (Owings Mills, Md.) vs. St. Peter's Prep (Jersey City, N.J.). DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.), Calvert Hall (Baltimore), Friendship Academy and Eastern Christian Academy (Elkton, Md.) are also in it. The event's producer, Extra Point Productions, also stages the I-95 Kickoff Classic Aug. 30-Sept. 1 in the Baltimore area.

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Texas vs. Oklahoma Challenge: Bedford, Texas

Where: Pennington Field
When: Sept. 7-8
Top Game: Euless Trinity vs. Tulsa Union

While this is not totally a Texas vs. Oklahoma showcase, the second day of games features an interstate doubleheader that cannot be beat: Jenks (Okla.) vs. DeSoto (Texas) and Union (Tulsa, Okla.) vs. Trinity (Euless, Texas). The venerable Texas teams will be playing host to Oklahoma opponents that have won a combined 16 OSSAA 6A state championships. Also on the card is a Dallas/Fort Worth-area vs. Midland, Texas challenge as Carroll (Southlake, Texas) hosts Midland (Texas) and Bell (Hurst, Texas) welcomes Midland Lee (Texas).

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Metro PCS Corky Kell Classic: Atlanta

Where: Georgia Dome
When: Aug. 25
Top Game:  North Gwinnett (Suwanee, Ga.) vs. Colquitt County (Moultrie, Ga.)



The 2012 Corky Kell Classic will be the biggest in the event's 21-year history as a fifth game has been added. Gwinnett powerhouses such as Brookwood (Snellville, Ga.), Grayson (Loganville, Ga.), North Gwinnett and Peachtree Ridge (Suwanee, Ga.) will square off with prestigious Cobb programs such as Walton (Marietta, Ga.), Kell (Marietta, Ga.) and McEachern (Powder Springs, Ga.) and traditional powers Chattahoochee (Alpharetta, Ga.), Colquitt County and Camden County (Kingsland, Ga.). The nation's No. 1 prospect, defensive end Robert Nkemdiche of Grayson, leads individual headliners that include Walton’s Tyren Jones, Camden County’s Brice Ramsey, Colquitt County’s Cole Segraves, Grayson’s David Kamara, and Peachtree Ridge’s Joe Horn.

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Allstate Sugar Bowl Prep Classic: New Orleans

Where: Mercedes-Benz Superdome
When: Sept. 7
Top Game: Curtis (River Ridge, La.) vs. Plant (Tampa, Fla.)

Folks in Louisiana like to think they can play high school football with anyone. This second-annual event certainly affords them the opportunity as John Curtis, ranked No. 6 in the MaxPreps Preseason Xcellent 25, takes on No. 14 Tampa Plant in the second game of a Sugar Bowl Prep Classic doubleheader. The Curtis-Plant showdown will be preceded by another Louisiana vs. Florida matchup, St. Paul (Covington, La.) vs. Lincoln (Tallahassee, Fla.), as the Sugar Bowl Committee continues to be active in promoting amateur sports in the New Orleans area, football and otherwise.
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Battle For Veterans: California

The Westlake Warriors won in an epic battle over Del Oro last year, 30-27 at the Battle at the Capital. The event is now called the Battle For Veterans.

Photo by Gary Jones

Where: Del Oro High School, Loomis, Westlake High School, Westlake
When: August 24-25, August 31, Sept. 1
Top Game: Del Oro (Loomis) vs. Westlake (Westlake Village)

The Allegiant Battle for Veterans is an All-California showcase event to celebrate the sacrifices made by our veterans. The first weekend will be in Northern California at Del Oro High School. Teams from Southern California, including Oaks Christian (Westlake Village), Thousand Oaks, and Westlake, will travel up to try and knock off the NorCal teams.

The following weekend, Oakdale, Del Oro, and Granite Bay will head south to play at Westlake High School.

To learn more visit battleforveterans.org.