Memorial Stadium Set as Site for Second Annual Turf Kings Classic

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The best of the best in high school football will be on full display this fall. The Second Annual Turf King classic invitational is set to bring together teams from around the Carolinas  to go head to head.

In their inaugural invitational, Turf Kings put some of the top teams in the area up against each other in Football City, known to most as Rock Hill, S.C. On Tuesday, June 2, 2023, founder Jibrille Fewell announced they will bring that action to the Queen City, with matchups that signify all the high school history to come through American Legion Memorial Stadium in uptown Charlotte.

The day starts with a private school and a public school, each with first year head coaches as Myers Park takes on Charlotte Christian at high noon. Then its old school versus new school as West Charlotte takes on the youngest high school in the county, the Palisades Pumas.

“I mean what an honor, when i got here when i got to charlotte and learned about charlotte high school football i became a historian okay i tried to learn as much about the history of the sport in the city  and the tremendous amount of players and tremendous amount of coaches that have come through the city and all of their big games have come through memorial stadium, back to when they would host the state championships here,” said Jonathan Simmons, head coach at Palisades High School.

It would not be a proper heavyweight event without some representation from the other side of the border, as Hough High School will round out the day against a South Carolina staple.

“We feel like we are defending our state. It’s like South Carolina versus North Carolina, a battle of the border type deal, so it’s pretty exciting,” said Reggie Shaw, head coach at Byrnes High School in Spartanburg, S.C.

Last year the event raised a million dollars for the participating schools and the local charities, this year Fewell hopes to go above and beyond.

“We want to incorporate all the community, it is an all day event, and the money goes strictly goes to the schools, percentages goes to the schools and to the programs, we do a lot of giveaways so it is more of a community event. We don’t want to call it just a football event, cause we are gonna have good football, so it is going to be more of a community event,” said Fewell.

The triple-header is set for August 19, 2023. You can purchase tickets here, and all of the games will be streamed live right here.