The annual Muskingum Valley‑Licking County All‑Star football game has become a rite of summer for dozens of high school seniors across southeastern Ohio, a showcase where athletic ambition meets the next chapter of their lives.
This year’s edition will feature a roster that reads like a microcosm of post‑graduation pathways: some players are headed to college football programs, others are enlisting in the armed forces, and a few are already launching entrepreneurial ventures.
A roster shaped by diverse futures
Jace Thompson, a standout lineman from Crooksville, spends his daylight hours working with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, a trade that sharpens his discipline and work ethic, while his evenings are devoted to the gridiron.
Future College of Wooster teammates Logan Hupp and Landon Iden have been training side by side for weeks, a partnership that will continue on campus where they will share a dormitory as freshmen.
Connor Young, an All‑East District selection in Division IV, looks forward to stepping onto the field alongside teammates he has previously faced as rivals, a dynamic that promises fresh rivalries and camaraderie.
Messages of unity
Whit Parks, a member of the Ohio High School Football Coaches Hall of Fame, addressed the squad with a reminder that the game is as much about representing one another with class as it is about personal achievement.
Head coach Chris Zemba echoed that sentiment, stressing that the team’s reputation will travel beyond the stadium and that every player must embody the values of the Muskingum Valley program.
In the weeks leading up to the June 12 showdown, participants have turned to TikTok, X and Instagram to exchange clips, memes and training tips, turning social media into an unofficial playbook of connection.
The game is scheduled to kick off at 7 p.m. on June 12 at John D. Sulberger Memorial Stadium in Zanesville, where the community will gather to celebrate the talent and tenacity of these young athletes.