The 6th annual AutoZone Liberty Bowl High School All-Star Football Game will feature the top 72 high school seniors from Memphis City Schools, Shelby County Schools and private schools within Memphis and Shelby County. Jim Heinz, the head coach at Evangelical Christian School, will coach the Blue Team and Rodney Saulsberry, the head coach at Whitehaven High School, will coach the Red Team.

The All-Star game will be played Saturday, December 15 at Memphis University School. Kickoff is at 2:00 pm. Tickets cost $7, kids 6 and under are free.

For the third consecutive year the game will be televised on local television. Comcast Cable will carry the game as the season-ending culmination of its coverage of high school football in Memphis and Shelby County. The All-Star Game will also be broadcast on radio by WHBQ Sports 56

"The all-star game has established itself as one of the marquee events on the local high school scene," said AutoZone Liberty Bowl executive director Steve Ehrhart. "With two of the top coaches in the area leading the teams, we will continue the tradition of excellence the game has created in just five years".

Jim Heinz is in his 24th season as head coach at ECS. Heinz has led ECS to a record of 201-81, including four state championships in 1983, 1999, 2000 and 2005. He has coached ECS to the state championship game on three other occasions and finished runner-up in 1984, 2004 and 2006.

Heinz has received numerous awards, including the Commercial Appeal"s Al Dunning Award in 1995-96. He is a four-time winner of the Coach of the Year Award, as well as the TSSAA Regional Coach of the Year award.

"The AutoZone Liberty Bowl All-Star Game gives Memphis a chance to showcase the abundance of talent in the Memphis area," said Heinz. "It gives many seniors one last opportunity to go out as a winner in their final high school game if they didn’t win the state championship. It"s a great way to kick-off the activities for the AutoZone Liberty Bowl."

Rodney Saulsberry is one of the bright young coaches in the Memphis area. He is in his 4th season as head coach at Whitehaven High School, where he has a career record of 25-15.

Saulsberry is a veteran of the AutoZone Liberty Bowl High School All-Star Game, having served as an assistant coach the past two seasons. In addition, he has coached for the U.S. Army National Combine the past two years.

"The AutoZone Liberty Bowl All-Star Game gives the fans an opportunity to see local talent that, in many cases, they have only heard or read about," said Saulsberry. "Because of the exposure the game has created over the past years, there has been an increase in appreciation for the overall talent that Memphis and Shelby County have at all levels."

The AutoZone Liberty Bowl High School All-Star Football Game is sanctioned by the Tennessee Secondary Scholastic Athletic Association. NCAA college coaches are also permitted to attend the All-Star Game and practice sessions preceding the game.

The All-Star teams will be chosen by a selection committee comprised of area head coaches, media and other football analysts.

Each team will have 36 players, which will be selected from the following schools. Each player must have the recommendation of his coach on the basis of his character, his on-field achievement and his classroom performance.