FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

COACHES ANNOUNCED FOR 50TH ANNUAL MINNESOTA HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL ALL-STAR GAME

DECEMBER 2 AT U.S. BANK STADIUM

The Minnesota High School Football All-Star Game is sponsored by the Minnesota Vikings and the Minnesota Football Coaches Association (MFCA).

The 50th annual All-Star Football Game will be on Saturday December 2, with the kick-off at 1:00 PM. The All-Star Game will be played for the seventh time at U.S. Bank Stadium. The December 2 All-Star Game will also be the 61st overall in Minnesota high school football history, dating back to 1945.

For the 13th consecutive game, the game will feature the North All-Stars vs the South All-Stars. In the 2022 game, the South All-Stars defeated the North All-Stars 29-0 at U.S. Bank Stadium. The South All-Stars lead the current North-South series 10-2. The South also leads the overall North-South series (1945-1960, 1974-1979, 2011-2022) 18-10-1 after 29 games.

The coaches for the 2023 Minnesota High School Football All-Star Game are:

Name                  School/City                     Team       Position                District-Sub District       Class

Jack Negen          Robbinsdale Armstrong    North       Head Coach          Northstar-East-Maroon    5A

Ryan Bartlett        White Bear Lake              North       Assistant Coach     Metro-East                     6A

Chad Gustafson   New London-Spicer          North       Assistant Coach     Skyway-Copper              3A

Darrell Salmi        Stillwater                          North       Assistant Coach     Metro-East                     6A

Greg Spahn         Grand Rapids                  North       Assistant Coach     Northeast-Red                4A

Dan Zubich          Mountain Iron-Buhl           North       Assistant Coach     9 - North-North                9M

 

Name                  School/City                     Team       Position                District-Sub District       Class

Nick David           Mound Westonka             South       Head Coach          Skyway-Bronze               4A

JJ Helget             Mankato West                  South       Assistant Coach     Northstar-South-Gold      5A

Brad Johnson      Fairmont                          South       Assistant Coach     South Central-Red           3A

Chris Mensink      Fillmore Central                South       Assistant Coach     Mid Southeast-East         1A

Joel Swanson       Kasson-Mantorville           South       Assistant Coach     Skyway-Platinum            4A

Dirk Wells            Lakeville South                South       Assistant Coach     Metro-South                   6A

  

All-Star Game Head Coaches

The head coaches for the 50th annual Minnesota High School Football All-Star Game are Jack Negen of Robbinsdale Armstrong High School (North; 10 seasons, 55-32) and Nick David of Mound Westonka (South; 11 seasons, 63-31). Together, they have a combined 21 years of head coaching experience and a combined career head coaching record of 118 wins and 63 losses.

Here are some facts regarding the All-Star coaches:

·First time: All-Star coach and All-Star head coach from Mound Westonka (Nick David)

·First time: All-Star head coach from Robbinsdale Armstrong (Jack Negen)

·South head coach Nick David also participated in the All-Star game as a player in 2003: Outstate All-Stars, Waterville-Elysian-Morristown, OL

·Second time coach: Joel Swanson of Kasson-Mantorville (South Assistant Coach) was the Outstate All-Stars head coach in 2004 (from North Branch).

·MFCA Butch Nash Award winners (3): Brad Johnson (Fairmont), Darrell Salmi (Stillwater), Dirk Wells (Lakeville South)

·The 2023 All-Star Game will be the seventh to have both head coaches from schools within the Twin Cities metropolitan area (also 1976, 1978, 2015, December 2016, 2021, 2022). This will be the third consecutive All-Star game with both head coaches from schools within the Twin Cities metropolitan area.

·First time: two All-Star coaches from Northeast Minnesota schools (Grand Rapids, Mountain Iron-Buhl).

·Coaches by MSHSL class: 9-Player 1, 1A 1, 3A 2, 4A 3, 5A 2, 6A 3

Upcoming announcements and events

• The MFCA and the Minnesota Vikings will announce the North and South All-Star rosters in early November.

• The All-Star training camp will be at Minnetonka High School (South) and Concordia University St. Paul (North) from Wednesday November 29 to Saturday December 2.

All-Star Game History

The Minnesota Football Coaches Association is proud of this game and its history. The first All-Star Football Game was played in 1945. The All-Star Game has been an annual event since 1974.

The All-Star Game was played in a North vs South format from 1945 through 1960 and from 1974 to 1979, a Metro vs Outstate format from 1980 to 2010 and back to a North vs South format in 2011 (to present).

Through the years, over 4,900 players and 547 coaches have participated in this game. A total of 104 participants from the All-Star Football Game have played or coached in the National Football League, including current Minnesota Vikings player CJ Ham (2011, North All-Stars).

Questions may be directed to Game Director Dave Fritze at 651-230-1007. Game history questions may be directed to Dave Giles at dtkgiles@yahoo.comor 651-274-9359.