After a two-year hiatus, Stark County’s East-West All-Star High School Football Game returns in late July with a new sponsor. The Pro Football Hall of Fame will sponsor the July 23 game that will be played at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.
The newly-named Pro Football Hall of Fame East-West Game will feature two members of the Hall’s Centennial Class of 2020 serving as honorary coaches. Isaac Bruce and Donnie Shell will be on the sidelines.
Bruce will help Mark Geis, head coach of Green High School, and his three assistants coach the West squad. Shell joins Brian Gamble, head coach of Sandy Valley High School, and his three assistants on the East squad.
“The Pro Football Hall of Fame is proud to pick up the East-West All-Star Game and get seniors on the field with high school classmates and new friends from neighboring schools one more time before they start the next chapters in their lives,” Hall President Jim Porter said. “And with Hall of Famers of the caliber of Isaac Bruce and Donnie Shell providing not only insight about how to play the game of football, but also about living a hall of fame life, this experience will create memories that will last a lifetime.”
Bruce and Shell will be much more involved than their “honorary coaches.” In addition to assisting on the sidelines during the game, they will speak to the teams at the annual Player-Parent Dinner, provide on-field instruction at the final practice July 22 and attend the Stark County High School Football Hall of Fame induction banquet July 22.
The game will be the 31st meeting of the East and West teams, but the first since 2019 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Canton Repository had sponsored the game since its inception in 1990.
“The community is grateful for the Repository’s involvement with the game for the past 30 years. The Hall is honored to take the handoff and keep this event going,” Porter said.
“We are thrilled to join the Pro Football Hall of Fame in continuing to deliver a first-class event for our Stark County football community,” said Kevin Tobin, co-director of the game with Ross Rankin. “Including Pro Football Hall of Famers Donnie Shell and Isaac Bruce will be an incredible experience for the players.”
