PREP FOOTBALL SHRINE GAME : Russell White Returns to Serve as Grand Marshal

Cal running back Russell White will join 60 of the state’s top graduated high school football players tonight at 7 for the 41st Shrine all-star football game at Veterans Stadium in Long Beach.

White, who played in the 1989 Shrine game after his senior season at Crespi High, has been designated the grand marshal this year.

“Russell was chosen as a symbol of the new direction the game is trying to go,” said Mark Tennis, the game’s media relations coordinator. “We’re trying to appeal to a younger crowd.”

The South team will include five standouts from the Valley, led by Freddie Edwards, a defensive back/running back from Antelope Valley High who will enter San Diego State in the fall.

South coaches Herb Meyer (Oceanside El Camino) and Larry Welsh (Atascadero) have rated Edwards among the top players in camp.

The other area representatives are:

* Erik Holcomb, a 6-foot, 165-pound wide receiver from Westlake. Holcomb, a standout sprinter in high school, will attend UCLA in September.

* Alex Sawatzke, an inside linebacker from Kennedy and the Times’ Valley lineman of the year last fall. He has committed to Oregon State.

* Randy Clemons, an offensive tackle from Quartz Hill who will play at Antelope Valley College.

* Chuck Osborne, a defensive tackle from Canyon. Osborne, who can bench-press 400 pounds, is bound for Arizona in the fall.