Texas/Louisiana Youth Football Classic Set for This Weekend

Yes, the AFC/NFC Championship Games are set for this weekend, but so is a pretty cool youth football event, scheduled for right here in the Acadiana area.

The Lafayette Parks & Recreation Department, in conjunction with Frontline Tru Sports, will be putting on the Texas/Louisiana Youth Football Classic at Clark Field.

The event will feature youth football players in two different age groups, 13 and under, and 10 and under, who will square off in games over the weekend.

There will be a players combine on Friday, from 5:30-8 p.m., where youngsters will show off their skills as teams are determined.

On Saturday, tournament play will be held from 9 a.m.-7 p.m., before championships will be decided on Sunday, from 9 a.m.-4 p.m.

You can still register your youngster at frontlinetrusports.com, or by calling (337) 291-8380.

The goal is to make this an annual event, with youth football players from both Louisiana and Texas taking part.

Other than Lafayette Parks & Recreation, former NFL players, Shannon Clavelle and Kordell Stewart, who were college teammates at Colorado, are helping to put on the event.

Clavelle, who grew up in Jeanerette before playing high school football at O. Perry Walker High School in New Orleans, played three years for the Green Bay Packers (1995-1997), and was a member of Green Bay's 1996 Super Bowl XXXI title team, before ending his career with the Kansas City Chiefs in 1997.

Stewart, who attended John Ehret High School, played eight seasons for the Pittsburgh Steelers (1995-2002), one season with the Chicago Bears (2003), and two seasons with the Baltimore Ravens (2004-2005).

Nicknamed "Slash" because of his versatility, Stewart was named the 2001 AFC Offensive Player of the Year.