High School

New high school football all-star game to pit New York City stars against Long Island's best

National Football Foundation All-Star Classic will be played at Hofstra University in June

Kevin L. Smith

Hofstra University's Shuart Stadium will be the site of new National Football Foundation All-Star Classic, matching high school football all-stars from New York City with their counterparts from Long Island.
Hofstra University's Shuart Stadium will be the site of new National Football Foundation All-Star Classic, matching high school football all-stars from New York City with their counterparts from Long Island. / Abel Bainnson Butz, LLP

A new high school football all-star game is coming to New York state’s downstate area.

Gregg Sarra of Newsday reported on Friday that the top high school football players from New York City and Long Island will face off in the inaugural National Football Foundation All-Star Classic at 1 p.m. June 21 at Hofstra University.

The new event will be funded by the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame's New York City chapter.

Sarra noted that the event will also seemingly replace the long-running Empire Challenge, an event organized and funded by the Boomer Esiason Foundation. The foundation is dedicated to finding a cure for cystic fibrosis.

The Empire Challenge ran for 24 years, but was canceled in 2020 due to covid. Since then, the event has not returned.

Long Island’s team will be picked on Jan. 27, and New York City’s team will be chosen the following day.

Published |Modified
Kevin L. Smith
KEVIN L. SMITH

Kevin L. Smith, a Rochester (NY) native and a graduate of St. Bonaventure University, has been covering high school sports for over a decade. He started out as a freelance sportswriter in 2013. Since then, he’s held sportswriter and editor positions for newspapers in Coudersport (PA), Sayre (PA) and Oswego (NY). Smith currently covers high school sports in the Greater Syracuse Area for syracuse.com | Post-Standard, a position he’s held since 2021. You can follow him on social media @KevLSmittie. Story ideas can be sent to KLSFreelancing@outlook.com.

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