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Maryland's Friedgen to speak at all-star banquet

Seminole coach Sam Roper, organizer of the Pinellas All-Star game, has been trying for months to secure a college coach as a guest speaker for Sunday's banquet.

He made the rounds with phone calls and faxes. Trouble was, each response was the same: Thanks, but no thanks. It got so bad Roper didn't know if he would have one.

Roper's concerns were soothed in a big way this week.

Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen, who led the Terrapins to a 10-1 regular season and was named ESPN's coach of the year, will be the guest speaker.

The banquet is at the South Florida Campus Activities Center, 601 Second St. S in St. Petersburg. Tickets are $20 and must be purchased in advance. Tickets can be purchased for the banquet or Wednesday's All-Star game ($5) at Capognas Dugout in Clearwater or at Allen Sports Center in Seminole.

"Friedgen had some things going on here and it worked well with his schedule," Roper said. "I'm glad because I was starting to panic."

Wednesday's game will be at Largo. The teams are made up of seniors from public and private schools and were selected by coaches.

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