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The first paragraph on the official "Maryland Crab Bowl" Web site suitably sums up Saturday's inaugural event: "Chuck Harmon and his partner Sean O'Connor decided they were going to bring a state football all-star game back to the state of Maryland."

They picked the perfect year to do it.

For the first time since 2004, when Maryland's top football talent competed against Virginia's in the now-defunct Super 44 All-Star Game, every area of the state will be represented in one game. But the first Crab Bowl will be different from any game the state has seen, dating back to the early 1980s and the Big 33 Football Classic against Pennsylvania.

Quite simply, the state has never been so rich in talent. Not even close.

"I looked Sean and said, ‘If we're going to do it, we need to do it this year,'" said Harmon, who has been a player, broadcaster, scout and coach in the state for over 25 years. "Never have we seen anything like this; this is the most talent we've had by far. We've had maybe 25 kids go Division I before, but this year, we're looking at close to 60. Every kid on this roster will play college football."

About the Crab

The game's 90 participants, comprised of the top seniors across the state, are split into two sides: a D.C. team and a Baltimore team. The Baltimore team encompasses players from all over the state, while the D.C. team is confined to mostly Montgomery and Prince George's Counties.

"The only fair way to divide it up was for P.G., Montgomery, and some of the [Southern Maryland Athletic Conference], where I'd estimate 75 percent of the talent is coming from," said Harmon. "Then take the rest of talent from the rest of the state. There may be more marquee talent on the D.C. team, but the Baltimore team has a lot of late-blooming talent. It really should be a competitive game."

The game was conceptualized roughly a year ago by Harmon and O'Connor, and given strong support by the Maryland Football Coaches Association. In late August, they named the head coaches: Dunbar coach Lawrence Smith for Baltimore, and Quince Orchard helmsman Dave Mencarini for D.C.

Mencarini was a logical choice; his Cougars were coming off an unbeaten, 14-0 season and Class 4A State Championship. They also returned an almost unheard-of collection of returning stars, four of whom were selected to the Crab Bowl: Stanford (Calif.) commit Terrence Stephens, Cody Magill (Delaware), Travis Hawkins (Maryland) and uncommitted Division I prospect Jason Ankrah.

To help him out, Mencarini brought aboard several of the county's top coaches, "his best friends," as assistants, including Seneca Valley's Fred Kim, Damascus' Eric Wallich and Paint Branch's Mike Nesmith. Mencarini has an unmistakable competitive fire about this game, listed by recruiting database www.rivals.com as one of the top-five in the country.

"You look at Rivals' top 20 in the state and 19 are playing in this game," said Mencarini. "We want to have fun, but we met with the kids a few weeks ago on a Sunday, and one of my comments to the team was, ‘Hey look, you all were chosen here for reason. We're going to try and kick Baltimore's tail.'"

"How they fare … with us"

Of the transcendent number of athletes who will strap on the pads Saturday, no county will be as well-represented as Montgomery. Its 20 nominations make up nearly half the D.C. roster. Eight have already verbally agreed to play Division I football, and several others will undoubtedly follow in the next two months.

Stephens, a 2008 All-Gazette first-team defensive tackle, committed to Stanford in the spring of his junior year. While roughly two-thirds of Crab Bowl participants are currently uncommitted, the big lineman looks at is as a showcase for reasons other than wowing the scouts.

"Everyone's wondered, ‘What would an all-star game look like with all the best guys in the state,'" he said. "Now, it's taking everybody and putting it out there in this game. It's going be a challenge for everybody to really show what they're made of."

Though local all-star games already exist in Maryland, no other covers the entire state. That was part of the appeal for the game's premier player, Gazette Player of the Year Jelani Jenkins. The Good Counsel senior is ranked as the No. 3 recruit in the country by Rivals. Buddies with several of the state's public school prospects, he looks at the game as a chance to play guys he rarely ever has.

And to rack up another W.

"Oh we really want to win; we're taking pride in this thing," said Jenkins. "You know, me and Terrence, everybody over here, realizes that a lot of talent comes out of this area, so we're going to play our hearts out. Plus we get rings if we win. [At Good Counsel] we never get to play public schools, so it's kind of good to see how they fare … with us."

Crab Racing

The teams will host practices at the University of Maryland Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Wanting to jazz up the inaugural game with events that "get the guys excited," Harmon formulated the "Crab Bowl's Fastest Man" contest Wednesday.

Three 40-yard dashes will crown the winner; each participant will run a preliminary, and the two fastest runners from each side will race to determine the final between one Baltimore and one D.C. runner.

On the D.C. side, Westlake's Devon "Moo Moo" Smith, a Penn State commit, will match up with Good Counsel's Caleb Porzel, who was clocked at last spring's Under Armour/Scout.com combine at a blistering 4.21 seconds in the 40.

It's almost gotten as much talk as the game.

"I get out on Facebook with these guys," said Harmon, "and they're all fired up about it. They've all got predictions."

"Moo Moo beats him in the 100, Caleb beats him in the 40," said Jenkins. "Caleb hasn't run in a while … but you know I've got to go with Caleb."

"I beat [Caleb] last week," joked the 290-pound Stephens.

As for Porzel, all you need to know about the Maryland commit's confidence is this: As of last Friday, Smith had yet to submit his name, though according to Harmon, "Devon Smith will race." Porzel was one of the first entries in the competition.

"I'm going to win," said Porzel. "I promise you."