Super Bowl LVI to feature three Big 33’ers

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As we mentioned last week, the Big 33 Football Classic’s Super Bowl streak is alive-and-well at 56 straight. Now, we know which Big 33 alums will be playing at SoFi Stadium in Los Angles on February 13 when the Cincinnati Bengals face the hometown Los Angeles Rams.

In all, there will be three former Big 33’ers in the game.

For those of you not familiar with the Big 33 (as it’s affectionately know), it’s an all-star high school football game played annually in Pennsylvania since 1958.  Over the years, Pennsylvania high school all-stars have squared-off against all-star teams from Maryland, Ohio and Texas. On other occasions, Pennsylvania has faced an all-USA team.

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tyler Boyd, a Clairton High School graduate, played for the Pennsylvania stars in the 2013 game played in Hershey, Pennsylvania. In that game, Boyd turned-in one of the all-time best offensive performances, earning him the Most Valuable Player Award for the Pennsylvania all-stars.

Boyd, who went-on to play his college football at Pitt, finished with 244 all-purpose yards, including 144 return yards. He returned the game’s opening kickoff 91 yards for a touchdown.

The two-time Mr. Pennsylvania also had five receptions for 89 yards with two touchdowns. Boyd also scored on a 4-yard touchdown run, of a direct snap, and also tossed a 68-yard touchdown pass.

Noah Spence of Bishop McDevitt High School in Harrisburg was picked for 2012, but didn’t play, is on the Bengals practice squad.

Rams’ Pro Bowler Aaron Donald is a Big 33 alum, however, he never played in Hershey. The Penn Hills High School (Pennsylvania) grad, He was picked for the 2010 Pennsylvania team, but didn’t play.

The streak started when Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive back Herb Adderley played for the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl I.  Adderley was a Big 33’er from Northeast High School in Philadelphia.

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This year’s Big 33 game will be played on Memorial Day at Bishop McDevitt High School in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

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About the Author

Jeff Fisher
Jeff is an award-winning journalist and expert in the field of high school sports, underscored with his appearance on CNBC in 2010 to talk about the big business of high school football in America.Jeff turned to his passion for high school football into an entrepreneurial venture called High School Football America, a digital media company focused on producing original high school sports content for radio, television and the internet.Jeff is co-founder and editor-in-chief of High School Football America, a partner with NFL Play Football.