The second annual GoFridayNight.com Champions Classic could've easily been called the Nail-Biter Classic. All four games went well into the fourth quarter before the outcome was assured.

The three days of gridiron action kicked off at Shotwell Stadium in Abilene, Texas, with a hard-hitting game won by Midland Greenwood over Graham, 25-15, on Thursday night and then a squeaker that Brownwood took over Abilene Wylie, 18-14, on Friday night.

Saturday's double-header was just as thrilling, with two top-ranked teams starting the action at noon. Wolfforth Frenship outlasted a tenacious Wichita Falls Rider bunch, 14-12.

All those games set up the grand finale between Abilene Cooper and Weatherford. And it was more of the same - fighting until the last second when Weatherford finally won, 28-25.

This exciting, three-day event, which drew well over 25,000 fans, was produced by the Abilene Sports Alliance, a committee under the Abilene Convention and Visitors Bureau, an affiliate of the Abilene Chamber of Commerce.

After a tremendously successful inaugural event in 2005, Abilene was proud again to host a second Classic. The action featured four Texas High School football games, once again kicking off the 2006 football season in West Texas style. 

Teams from the Big Country, The South Plains and North Texas played their first game of the season in the Friendly Frontier at Shotwell Stadium, starting with Midland Greenwood vs. Graham on Thursday night, August 31.  Other games included 2004 3A State Champion Abilene Wylie vs. Brownwood, on Friday night and a double-header on Saturday with Wichita Falls Rider vs. Wolfforth Frenship. The exciting weekend concluded with Abilene Cooper vs. Weatherford. Once again television coverage was provided in most of the participating teams’ local markets. Great Texas coaches led their teams in an event that had a playoff atmosphere.

The proceeds from the GoFridayNight.com Champions Classic will be used to fund college scholarships to graduating high school student athletes. The 2005 event funded $8,000 in scholarships to 2006 graduating seniors.

Gary Grubbs, event chair, commented that this is a true win – win – win - win situation: “The Abilene economy benefits from the out-of-town spectators, the Abilene community benefits from the great games, the schools benefit from the exposure and the students benefit from the scholarship money raised.  And, of course, it’s Texas High School football.  What a great weekend event it was, and the economic impact for Abilene is going to be huge!”

The Abilene Sports Alliance would like to thank the title sponsor GoFridayNight.com a specialty website of the Abilene Reporter News. Please visit our other sponsors.

Newspaper Articles

9/3 - Cooper runs out of time against Weatherford
9/3 - Frenship wins in the clutch
9/2 - Finale preview: Abilene Cooper vs. Weatherford
9/2 - Brownwood hangs on to beat Abilene Wylie, 18-14 ...
9/1 - Greenwood's old-school offense wins GoFridayNight.com Champions Classic opener...
9/1 - Abilene Wylie vs. Brownwood preview
8/31 - It's Here! ... McCoy leads Steers in homecoming ...
8/29 - Coach McCoy's Classic weekend starts in Abilene ...
8/28 - Wylie and Brownwood shift from scrimmage partners to Friday foes ...
8/27 - Classic Craze: Abilene event is just one of many ''Classics'' ...
4/22 - GoFridayNight.com Champions Classic to kick off Aug. 31 ...
4/21 - Who's bringing the popsicles? ...

Featured Games

Game 1: Midland Greenwood 25, Graham 15 .... (STATS ... Video ... Slideshow1 ... Slideshow2)

Game 2: Brownwood 18, Abilene Wylie 14 (STATS ... Video ... Slideshow)

Game 3: Wolfforth Frenship 14, Wichita Falls Rider 12 (STATS ... Slideshow1 ... Slideshow2)

Game 4 : Weatherford 28, Abilene Cooper 25 (STATS ... Video .. Slideshow)