Big games on tap for 5th Classic

The Fifth Annual Action Sports Medicine Champions Classic is definitely one for the books of Zero Week. From two NCAA Division II giants battling it out to a Big Country rivalry in the making, with a dash of Abilene vs. Fort Worth in two big games, the 2009 version has something for everyone.

Several multiple-game events kick off high school football in Texas, but only one will have a nationally televised audience (CBS Sports Network) featuring the two teams expected to vie for the NCAA Division II crown. Abilene Christian University and Northwest Missouri State University play on Thursday, Aug. 27 at 7 p.m. It’s the first time in the history of Shotwell Stadium that it has played host to a nationally televised event. It's also the first time in the history of football's opening weekend in Abilene that the local event has had a college game be part of the three-day, four-game event.

In rematches from the 2008 version of the Classic, the Abilene Cooper Cougars and Fort Worth O.D. Wyatt Chaparrals tee it up the very next night (Aug. 28th) at 7:30 p.m., followed by a Saturday morning contest (11 a.m., Aug. 29th) when the Abilene High Eagles host Fort Worth Dunbar. Both games will be televised by KTAB-TV – the Cooper game on a tape-delay, and the Abilene High game live.

The Abilene teams won big last year, and both Abilene High and Cooper received votes in the Associated Press preseason football poll. But the Wyatt Chaparrals have something to prove to the Cougars after last year’s 33-0 loss, while the Wildcats of Dunbar, also mentioned in the AP poll, have one of the state’s top college prospects at wide receiver – Darius White. Both games are expected to show their respective coaches what their teams are made of.

The finale for the 2009 edition of the Action Sports Medicine Champions Classic will feature one more rematch - the Jim Ned Indians against the Merkel Badgers, and chances are neither team will forget last year, either. Jim Ned led at halftime last year, 7-6, but the Badgers exploded for 22 points in the second half to win, 28-7. Last year's meeting between these two teams produced a Classic team record of 394 total rushing yards (net), and the record for highest average rush per attempt - 7.9 yards.

The Action Sports Medicine Champions Classic is in its fifth year and is promoted by the Sports Alliance Committee of the Abilene Convention and Visitors Bureau, which is an affiliate of the Abilene Chamber of Commerce, and sponsored by Action Sports Medicine and Rehab, along with Texas Chevy Dealers and WTU Retail Energy and other local sponsors.  The Sports Alliance was formed to increase the economic impact in the Abilene community through sporting events.  One goal is to raise money for scholarships awarded each year to graduating seniors from each of the local high schools.  To date, the Champions Classic has awarded $27,000 in scholarships to graduating seniors from Abilene High, Cooper High, Wylie High and Abilene Christian High schools.

2009 Featured Games

Game 1: Abilene Christian University vs. Northwest Missouri...............7:00 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 27
Related: QB Stewart gets nod as ACU starter

Game 2: Abilene Cooper vs. Fort Worth O.D. Wyatt.................................7:30 p.m., Friday, Aug. 28

Game 3: Abilene High vs. Fort Worth Dunbar..........................................11:00 a.m., Saturday, Aug. 29

Game 4: Jim Ned vs. Merkel.......................................................................7:30 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 29

GAME PREVIEWS
ACU vs. Northwest | Cooper vs. Wyatt | Abilene vs. Dunbar | Jim Ned vs. Merkel

ROSTERS
ACU | Northwest | Cooper | Wyatt | Abilene | Dunbar | Jim Ned | Merkel