Staff Report
MaxPreps.com
HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. – The New York City high school football all-stars will be vying for their second consecutive series victory on Tuesday night, June 24, at 7:30, when they take the field against the Long Island all-stars in the 13th annual Outback Steakhouse Empire Challenge at Hofstra University's James M. Shuart Stadium.
The all-star game format was created by former NFL quarterback and Long Island native Boomer Esiason in 1996 as a benefit for the Boomer Esiason Foundation and the Gunnar H. Esiason Endowment Scholarship Fund at Hofstra, as well as local youth football programs. The annual goal is to raise money and awareness to fight cystic fibrosis and support youth football in the New York metropolitan area.
New York City, which won last year's game 35-27, has never won back-to-back games in Empire Challenge history. Long Island has won four of the last six games and leads the series, 6-4. The first two games, in 1996 and 1997, were contested between the all-star teams of Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island.
Eight of the last nine games between Long Island and New York have been decided by eight points or fewer, including a pair of one-point decisions in 2004 and 2006.
A series of pre-game and post-game activities are also planned for the 2008 Empire Challenge. Tickets are $15 per person and will be available at the James M. Shuart Stadium ticket booth on game day, beginning at 5:30 p.m.
Esiason, the former quarterback of the New York Jets and Cincinnati Bengals, is an analyst for both CBS Sports' The NFL Today and Monday Night Football on the Westwood One/CBS Radio Sports network. He is also the host of The Boomer Esiason Show on the MSG Network and co-host of the WFAN morning radio program Boomer and Carton.
To help make the event an unequivocal success, a variety of local and international companies have teamed up with the Boomer Esiason Foundation to underwrite the cost of the football game and other day-long activities.
“The support these companies have provided to the Boomer Esiason Foundation is a great example of how corporate America can make an impact in bettering the communities where employees work and live,” Esiason said.
“Their support for the Foundation will be used to improve the lives of all those afflicted with cystic fibrosis. As both a local resident and a parent of a child with cystic fibrosis, I’m thankful for companies like Canon U.S.A., the New York Jets, USA Football and Outback Steakhouse who believe that giving back to the community is critical to their role as corporate citizens.”
With the support of these and other corporate sponsor relationships, the Boomer Esiason Foundation has raised over $60 million to date.
Pre-game ceremonies for the 2008 Outback Steakhouse Empire Challenge will include the presentation of the American flag by the Marine Corps Color Guard from Recruiting Station New York, and the singing of the Star Spangled Banner by John Amirante, who regularly performs the anthem prior to New York Ranger hockey games at Madison Square Garden.
Festivities are scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. in the Hofstra park lot with a FanFest, one that will feature Generation Jets Fest, the New York Jets' interactive theme park.
At halftime, WFAN's Craig Carton will bat against St. John the Baptist softball pitcher Olivia Galati; Carton will also take part in a field goal challenge with St. Anthony's soccer player Rachel Nuzzolese.
Paul Longo of William Floyd High will serve as head coach of the Long Island all-stars while Fred Olivieri of Curtis High will head the New York City all-stars.
Honorary captains for the game are scheduled to be two Empire Challenge graduates, Devale Ellis of the Detroit Lions (James Madison High) and James Wyche of the Jacksonville Jaguars (Roosevelt High).
Among the top players set to perform for the New York City all-stars are running back Willis Dendy of Bishop Ford (Marist); defensive back Jayson Holt of Mount St. Michael's (Southern Connecticut State); quarterbacks Dominick LeGrande of Curtis (Boston College) and Jeffrey Legree of Fort Hamilton (Buffalo); and wide receiver Khalif Staten of Lincoln (Iowa).
Among the top players scheduled to play for Long Island are defensive backs J.B. Andreassi of St. Anthony's (Dartmouth) and Tim Moller of East Islip (Marist); running backs Brock Jackolski of William Floyd (Hofstra) and Alex Rivas of East Meadow (Lafayette); and quarterback Joe Sidaras of William Floyd (Hofstra).
"All the money goes toward cystic fibrosis and it gets people aware of how serious it is," Jackolski told Newsday. "I'm glad to help the foundation
The Outback Steakhouse Empire Challenge will be pre-recorded by the MSG-TV Network and televised via tape delay on Saturday, June 28 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, June 29 at 1 p.m.
For complete Empire Challenge rosters, please go here.
