Published on: Thursday, January 17, 2013

By Brandy L. Simms

Montgomery County will be well represented this weekend at the NFL Players Association Collegiate Bowl presented by Winnol.

A handful of players with county ties have accepted invitations to play in the nationally televised game at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Ca. Kickoff is scheduled for Saturday at 6 p.m.

The game will be broadcast live on ESPN2 and feature the top draft-eligible seniors on the campus of California State University Dominquez Hills.

ESPN analyst and former NFL player and coach Herman Edwards will head up the American team coaching staff with former Redskins Art Monk, Kurt Gouveia and Darrell Green serving as assistants.

Meanwhile, former NFL head coach Dick Vermeil will serve in that capacity for the National team and former NFL linebacker and Springbrook graduate John Bunting will serve as the team’s defensive coordinator.

A group of Montgomery County products are expected to play in the second annual event including former All-Sentinel first team defensive linemen Terrence Stephens and Sean Stanley.

Stephens, a Quince Orchard graduate, and Stanley, a Gaithersburg graduate, both earned All-Sentinel honors during their senior campaigns in 2008.

Stephens, a nose tackle who enjoyed a stellar collegiate career at Stanford, missed the Cardinal’s final three games due to a minor violation of NCAA rules related to an off-campus housing issue.

Stanley, who earned honorable mention All-Big Ten accolades at Penn State, finished second on the team in tackles for a loss and tied for third place on the team with 4.0 sacks.

Former Damascus standout Josh Francis (West Virginia) and Clarksburg native Donovan Carter (UCLA) have also accepted invitations to play in the game.