Oct. 15, 2008 

                MONTGOMERY --- Two Mobile area seniors have been selected to quarterback the 2008 Alabama All-Star football team when the 21^st annual Alabama-Mississippi Classic prep all-star football game kicks off December 13 at Mobile's Ladd-Peebles Stadium. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.

                Steve Bailey, Director of the Alabama High School Athletic Directors and Coaches Association, announced the 37-member team Wednesday. The players were chosen by a special selection committee of the AHSADCA from nominations submitted by AHSAA member schools. The squad is comprised of at least one player from each district and one player from each classification by AHSADCA selection criteria.

A.J. McCarron, who led St. Paul's to the Class 5A state championship last season, and McGill-Toolen's Cullen Wacker have been chosen as quarterbacks on the squad. Wacker led McGill to a 13-1 record in 2007 and 6-1 thus far this year.

               Alabama has won seven of the last nine games but lost last year 26-7 in the first game of the series played in December. Two games were played last year with Alabama routing Mississippi 51-14 in the summer game. Alabama holds a 13-7 edge in the annual series which began in 1988.

                "We think our selection committee has put together a very good team," Bailey said. "We know Mississippi will have a strong team, but I am confident this team will be very competitive. John Grass and his staff are all excellent coaches."

                The AHSADCA, which conducts the game at Mobile's Ladd-Peebles Stadium, elected to move the game to December in 2007 following the June game. This year's squad was selected earlier this month. All players are current high school seniors.

                      Head coach for this year's squad is John Grass, the head coach at Oxford. Grass, who guided Spain Park to its first-ever state finals appearance last season, is 88-44-0 overall, including the current 6-1 record at Oxford. He has also had head-coaching stints at Ashville, Albertville and Moody and served as assistant head coach at Hoover. He was the offensive coordinator of last year's June victory over Mississippi.

            His staff includes Chris Yeager, Mountain Brook; Todd Watson, Foley; Scott Basden, Muscle Shoals; Melvin Pete, Central-Tuscaloosa; John Holladay, Walker; Steve Smith, Piedmont; and Matt Scott, Spain Park.

                The Mississippi roster has not been released.

                The complete Alabama roster includes:

Quarterbacks: A.J. McCarron, St. Paul's; Cullen Wacker, McGill-Toolen.

Running Backs: Tim Simon, Cordova; Orwin Smith, Central-Phenix City; Kendrick Southward, Florence; Jerodis Williams, Prattville.

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends: Mujahid Assad, Williamson; Jud Golsan, Mountain Brook; Kendall Kelly, Gadsden City; Caleb Lewis, Tuscaloosa County; Raphael Poellnitz, Murphy; Darrell Smith, Gadsden City (TE).

Offensive Linemen: Matt Baty, Clay-Chalkville; D.J. Fluker, Foley; Jamey Fortner, Enterprise; Jesse Grisham, Spain Park; Sean Kennedy, Theodore; John Sullen, Auburn; Antowan Westry, Mary Montgomery.

Defensive Backs: Zach Brownell, Prattville; Eric Graham, Blount; Marc Harris, Jeff Davis; Brian Jackson, Hoover; D’Andre (Dre’) Kilpatrick, Gadsden City;  Patrick Miller, Hoover.

Linebackers: Jonathan Evans, Blount; Durell Hill, Oxford; Tana Patrick, North Jackson; Deterrian Shackelford, Austin.

Defensive Ends: Justin Anderson, Foley; Amos Draper, Tanner.

Defensive Linemen: Darrius McMullin, Spain Park; Keith Orr, Speake; Alex Page, Prattville; Jamontay Pilson, Greenville; Martin Sims, Central-Phenix City.

Punter/Kicker: Jimmy Newman, Oxford.

Coaching staff: John Grass, Oxford (head); Chris Yeager, Mountain Brook; Todd Watson, Foley; Scott Basden, Muscle Shoals; Melvin Pete, Central-Tuscaloosa; John Holladay, Walker; Steve Smith, Piedmont; Matt Scott, Spain Park.

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Alabama-Mississippi Classic History

Year-by-Year

2007 (Dec.) Mississippi 26, Alabama 7

2007 (June): Alabama 51, Mississippi 14

2006: Alabama 24, Mississippi 3

2005: Mississippi 21, Alabama 18

2004: Alabama 24, Mississippi 22

2003: Alabama 24, Mississippi 16

2002: Alabama 29, Mississippi 17

2001: Alabama 33, Mississippi 14

2000: Alabama 16, Mississippi 9

1999: Alabama 28, Mississippi 24

1998: Mississippi 9, Alabama 0

1997: Alabama 10, Mississippi 6

1996: Alabama 17, Mississippi 14

1995: Mississippi 37, Alabama 9

1994: Mississippi 24, Alabama 10

1993: Mississippi 17, Alabama 6

1992: Mississippi 17, Alabama 14

1991: Alabama 15, Mississippi 13

1990: Alabama 24, Mississippi 14 (OT)

1989: Alabama 24, Mississippi 21 (4 OT)

1988: Alabama 24, Mississippi 21 (3 OT)

Alabama hosts a 13-7 edge in the series

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For more information, contact Ron Ingram at ringram@ahsaa.com or 334-263-6994.