It started like usual, most things tend to begin, with a conversation, a few years ago. Mark Wolpert, Executive Director of the prestigious Maxwell Football Club, and John Schmid, a prominent Maxwell board member and President of JFS Event Planning & Consulting, have been around football their whole lives. Their extensive knowledge goes back decades.
So, they came up with an idea the fruition of which begins this Thursday, with the inaugural Mid-Atlantic Pigskin Classic football showcase at Salesianum School’s Abessinio Stadium, in Wilmington, Delaware.
Some of the top teams in the nation, and the area will be competing in the tri-state area, launching Thursday with rivals Hodgson Vo-Tech (DE) playing Howard School of Technology at 3:30, followed by the host school, Salesianum, playing Delaware Military Academy at 7:30 PM and concluding Saturday night with national powerhouse St. Joseph’s Prep playing Saint Peter’s Prep (NJ) at 5 PM on Saturday.
“We’re really excited about this, with great games lined up and top teams playing each other,” Wolpert said. “We’re also talking about a beautiful venue at Abessinio Stadium, which is just a jewel at a great spot. John had come to me with the idea a few years back. The biggest hurdle was how it would work logistically. We had looked at a few different venues. The key was finding the right venue. Once we visited Abessinio Stadium, it became an easy choice. It is the right spot. Salesianum has been great. Everything fell into place after that.”
Tickets are $12 pre-sale off the website (https://midatlanticpigskinclassic.com/) and $15 the day of the event. A ticket pays for the games for that day’s games.
“The biggest hurdle was finding the right location,” Wolpert said. “After that, it went quickly. We received a lot of interest from teams throughout the area that wanted to play in this. FloSports is our broadcasting partner, and the links are available through streaming on our website. Every game is compelling.”
Against St. Peter’s last season, St. Joseph Prep’s Cincinnati-bound quarterback Samaj Jones threw single-game school records for touchdown passes (7) and yards (420) in a Prep 55-20 victory. St. Peter’s will no doubt look to avenge that this year. On the other side, the Hawks will look to win their first game after scaring national power IMG Academy in a 17-14 loss last weekend.
“JFS Event Planning & Consulting is excited to be a part of the inaugural Mid-Atlantic Pigskin Classic,” Schmid said. “The quality of the high school football programs we were able to acquire in year one is amazing. Traditional New Jersey power, Saint Peter’s Prep will square off against the No.1 team in Pennsylvania in 2022, St. Joseph’s Prep. The No.1 team in Delaware in 2022, Smyrna High School will play the historical Pennsylvania program, Manheim Central High School. The No.10 ranked team in Pennsylvania in 2022, Imhotep Institute Charter High School will play 2022 Inter-Ac Champions, The Haverford School. The remaining games include some of the top programs in the Mid-Atlantic Area and we look forward to bringing the top high school programs to the Classic in the future.”
2023 Game Schedule
Thursday, August 31, 2023
Game 1 Hodgson Vo-Tech (DE) vs. Howard School of Technology 3:30 PM
Game 2 Salesianum School (DE) vs. Delaware Military Academy (DE) 7:30 PM
Friday, September 1, 2023
Game 3 Northeast High School (PA) vs. West Catholic Preparatory School (PA) 12:00 PM
Game 4 Smyrna High School (DE) vs. Manheim Central High School (PA) 3:30 PM
Game 5 The Haverford School (PA) vs. Imhotep Institute Charter High School (PA) 7:00 PM
Saturday, September 2, 2023
Game 6 Willingboro (NJ) vs. Mastery Charter of Camden (NJ) 1:00 PM
Game 7 St. Joseph’s Prep (PA) vs. Saint Peter’s Prep (NJ) 5:00 PM
Joseph Santoliquito is an award-winning sportswriter who has been covering high school football since 1992 and is the president of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be followed on Twitter @JSantoliquito. Follow EasternPAFootball.com on Twitter @EPAFootball.
Follow EasternPAFootball.com on Twitter @EPAFootball
