The Cure Classic All-Star Event was played on Thursday, December 16 in front of a crowd of approximately 650 at Showalter Stadium in Winter Park, Florida. Team Soldier defeated Team Warrior 38-15 and was made up of players primarily from Orange and Seminole Counties but included a select few from surrounding areas. This event benefits the Orlando Sports Foundation and its mission to “bring teams together to find a Cure for Cancer”.
The score of the game was not near as important as the fact that the players performed to honor two coaches, Tyler Lampe and Ike Wilson, who lost their lives to cancer in 2021. Two teachers, Heather Delong and Denisse Archibald, who teach at Oviedo High and Lyman High School respectively, received Extra Yard for Teachers awards in honor of the two deceased coaches, who coached at their schools.
Varsity Sports Network live streamed the game and with the Orlando Sentinel Sports writers selected Macci Brave, of West Oaks Academy, as the Offensive Player of the Game and Terrence Moseley, of The First Academy, as Defensive Player of the Game. VSN reported a viewing audience of 26,000 from around the United States and the Orlando Sentinel published articles on the game for two days following the event.
The Cure Classic, for the first time, used a draft format of the finest football players in Central Florida to shape the two teams called the Cure Classic Soldiers and the Cure Classic Warriors. Again, for the first time, players from the same team could be opposing each other on the football field.
The Cure Classic All-Star Game culminated a Week 4 the Cure that started on Sunday, December 12, with a Welcome All-Stars BBQ and a “Rising All-Stars” (underclassmen) Combine.
The dual purpose of the Cure Classic All-Star Game is to give the athletes one last chance to showcase their talents; and to bring awareness to “finding a Cure for Cancer.”
