South leads North-South Series with 35-28-2 Record Heading into 66^th Clash

    MONTGOMERY – Head coaches Kenny King of Daphne High School and Sam Adams of Oxford High School have completed their coaching staffs for the 66^th AHSAA North-South All-Star Football Classic  set to square off at Mobile’s Hancock Whitney Stadium on Friday, Dec. 13 with kickoff at 2 p.m. The 38^th annual Alabama-Mississippi Classic All-Star football game will kick off at noon at Hancock Whitney Stadium the next day, Saturday, Oct. 14.
    King and Adams were chosen as head coaches last spring by the Alabama High School Athletic Directors and Coaches Association (AHSADCA), which manages the all-star game, and were announced by former AHSADCA Director Brandon Dean in May. Dean also announced that Saraland High School’s Jeff Kelly would serve as this year’s Alabama head coach for Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Classic.
The North-South All-Star Game, which was first played in 1948, moved to Mobile in 2020 and since then, the South has won three of four games played on the campus of the University of South Alabama at Hancock Whitney Stadium and now holds a 35-28-2 edge in the series. The South won 31-28 on a late field goal last year and 42-7 in the most lopsided victory of the series in 2022 and will be riding a two-game winning streak heading into this year’s game.
     The assistant coaches were announced Friday by James T. Lawrence, current Director of the AHSADCA). The rosters for the North-South and Alabama-Mississippi All-Star squads are expected to be selected and announced later this month, said Lawrence.
      “The two staffs are loaded with outstanding coaches,” said Lawrence. “This game means a lot to each of them. It is the oldest all-star game in the AHSAA dating back to 1948 and has provided opportunities for our players and coaches over the last 77 years to share memories and form lasting friendships through their participation in the annual game.”
      The North-South All-Star Classic was discontinued for 12 years from 1985-1996 but returned when the AHSAA began its annual All-Star Sports Week series of all-star events in 1997 as part of the AHSAA’s annual Summer Conference held each July n Montgomery. The football game moved from July  to December in 2020 – and moved to Mobile that same year.
      King, who graduated from Daphne High School and played in the 1998 Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Game, went on to have an outstanding collegiate career at the University of Alabama earning All-SEC and Academic All-America honors as a defensive lineman. He was drafted into the NFL by the Arizona Cardinals in the fifth round of the 2003 draft. He remained in the NFL from 2003-2006 playing with Arizona and the Baltimore Ravens. He has been the head coach at Daphne High School since 2016. Now in his ninth season, King has compiled a 56-38 record including 4-3 this season heading into this week contest. 
     Adams, a graduate of Auburn University, grew up in Jefferson County and was a three-sport standout at Corner High School. He began his head-coaching career at Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa in 2014 compiling a 56-29 record over seven seasons with  a 32-10 record in region play. He has been the head coach at Oxford since 2021. His teams have compiled a 28-14 record, including this year’s team, which is currently 7-0. His overall head-coaching record is 84-43. Adams has earned three state championship rings as an assistant, the first, as the offensive coordinator at Kentucky prep power Trinity in 2005, followed by a stint at Hoover where he helped guide the Bucs to back-to-back titles in 2012 and 2013.  He also served as offensive coordinator on the Spain Park staff in 2007 when the Jaguars finished as the Class 6A state runner-up. Earlier in his career he coached wide receivers at Georgia’s North Gwinnett High School where he helped guide the Metro Atlanta program to a 33-4 record in four years, including the school’s first two undefeated regular seasons. Adams played baseball at Bevill State Community College before earning a bachelor’s degree from Auburn University and a master’s from the University of Louisville. He was a graduate assistant for coaches Tommy Tuberville at Auburn and Bobby Petrino at Louisville.
     King announced his staff will consist of Jed Kennedy of Dothan (linebackers); David Watts of G.W. Long (running backs); Bobby Carr of Carver-Montgomery (quarterbacks and offensive coordinator); Brian Seymore of Trinity Presbyterian (offensive line); Lawrence O’Neal of Tallassee (defensive backs); and Justin Jones of Beauregard (wide receivers).
     Kennedy (133-58), who has coached in Illinois, Wisconsin and Florida, is in his third season at Dothan (2-4) guiding the Wolves to an 18-11 record; Watts (28-31) is 25-14 at G.W. Long (2-4) since become head coach in 2021; Carr (259-61), in his first season as head coach at Carver (5-1), won 10 state titles in the AISA at Edgewood Academy and Autauga Academy; Seymore (141-70), in his second year at Trinity Presbyterian (5-2), has also served as head coach at Pike Liberal Arts, Andalusia, Mary Montgomery and Demopolis; O’Neal (22-19), the son of Hall-of-Fame Coach Jackie O’Neal, is in his first year as head coach at Tallassee after guiding B.T. Washington of Tuskegee to the 4A state semifinals in 2023; and Jones (72-55), in his fourth season at Beauregard (5-2), has guided the Hornets to a 25-15 since 2021. He served as head coach at Florala, New Brockton, and Cordova as well.  
     Adams’ North staff includes Adrian Abrams  of Minor (defensive coordinator and defensive line); Aryvia Holmes, McAdory (offensive coordinator and wide receivers); David McKinney, Winfield (offensive line); Darrell Higgins, Mars Hill Bible (linebackers); Chris Elmore, Fort Payne (quarterbacks); and Chris McGehee, James Clemens (defensive backs).
     Abrams (30-37) is in his seventh season at Minor (4-2); Holmes (23-15), a former Samford University standout receiver, is in his fourth season at McAdory (4-1); McKinney (151-56), a former Ole Miss quarterback, is in his 12^th season at Winfield (6-1) where his teams have compiled a 99-34 slate; Elmore (75-51) is in his sixth season at Fort Payne (4-2); Higgins (84-26) is in his ninth season at Mars Hill Bible (6-0); and McGehee (35-23) is in his fourth season at James Clemens (5-1).
     The 66^th North-South All-Star Classic will be broadcast live over the AHSAA TV Network (WOTM TV), the NFHS Network and the AHSAA Radio Network.

NORTH-SOUTH FOOTBALL ALL-STAR
CLASSIC YEAR-BY-YEAR (1948-2023)
(Overall Series: South leads 35-28-2)

 

 

At Hancock Whitney Stadium, Mobile (December)
2024— (Friday, December 13, 2 p.m. kickoff)
2023— (December) South 31, North 28
2022— (December) South 42, North 7
2021— (December) North 14, South 10
2020— (December) South 28, North 20

At Cramton Bowl, Montgomery
2020—Summer game canceled due to COVID 19
2019—South 22, North 19
2018—North 27, South 14
2017—North 14, South 13
2016—North 14, South 0 (shortened by weather)
2015—North 14, South 13
2014—South 20, North 12
2013—South 22, North 21
2012—North 34, South 12
2011—South 37, North 33
2010—North 14, South 7

At Alabama A&M, Huntsville
2010—North 14, South 7
2009—North 14, South 7
2008—South 12, North 0
2007—South 10, North 0
At Troy University
2005—(December) – South 16, North 7
2004— (December) – North 7, South 3

Cramton Bowl, Montgomery
2004—North 17, South 7
2003—South 17, North 10
2002—South 34, North 0
2001—North 6, South 3
2000—North 17, South 0
1999—South 10, North 7
1998—South 21, North 0
1997—South 14, North 0

(Discontinued from 1985 – 1996)

At Jordan-Hare Stadium, Auburn University
1984—North 21, South 20 (1A-2A)

At Bryant-Denny Stadium, University of Alabama
1984—South 7, North 6 (3A-4A)
1983—South 34, North 7
1982—North 3, South 0
1981—North 14, South 6
1980—South 20, North 7
1979—South 3, North 0
1978—South 21, North 14
1977—South 17, North 7
1976—South 14, North 6
1975—North 7, South 6

1973—North 22, South 15

1972—South 14, North 13

1971—North 9, South 7

1970—South 13, North 9

1969—South 16, North 0

1968—South 27, North 7

1967—South 14, North 10

1966—North 13, South 7

1965—North 13, South 6

1964—South 34, North 7

1963—North 20, South 6

1962—South 20, North 14

1961—South 13, North 0

1960—North 7, South 0

1959—North 10, South 7

1958—South 20, North 6

1957—North 12, South 7

1956—South 0, North 0 (tie)

1955—North 26, South 7

1954—North 7, South 6

1953—South 26, North 0

1952—North 7, South 7 (tie)

1951—South 31, North 0

1950—South 12, North 7

1949—North 7, South 6

1948—North 33, South 0