Blue Wahoos Hosting Back-To-Back Football Events Showcasing Mayor's Bowl, Soul Bowl
For more than three decades, the Soul Bowl has spurred dreams among Pensacola youth football players of growing to become part of Friday night high school games. This week provides a special link to both experiences. In a first-time pairing this weekend, the Mayor’s Bowl and Soul Bowl will be
For more than three decades, the Soul Bowl has spurred dreams among Pensacola youth football players of growing to become part of Friday night high school games.
This week provides a special link to both experiences.
In a first-time pairing this weekend, the Mayor’s Bowl and Soul Bowl will be staged within a 12-hour period at Blue Wahoos Stadium.
On Friday night Oct. 3, the fifth annual Mayor’s Bowl is combined as the First City Bowl and features Booker T. Washington against Pensacola High.
The next morning on Saturday, the 33rd annual Soul Bowl showcases five age-division games, beginning at 8:30 a.m., among two inner-city youth football leagues – Southern Youth Sports Association (SYSA) Tigers and the East Pensacola-Magee Field Rattlers.
Both events are open for everyone to purchase tickets and attend.
“A lot of the kids that play now at Washington, a lot (high school players) who play now at PHS, they played in the Soul Bowl,” said Lumon May, Escambia County commissioner and founder/executive director of SYSA. “So, you will have the two dominant city high school program playing on Friday, then the two dominant city youth programs playing on Saturday.
“You will some of the (assistant) coaches who will be coaching PHS on Friday night, then will be coaching Saturday for the (SYSA) Tigers. So it is a great transition.
“To me, it’s going to be a big challenge to get everything ready for two game events in short time, but (Blue Wahoos staff) have put together more remarkable things, so hopefully we can keep the synergy going and make it a whole weekend thing for everyone.”
Washington coach Ryan Onkka, whose team will be trying to win back the Mayor’s Cup it held for the first three years, believes the back-to-back football events connect youth football and high school football in a unique way.
“It’s huge,” he said. “The Soul Bowl is a great annual event that a lot of people look forward to. A lot of kids, some of their most cherished memories in youth league football are playing in the Soul Bowl. They get opportunity to play in a big venue like Blue Wahoos Stadium.
“Those kids get to feel like a high school or college player, before it’s time to be a high school or college player. So all that stuff together (the combo of games) is really huge.”
Blue Wahoos head groundskeeper Willie Lawrence has a special perspective in preparation for this weekend. He was a head referee of the officiating crew who worked one of the first couple Soul Bowl games played at Blue Wahoos Stadium.
When the bayfront venue opened for the 2012 inaugural Blue Wahoos season, the Soul Bowl event moved to the stadium and has been held each year on the first Saturday of October at the ballpark. Lawrence was also a youth league football coach for the Bellview league.
While he never coached a team in the Soul Bowl, he’s attended the event annually and has the emotional attachment of now preparing the field for consecutive days of games.
“I have none of the pressure. I will be in a good mood all day long, because I have no dog in the fight and I will enjoy it tremendously,” said Lawrence, who coached youth football teams ages 5-12 at Bellview for 14 years, then worked as a long-time referee for the former Five Flags Officials Association.
“The rivalry between the two parks (SYSA and Magee Field) is greater than anything I’ve seen -- at the high school level,” Lawrence said. “And the beauty of this is most of those kids that rival each other from say, 6-years-old to 13 years-old, might play together on the same team when they get to high school.
“But they still brag about who won the Soul Bowl when they were six or seven years old,” he said, laughing. “The event is unusual and when you transfer now to being played at this stadium it becomes special. It takes it to the next level that is not recreated anywhere else.”
Meanwhile, the Mayor’s Bowl was created by former Pensacola mayor Grover Robinson III as a way to bring added luster to the PHS-Washington game.
The Wildcats enter Friday at 3-2 after a loss last Friday to the Escambia Gators. PHS is 1-4.
Escambia coach Mike Bennett, former Pensacola High coach, who led the Tigers to a state championship in 2009 with former Soul Bowl players, has attended the Soul Bowl games every year.
“There’s a lot of good players who come out of it (and advance to high school teams),” Bennett said. “Some of those players come here (to Escambia), some go to PHS, some go to Pine Forest and some go to Washington. Just a lot of really good players.
“I’ve coached a lot of great (high school) players who have played in that game. It’s unbelievable now for those kids to play at Blue Wahoos Stadium and that environment. Everyone needs to come out to watch because it’s so fan-friendly.”
When the Mayor’s Bowl game ends Friday night, Lawrence and his grounds crew team will work into late evening to re-line the field and re-dress and smooth the infield area to prepare for Saturday’s five youth games at the Soul Bowl.
When the Soul Bowl is completed, the same grounds crew will begin re-converting the field into a baseball field. The goal posts will be removed, the pitching mound rebuilt at some point thereafter, all in preparation for the Oct. 18 exhibition event at 1 p.m. featuring the Florida State and Mississippi State baseball teams in a special “Fall Ball’ matchup.
The two teams will play an extended exhibition game – seven innings apiece with a short break – to utilize their entire lineups. The event sold out in less than 12 hours and marks FSU’s return to Pensacola from last year’s Fall Ball event against Auburn.
“Getting the (pitcher’s) mound back and in perfect setup for that day will be the biggest challenge, but we’ll get it done,” Lawrence said.
FOOTBALL WEEKEND AT BLUE WAHOOS STADIUM
WANT TO GO?
WHAT: 5th Annual Mayor’s Bowl/First City Bowl.
WHO: Booker T. Washington Wildcats vs. Pensacola High Tigers.
WHEN: Friday Oct. 3, 7 p.m.
WHERE: Blue Wahoos Stadium.
ADMISSION: $11.02 (includes taxes/fees).
TICKET INFO: Like all high school football games in this region, all tickets must be purchased digitally online. No printed tickets will be issued. Tickets can be purchased on Blue Wahoos website: www.bluewahoos.com or at stadium using QR code.
WANT TO GO?
WHAT: 33rd Annual Soul Bowl.
WHO: Southern Youth Sports Association (SYSA) Tigers vs. East Pensacola-Magee Field Rattlers.
WHEN: Saturday, Oct. 4. Five age-division games: 8:30 a.m., 10:00 a.m., 1130 a.m., 2:00 p.m., 3;30 p.m.
WHERE: Blue Wahoos Stadium
ADMISSION: $12.00 per-person in advance, $14.00 day on Saturday, $20.00 when purchased after 4 p.m. Saturday. General admission seating (no reserved seats). Children 3-under are free. Upgrade VIP seating is $50 at Hancock-Whitney Club, includes all-access throughout the day, a free buffet meal from 11:30-1:30 p.m. Free beer/wine from 12:30-1:30 p.m.
PARKING: $10.
INFO: www.bluewahoos.com/soulbowl.
IMPORTANT NOTES: The stadium is a cashless venue. No cash accepted. Also, no chairs, no beverage coolers, no outside food or beverages are permitted inside the stadium.