COLUMBIA--Coaches for the 2014 Touchstone Energy Cooperatives Bowl sifted through a record number of nominations before selecting the 88-player roster for this year’s all-star game.
“The two coaching staffs had more than 340 players to choose from,” said Keith Richardson, co-director of the Touchstone Energy Cooperatives Bowl. “What that (number) says to me is we’ll have some tremendous talent in this year’s game.”
The 44-member South squad is led by head coach Jackie Hayes of Dillon High School. Darryl Page of Lower Richland High School will coach the 44 players representing the North all-stars. Both coaches will have a staff of five assistants when the game is played December 13 at noon in Myrtle Beach.
“We have some outstanding football players in this state,” said Hayes, “and it’s a shame we can’t take them all to this game. However, it’s exciting to put a team like this together because our guys have great size, speed and athleticism. No question-they are going to be fun to coach.”
“The players we chose are one of the top guys on their teams back home,” Page says of the selection process. “So they’re used to being the alpha-male. You get 44 alpha-males together, and hopefully you come up with a good mix on the field.”
The South Carolina Athletic Coaches Association has coordinated the North-South All-Star game since 1947. In 2013, the state’s electric cooperatives assumed primary sponsorship of the contest and rebranded the game as the Touchstone Energy Cooperatives Bowl.
- The 2014 Touchstone Energy Cooperatives Bowl will take place on December 13, 2014
- Pre-game festivities begin at noon at Doug Shaw Memorial Stadium in Myrtle Beach
- Tickets for this year’s all-star game are available online. (Users entering the promotional code “Touchstone” receive a ten-percent discount on their ticket purchase)
- Real-time news updates related to the game can be found on Twitter.
- The 2014 winner of the South Carolina Mr. Football Award is announced during halftime of the all-star game. Fans can vote online for their favorite of the five finalists.
