All-time Lions All-Star Football Classic team is named
The annual Lions All-Star High School Football Classic has much history behind it — 35 years worth.
And to commemorate the 35th anniversary game, which will be played at UOP's Stagg Stadium on Saturday night, the Lions Game released an all-time Lions team. They are players who members of the Lions Game committee, most notably CalHiSports.com editor Mark Tennis, feel are among the best to have played for the north and south.
"Mainly, we looked at what they did after high school," Tennis said. "There are a lot of former NFL players and college stars that played in this game."
While Tennis was doing research, he stumbled across names like Franklin's Alfred Gross (1979), who went from a winless Franklin High of Stockton team to the University of Arizona to the Cleveland Browns of the NFL.
"He was a little bit before my time, so I didn't know much about him," Tennis said. "But he played with the Browns for five years and nearly made it to the Super Bowl. He was a pretty good pro. And he was a total surprise to me."
Tennis said the "most notable" Lions Game veteran comes from the South. He's played in eight NFL playoff games in three years and has played in one Super Bowl. He scored a touchdown in an AFC Championship game as well.
Give up? It's Mariposa's Logan Mankins, a player Tennis said "epitomizes small-school football and the Lions Game."
"He's actually a tight end on our team," Tennis said. "Here's a kid who played for tiny Mariposa and was a tight end and linebacker. Then he goes to Fresno State, moves to the line and gets drafted by the New England Patriots. He was a Pro Bowler last year."
The anniversary list includes other players with stories just as interesting:
South quarterback Tony Graziani (Downey, 1992) is an Arena Football League star. He currently plays for the Philadelphia Soul and is one of the league's highest-paid players at $160,000 a season.
Both of the North team's receivers — Lonzell Hill (Stagg, 1983) and Webster Slaughter (Franklin, 1982) — are NFL veterans. Slaughter is considered one of the top receivers in the history of the Cleveland Browns franchise.
South running back Raymond Lankford (Davis, 1985) made his name in Major League Baseball. He played 14 years, mainly with the St. Louis Cardinals and San Diego Padres.
South fullback Marvin Eastman has gone from a football player to a mixed martial artist. He's a full-time correctional officer who also holds the Elite Fighting Championship light-heavyweight championship belt. He's scheduled to fight on the undercard in the season finale of the Spike TV show "The Ultimate Fighter" on Saturday in Las Vegas.
"We looked at this list as another way to promote the game," Tennis said. "But it also shows there's a lot of history here."
More could be made Saturday night.
Bee staff writer Will DeBoard can be reached at wdeboard@modbee.com or 578-2300.
South Offense
WR Eddie Macha (Atwater) 1998
TE Logan Mankins (Mariposa) 2000
OL Tony Slaton (Merced) 1979
OL Bill McGill (Modesto) 1981
OL Tim Galas (Central Catholic) 1978
OL Jeremy Mankins (Hughson) 1995
OL Lucais MacKay (Hughson) 1999
QB Tony Graziani (Downey, Modesto) 1992
RB Raymond Lankford (Grace Davis) 1985
FB Marvin Eastman (Merced) 1987
RB Rodney Davis (Dos Palos) 2000
South Defense
DL Dave Porath (Atwater) 1978
DL Robby Valenzuela (Grace Davis) 2001
DL Ray Valladao (Atwater) 1989
DL Mark Roberts (Modesto) 2006
LB Josh Leslie (Oakdale) 1997
LB Josh Yarbrough (Oakdale) 2003
LB Byron Storer (Central Catholic) 2002
DB Rodney Rice (Atwater) 1982
DB Bobby Monges (Oakdale) 2001
DB Sam Vink (Ceres) 1990
DB Ray Wetzel (Central Catholic) 1988
South Multi-Purpose
OL/DL Jon Giesel (Los Banos) 2000
OL/DL Josh Murdock (Golden Valley) 1998
WR/TE Imani Percoats (Los Banos) 1995
OL/DL Nick Steitz (Los Banos) 2000
WR/DB Daryn Weese (Ceres) 1991
QB/LB Mike Van Worth (Dos Palos) 2000
North Offense
WR Lonzell Hill (Stagg) 1983
WR Webster Slaughter (Franklin) 1982
TE Brian Peets (Linden) 1974
OL Derek Kennard (Edison) 1980
OL Brad Smith (Tracy) 1980
OL Greg Bishop (Lodi) 1989
OL Gary Barlow (Tracy) 1985
OL George Muraoka (Edison) 1986
QB Greg Ennis (Tracy) 1984
RB Tyronne Gross (Lincoln) 2001
RB Aaron Jenkins (Edison) 1984
North Defense
DL Dennis Edwards (Edison) 1978
DL Kevin Rooney (St. Mary's) 2000
DL Brandon Santos (St. Mary's) 1996
LB Eric Williams (Stagg) 1980
LB Mike Serpa (Tracy) 1984
LB Josh Parry (Sonora) 1996
LB Brad Vassar (Sonora) 1975
DB Alfred Gross (Franklin) 1979
DB Don Morgan (Manteca) 1994
DB Neil Parry (Sonora) 1998
DB Kevin Arbet (St. Mary's) 1999
North Multi-Purpose
DE Justin Airola (Escalon) 2002
LB/FB Kevin Adams (Lincoln) 1995
RB Damon Barkley (Lincoln) 1990
TE/DE Justin Belcher (Lincoln) 2002
RB/DB Tim Brown (Franklin) 2002
WR/DB Tim Brown (Tracy) 1986
DL Steve Dunigan (Manteca) 2003
LB John Gonzalez (Tracy) 1981
WR/KR Latief Grim (Franklin) 1996
DL/FB Dell Hawkins (Tracy) 1999
WR Ruben Jackson (Edison) 2003
RB Lance Martin (Stagg) 2000
WR James Newsome (Edison) 1998
WR Jeff Simmons (Edison) 1978
RB/DB Larry Wallace (Lincoln) 1988
This story was originally published June 19, 2008 at 4:48 AM with the headline "All-time Lions All-Star Football Classic team is named."