Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann and Keith Amemiya, executive director of the Hawai'i High School Athletic Association, announced at a press conference at Aloha Stadium yesterday the formation of an all-star high school football game between Hawai'i and the Mainland that will be the second game of a doubleheader.

The Hawai'i Prep Football Classic will be Dec. 12 at Aloha Stadium. The annual Hawai'i Union Builders Foundation Goodwill Game will be played at 5 p.m. The inaugural Hawai'i-Mainland all-star game will follow at 8 p.m.

"We're very excited to announce the creation of a new game, that basically builds upon what the HUB Foundation has been doing for the past 18 years in bringing the best local high school football players on O'ahu and showcasing them in a postseason classic," Hannemann said.

Hannemann said while in Phoenix, accompanying the "Team Aloha" high school girls basketball squad, he met with Rich McGuinness, president of SportsLink, Inc., a sports marketing company based out of New Jersey.

"They made an appointment to meet in Phoenix and they had this idea and it went from there," Hannemann said.

SportsLink produces the annual U.S. Army All-American Bowl, regarded as the top prep all-star game in the country. The game is played at the AlamoDome in San Antonio. The game, which will be played on Jan. 3, features 90 of the nation's top players in an East against West format.

"The concept (of the new game) is to bring 40 of the best players in the nation to compete against the finest high school players here in the state of Hawai'i, to be augmented by some players from American Samoa, as well as Polynesian players or players with Hawai'i ties that live in the Western part of the United States," Hannemann said.

Hannemann said McGuinness was impressed with the state's 2009 recruiting class.

"They're saying that this is as rich a crop as they've ever seen come out of the state of Hawai'i and that's what they really wanted to take advantage of," Hannemann said.

He also expects the game will help more local players get noticed by Mainland schools.

"We anticipate that there will be a lot of college scouts that will be coming to this game," Hannemann said.

The HUB Goodwill game, which features seniors from O'ahu high schools, has helped generate $92,000 in scholarship money since 1991.

"We indicated to SportsLink that we want to build upon what HUB has done — give back to the schools, provide scholarships — the same formula," Hannemann said. "The schools will benefit and we'll be able to provide many more scholarships."

Part of the revenue from ticket sales will go to scholarship money for local schools.

Each team will have approximately 40 players with finalized rosters and ticket prices to be announced at a Nov. 12 press conference. Punahou's Manti Te'o, widely regarded as the nation's top linebacker recruit, is expected to play. Plans are in the works for a TV broadcast to be aired on the West Coast.

"We hope the public comes out and supports this doubleheader, which we feel will be exciting and very popular with our fans across the state," Amemiya said.