The Ron Woyan East/West All-Star game pits the best seniors from around the city against one another for one final hurrah.

The Ron Woyan East/West All-Star game pits the best seniors from around the city against one another for one final hurrah.
By Chris Chaney
Sun staff

Eight Clermont County football standouts will get to don their shoulder pads and helmets one last time on a high school field on Thursday, June 12 as some of the best seniors from around Cincinnati were invited to play in the Ron Woyan East/West All-Star Game.

The game, which is put on by the Southwest Ohio Football Coaches Association, will pit seniors from the east side of town against their counterparts from the west side, meaning that the eight Clermont County kids who usually play against one another will be teammates for one night.

“Each member school of SWOFCA — as long as a coach is a member, it does not have to be a head coach — they are allowed to nominate five players (from their school) for the All-Star game,” the game’s namesake, Ron Woyan said. “Out of those five, the coaches have to pick at least one player from each school that nominates a player.”

This year, Amelia, Batavia, Clermont Northeastern, Glen Este, Goshen, Milford, New Richmond and Williamsburg all have players representing them in the game. Two players from nearby Western Brown will suit up as well.

Each Clermont County institution put one player (with the exception of two coming from New Richmond) on the East roster, simultaneously carrying their school’s flag while decorating their normal helmet with the emblems and logos of their new teammates’ schools as well.

The players who were invited this year are Cohen Canter (Amelia), Levi Sellers (Batavia), Brandon Stahl (Clermont Northeastern), Tyler Flanigan (Glen Este), Brandon Lunsford (Goshen), Hunter Losekamp (Milford), Evan Brigner and Will Lytle (New Richmond) and Lane Edmisten (Williamsburg).

“The competition has been really good, the kids really get into the ball game,” Woyan said. “What’s nice about the event is that you get a kid from a small school and they get to go against a kid from a bigger school. The kids love that competition. They bond really well with the other players. They get the chance to see a kid that maybe they read about in the paper and then all of the sudden, they’re on the same team. It’s really a neat situation.

“It’s a big honor for those kids to play. I tell them that we’ve had some big names go through here. I always stress that someone on this squad may be playing in the pros or be an All-Pro like the guys that have gone before them.”

The East team will be coached by Kurry Cummins of Mariemont High School and the West team will be headed up by former Cincinnati Bengal and current Cincinnati Christian coach, David Fulcher.

The teams have had nine practice dates over the past two months and will put their hard work on display on Thursday, June 12 at Kings High School. Kick off is slated for 7:30 p.m. with all proceeds, including gate fees, going towards scholarships for local high school seniors. At halftime of the game, more than $12,000 worth of scholarships will be handed out.

Tickets will be $5 at the gate.

Complete rosters and information can be found at http://swofca.com/all-star-game.htm.