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A locally-based internet radio station drew a national audience of listeners last Friday night when it broadcasted the 65th North-South High School All Star Football Classic from the home of the Buckeyes, Ohio Stadium.
WRSCradio.com, headquartered in Oregon, has broadcast full-time since July 1, 2009. In that time they have carried over 50 high school football games, 130 plus boys and girls basketball games and over 50 high school hockey games. In February alone, WRSCradio.com broadcast games for 35 area schools. Enhancing its position as “Your No. 1 streaming high school sports connection.” WRSCradio.com broadcast state final tournament games; Waite in girls basketball, Ottawa Hills in boys basketball, and the hockey Frozen Four games of Sylvania Northview.
WRSCradio is operated by long-time local radio broadcaster and Genoa resident Rick Waldron, Northwood resident Al Singlar, and Oregon resident Mark Reeves.
The broadcast from the “Horseshoe” came about at the request of WRSCradio.com media partner, JJ Huddle. JJ Huddle is the largest high school sports blog in the state and has been carrying the local streamer's game broadcasts since early February.
The All-Star classic featured 72 of Ohio's best high school football players, 60 of whom had signed to play Division I football this year.
The game, initiated in 1946, is sponsored by the Ohio High School Football Coaches Association, headed this year by president Doug Pearson, head coach at Toledo St John’s Jesuit.
This year's roster had only one player from Northwest Ohio, Rogers quarterback standout E.J. Tucker. Tucker will stay close to home and play for the University of Toledo Rockets. On the North coaching staff was Tucker's high school coach Rick Rios. Tucker ran the North offense for big chunks of time in the second half in a 23-12 losing effort. He did complete a pass for a two-point conversion late in the game.
The Ohio State University, Michigan, and Cincinnati had five recruits each in the game. University of Toledo placed nine recruits in the game and Bowling Green State University was represented by four gridders. Even Notre Dame had a recruit in the contest.
WRSCradio.com garnered listeners from several Midwest states and college coaches from as far away as Boston College and University of Virginia for the broadcast. That made it the largest audience ever to listen to a WRSCradio.com event.
The long-running game has an illustrious history of players that have gone on to greater football fame and fortune. Five Heisman trophies have been awarded to alums of the game. Those were Archie Griffin (2), Vic Janowicz, Roger Staubach, and Desmond Howard. Other NFL greats that played in prior years include Len Dawson, Jim Marshall, Paul Warfield, Alan Page, Jim Lachey, Bernie Kosar, Cris Carter, Chris Spielman, Elvis Grbac, Joey Galloway, Ki-Jana Carter, Orlando Pace, Mike Vrabel, and Nick Goings.
All but two of all the Super Bowls played have featured at least one alum of the North-South Classic.
In the first years of the Classic, prominent college coaches came in to coach the teams. Legendary Notre Dame coach Frank Leahy coached in the very first classic. The next year featured Wes Fesler (Ohio State) and Bill Elliott (Illinois). Earle Bruce, while head coach at Massillon coached the North squad to victory in 1965.
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