Chesapeake Bowl Evaluation Camp

Evaluation camps for the second annual Chesapeake Bowl All-Star game are set to begin for the DMV area on Saturday, May 21, 2011, at St. Agnes/St. Stephens in Alexandria, Va., and The Gilman School in Baltimore, Md., on Sunday, June 19, 2011.

This camp is open to all 2012 prospects who are eager to earn a chance to participate in this prestigious All-Star game. The game has been billed as the "Mason Dixon Border Skirmish," pairing the best from the North (Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware) against the best from the South (D.C., Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia).

Last year's game at Towson University was a fitting farewell salute to the top players in the region, giving the local fans one last chance to see the stars on a high school gridiron. The South side, led by Gilman quarterback Darius Jennings (Virginia) and Good Counsel quarterback Zach Dancel (New Mexico), brought home a thrilling 30-27 victory over a star-studded North team that was riddled with Division-I talent.

Besides Jennings and Dancel, some of last year's participants included Good Counsel's Vincent Croce(Virginia), Bishop McNamara' Nicholas Law (Iowa), Friendship Collegiate's Malcolm Crockett (Pittsburgh), St. John's Kevin McReynolds (UCLA), Bowie's Jeremiah Hendy (Maryland), DeMatha's Darian Cooper (Iowa) and Carroll's Jamar Lewter (North Carolina).

"Close to 80 of the 96 participants who played in last year's game ended up signing letters of intent to play at the D-I level," said Chesapeake Bowl organizer Tony Kennedy. "This is a great week for kids to get treated to a bowl game experience. All the kids got to keep their game jerseys and received Chesapeake bowl rings as souvenirs for their experience."

The evaluation camp will be headed by camp director Terry Smith of Pennsylvania power Gateway High. Smith's staff, former NFL players and additional high school coaches from the area will also be assisting.

Smith has been a head coach for other prestigious high school football all-star games such as the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, the BIG 33 game as well as the coach for last year's North squad in the Chesapeake Bowl. Smith is a Penn State and played for legendary coach Joe Paterno.

For all of those interested in attending the evaluation camps go to www.chesapeakebowl.com or e-mail chesapeakebowl@gmail.com or call 410-300-6700 for more information.

Also, a free instructional camp will be held for current 7th and 8th graders on the day of the evaluation camp. This will be offered to the first 200 participants who register.