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'Exceptional talent' in all-star football game
By Dick Sparrer
Mike Machado is no stranger to the annual Charlie Wedemeyer All-Star Football Game.
Machado was an assistant to Saratoga's Benny Pierce on the North coaching staff in the summer game in 1995, and he was the North head coach in 1996.
But while he's no stranger to the game, things will be just a little strange for Machado when he returns to the sidelines for the summer classic on Friday night... he'll be prowling the South side of the field.
Machado, the successful head coach at Valley Christian, is the head man for the South team that will rival the North in the 25th renewal of the summer rivalry on July 23, 7:30 p.m., at Spartan Stadium.
But no matter which team he coaches, one thing remains the same, according to Machado. The talent is exceptional.
"I told them at the banquet," said Machado, "I'm going to give them what they need to know. But come game time, I'll call the plays and just sit back and be a spectator. It will be fun to just watch them play."
And that's been true ever since the first crew battled it out back in 1974. That year future NFL stars Doug Cosbie and Don Schwartz played for the North team that lost 48-36 to the South.
"On paper we had a better team," Cosbie recalled in a 1995 interview, "but I think we got killed."
He remembers it well. The score was only that close because of a special rule that allowed the losing team to receive kickoffs even after their own touchdowns if the game was getting out of hand.
"But it was a lot of fun," he added. "The most fun in any of those games is meeting some guys you only read about in the paper or competed against. You get to meet them as a person."
"Since that time a number of future professional and collegiate athletes have participated in the "Best Game in Town," and every game has featured outstanding area football players.
"There's going to be a lot of talent on the field on Friday night," said the South coach. And he also expects it to be a close game.
"You look at the North roster and you look at ours, and there's as much parity as there's ever been," he said.
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