Moat, East Stars prepare for East-West Game

The East-West All-Star football game will resume its series after a year’s hiatus. The game will be played May 6 at Gateway High School in Monroeville.

Game History
The first game was held at Mansion Park in Altoona in June of 2001, after members of the Pennsylvania Scholastic Football Coaches Association (PSFCA) approached the Allegheny Mountains Convention & Visitors Bureau to help organize and produce a sister game to the Big 33 Game. The Big 33 Game features the top players in the state against players from Ohio. Unfortunately only 34 players can be selected to represent Pennsylvania, and in a state with a rich football tradition many quality players are left out. Thus, the PSFCA East West All Star Game was conceived giving the honor to play in a statewide, prestigious all star game to 68 more players.

Players 
The players selected to play in the game truly represent some of the finest football talent in Pennsylvania. Past player have gone on to play for college powerhouse teams such as Penn State, University of Maryland, Ohio State, Pitt, Notre Dame, Syracuse University, Cornell University, U. S. Naval Academy and University of Michigan. The game has also been a showcase for Ivy League athletes, with players going on to Princeton and Yale. Our first class of alumni was eligible for the NFL draft in April of 2005 and several have begun their professional careers with the NFL.

Pennsylvania Bowl
Currently the East holds the advantage for wins, having won seven of the ten all-star games. Clearly the stage has been set for rivalry that’s sure to continue to grow. As the rivalry grows so does game attendance and recognition. More than 50,000 people (an average of 5,000 people at each game) have traveled to Altoona to watch these future college and NFL players in a classic rivalry. The Game has been aired since 2003 on PCN and Fox Sports.

The Future
The game was not played in 2011 due to lack of sponsorship and a variety of other issues. The PSFCA thought it was a necessity to get this game going again, so after a year hiatus, the PSFCA with the help of many other sponsors has brought the East West All Star Game back. The game will be played in Western PA (Gateway-2012) during the even numbered years and in Eastern PA (Downingtown West-2013) in the odd numbered years. For more information please visit our website at www.psfca.org.

2001            East 31             West 3

2002            East 31             West 17

2003            West 14            East 10

2004            East 39             West 13

2005            East 24             West 7

2006            East 20             West 14

2007             West 24           East 14

2008            West 10            East 0

2009            East 37              West 22

2010            East 33              West 7

2011             No Game

2012            West??            East ??