INSTITUTE, W. Va. (WCHS-TV) —

It was the second day of camp for the North Bears and the South Cardinals prepare for Saturday's Par Mar Friday Night Rivals Edition of the WCHS-TV/FOX 11 North-South All-Star Football Classic .

The two teams are going through workouts at West Virginia State University leading up to the noon showdown in South Charleston.

The North has won four straight and for Bear player Marshall Hobbs of Lewis County, he passed on a vacation for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

. . . . .

Practicing football in June under the hot sun isn't exactly a day at the beach.

But that's just fine with Lewis County's Marshall Hobbs, who gave up the beach to be a part of the 2021 North Bears.

"We just made the plans to go to the beach. Me and my buddy were talking stuff like that and then my coach comes over and tells me, 'Hey, you want to play in North-South.' And I'm like, 'Yeah, I want to play in the North-South.' It's another shot to play football," said Hobbs.

"I can't deny doing that. I mean, any chance to represent my school and show everybody my talents, I'm going to take the chance. I'm going to go out here and give it all I've got."

His Lewis County days were filled with highs and lows...and again highs.

"Had a good season sophomore year. Had a better season my junior year. Senior year comes around and COVID stuff hit and stuff like that," Hobbs said. "It's kind of different for me. I ended up getting knocked out - third and fourth game of the season. Then I didn't' get to play for a good bit, kind of a bummer.

"But then I got to play my last two games so I really appreciated that. And then coaches out here sent me an invite to play in North-South. It meant a lot."

And his football days are far from over as he heads off to Glenvillle State College to play at the next level.

"I went to a couple of camps with Mike Keller, head football coach down there. I've known him...he was a high school coach at Lincoln for a little bit. Me and him started talking and he said, 'Hey, lets get this thing going." I said, 'I'm ready to ride on the bus with you. Let's go.'"

And for this week, he's all about helping the North Bears extend their winning streak. Then maybe it will be time for a trip to the beach.