Barkley, coaches with local ties, in All-Star game today

Newport Beach resident Matt Barkley, perhaps the most decorated high school football player in Orange County history during four seasons at quarterback for Mater Dei, will compete in the Under Armour All-American game today at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Fla.

Former Balboa Island resident and one-time Newport Harbor assistant coach Mike White, a former head coach for the Los Angeles Raiders, Cal and Illinois, will coach one of the teams, comprised of top seniors from throughout the country.

The game will be televised live at 5 p.m. on ESPN.

Barkley, a 6-foot-3, 222-pounder who will enroll at USC this month, will play for the White team.

Barkley was the Gatorade National Male Athlete of the Year and Gatorade National Player of the Year as a junior at Mater Dei, when he threw for 3,576 yards and 35 touchdowns, with just nine interceptions.

Barkley, who also won the inaugural Joe Montana Quarterback of the Year award as a junior, threw for 2,877 yards in 2008, with 23 touchdowns and 18 interceptions.

White will guide the Black team, with a staff that includes Dave Levy, a former USC assistant who helped the late Craig Fertig, a former Trojans player and coach when Fertig was head coach at Estancia High in 2003 and 2004.

— Barry Faulkner