HARTFORD, Conn. -- Southern New England is preparing for the 10th edition of The Governor's Cup.

Announced Thursday, the game will be played on the night of June 28, pitting the best of the best high school senior football players from throughout Connecticut against their counterparts in Rhode Island.

Channel 3 is once again proud to be a sponsor for the annual Governor's Cup.

The venue remains the same: Rentschler Field in East Hartford, the football home of the University of Connecticut Huskies.

"Even though Rhode Island is next door and we're friends, I think it has become a close relationship, not just over the game, but also over clinics ... and the coaches are getting to know one another," said John Fontana, executive director of the Connecticut High School Coaches Association.

"It's an opportunity to compete against the best from another state and showcase their talents in a venue and some of them may never play against and it's something they can remember for a long, long time," said Jim Buono, Team Connecticut head coach.

The event will again include cheerleading and football clinics held in conjunction with the National Football League -- and it benefits good causes.

"Also what we were able to produce out of (the game) is a lot of money going to charities," Fontana said.

In the nine previous meetings between the two states, the Connecticut all stars have won six times.

Connecticut won last year's game 59-27 for a fifth-consecutive victory in the series.