The Taliaferro Foundation’s Ginsburg Football Classic expanding to include youth flag football, moving to Total Turf, high school 7-on-7 field filling quickly
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
After three strong years playing at the high school complex of its foundation namesake, the Adam Taliaferro Foundation Larry Ginsburg Football Classic is expanding and moving.
This year’s fifth annual event, scheduled for June 29, is heading 15 miles down the road to the expansive Total Turf Experience in Pitman. It had been staged the last three years at Eastern High School in Voorhees, where Taliaferro played his high school ball before moving on to Penn State and living one of the most inspirational stories in sports of all time.
Most people recognize the Classic as a 7-on-7 showcase for South Jersey high school football teams, but this year the event is adding a flag football element for youth teams and needs more room for the demand with the potential for making Total Turf its permanent home.
“We started off with it at Rowan University, then we moved it to Eastern High School and now we’re trying something a little bit different,” executive director Gus Ostrum said. “The high school tournament is staying in place, but we’re also trying to start up a subsequent flag football tournament for the youth leagues.
“That’s why we moved it to Total Turf, because they do the flag football tournaments all the time. They do things for high schools all the time, so they’re very familiar with their facilities. They have great indoor and outdoor facilities over there. It’s an incredible facility.”
The move has gained some early support.
“Total Turf is a really nice facility,” Pennsville coach Mike Healy said. “I’m excited mostly because it’s closer to us. Eastern was very nice. Total Turf has all sorts of stuff in it besides sports. It’s a cool place to watch sports.”
The field for the high school tournament is filling quickly and nearly halfway to its cap of 16 teams.
Four Salem County teams played in it last year – Healy’s Eagles, Penns Grove, Schalick and Woodstown. Of that group, only runner-up Penns Grove has yet to commit for this year, but former Penns Grove coach John Emel is bringing his new West Deptford team. Timber Creek and Mercer County’s Nottingham also are said to be committed.
With a guarantee of three games, the tournament is an early summer test for the teams’ passing games and secondaries. Woodbury won it last year.
“Last year we were competitive in our games,” Pennsville coach Mike Healy said. “This year I’d like to take the next step and finish with a winning record. It is early in the summer so we will still be learning and working on some new things.”
Organizers hope to attract at least a dozen teams for each of its two flag football divisions – 9-10 and 11-12.
“With the first year it’ll be a little bit harder because they don’t really know us and we’re going in there introducing ourselves to those coaches and groups so it’ll take some time,” Ostrum said. “We hope at least for 12 teams in each division. If we can grab 16 that’d be wonderful, but we’ll see what happens and hopefully it will work out OK for us.
“I know over time it will. The event we had at Eastern with the high schools has a lot of acceptance now, but it took time to get there. It doesn’t just happen overnight.”
They also would be open in time to an offering for the fledgling high school girls flag football market.
Cover photo: Penns Grove coach John Emel accepts the runner-up trophy on behalf of his team at last year’s Taliaferro/Ginsburg 7-on-7 Football Classic at Eastern Regional High School.
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