ORLANDO, Fla. (OrlandoSportsFoundation.com) – The Addition Financial Cure Bowl All-Star Game is set for 7 p.m. Tuesday at Showalter Field in Winter Park, Fla., and features players, training aides, cheerleaders and marching band members from Orange County and Seminole County high schools around the Orlando community. Fans are encouraged to arrive early to cheer on the Big Boy Relay and Speedster Relay, which start at 6:30 p.m.
At halftime, the Fastest Male and Female Athlete in Central Florida sponsored by FieldTurf will occur and include top high school athletes. The winners of the Fastest Athlete will receive a pair of gold shoes and medallion to recognize their achievement.
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Admission is free by providing an unwrapped toy for the Coaches Toy Challenge or purchasing a ticket for $5 by clicking here. The proceeds from the game benefit the Coaches Toy Challenge, which is an annual drive to provide toys for children at Christmas, and the Orlando Sports Foundation.
The contest will be streamed at Facebook.com/CureBowl by GridIron Productions to viewers throughout the world. Heath Ziglar, with ESPN 580, will provide the play-by-play voice for the game.
This is the third edition of the Addition Financial Cure Bowl All-Star game managed by the Orlando Sports Foundation. It was previous called the Metro Conference All-Star Game, which dates back to 1994.
The game is between Orange County Public Schools and Seminole County Public Schools, but the teams are also supplemented with players from private schools in the two-county area. Every All-Star is highlighted by performing their specialty one last time as a high school student.
This is the first of multiple events during FBC Mortgaage Cure Bowl week that take place at Universal Orlando Resort and downtown Orlando. Gameday begins with the FBC Mortgage March 2 Cure Block Party at Church Street Station at 10:30 p.m. College football fans, dignitaries, cancer survivors, cancer supporters, the Orlando community and the participating school’s bands will come together and walk in cloud of pink smoke to Exploria Stadium. Kickoff between Georgia Southern and Liberty is set for 2:30 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.
ALL-STAR COACH
David Langdon was one of the coaches that started the Metro All-Stars Game in 1994, which was played at Boone High School. The Police Athletic League (PAL) was their first sponsor.
The purpose of game was to create a sense of community among Orange County Public Schools. It provided the student-athletes with another opportunity to showcase their talents for College coaches.
Langdon played college football at Mars Hill. Upon graduating in 1987, he was provided his first coaching opportunity as an intern at his alma mater.
Langdon moved to the central Florida area in 1990 to be an assistant coach at Apopka High School. A few years later, he was named the head coach at Cypress Creek High School when it opened.
The six-time Florida Athletic Coaches Association (FACA) Coach of the Year eventually became the head coach at Dr. Phillips High School before starting the football program at Pine Castle Christian Academy.
Later, he started the football program at Orlando Christian Prep followed by going to Trinity Prep with Mike Kruzak in 2013. Langdon is currently the Athletic Director and continues to coach at Trinity Prep.
His sense of pride is in the number of athletes who have gone on to be coaches, teachers, and administrators in Central Florida. He takes great satisfaction in seeing young people choose their careen because of their high school experience.
Dave said, “my lifelong coaching friends are my inspiration.”
TRADITION
The Addition Financial Cure Bowl All-Stars Game had its origin as the Metro Conference All-Star Game. This was started by coaches David Langdon, Phil Ziglar and Jim Buckridge in 1994. According to Coach Langdon they wanted to give the Orange County community something to be proud of in their schools and to allow the players one last opportunity to showcase their talents.
It worked. Well over 100 players have received student-athlete scholarships to compete at the college level because of this game. Coach Kevin Barnett of Mars Hill University near Asheville, N.C., attends the All-Stars game each year, because he finds athletes that fit his program. Coach Barnett estimates that over 25 athletes have played at Mars Hill because of this game. This is one of the many success stories from the Addition Financial Cure Bowl All-Stars Game.
Some of the players that have used the Addition Financial Cure Bowl All-Stars Game as a platform for success at the next level:
- Doug Gabriel – starred at UCF before playing seven NFL seasons.
- Alex Hayes – played for Evens High School before becoming a running back at UCF.
- Jason Jimenez – former UCF and NFL player.
- Scotty Cunningham – current coach at Winter Park High School and played at Tennessee State and with the Tennessee Titans.
The Addition Financial Cure Bowl All-Stars Game remained an Orange County Metro Conference event until 2016, when it became a challenge between Orange County and Seminole County.
About the Orlando Sports Foundation
The Orlando Sports Foundation (OSF) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit membership organization dedicated to raising funds and awareness for breast cancer research. The OSF holds several events throughout the year, including the Cure Bowl, which is an NCAA college football bowl game played each December.
With the combined support of Central Floridians, loyal sports fans and strategic partners, the OSF is further dedicated and committed to serving the challenges of cancer awareness and elimination, invigorating the Central Florida athletic community and supporting youth organizations with standards of benevolence, integrity and moral excellence.
To learn more, visit OrlandoSportsFoundation.com.