FAIRHOPE—If you live on Mars, you might be forgiven for not having heard about this Thursday’s regionally televised gridiron battle between intense high school football rivals Daphne and Fairhope.

Even then, you might still tune in to FoxSportsSouth at 7 p.m. and catch the game, the first of three high-profile Southern high school games televised on that cable sports channel and sponsored by C Spire Wireless, formally Cellular South.

But you could not attend the Meet the Players rally at the Old 27 Grill in Fairhope Wednesday night from 5:30-7:30 p.m.

“The coach, players, cheerleaders, band and boosters with Fairhope T-shirt and hats will be at the Fairhope location,” said Anita Clarke, public relations specialist for C Spire. “This is for the whole community, which is why it’s located at a local Fairhope business instead of just at the school. It will be easy for anyone who’s interested to attend. It’s kind of an off-site pep rally.”

The game at W.C. Majors Field in Fairhope will feature NFL-caliber pyrotechnics with a Jumbotron video messaging and display board and will be broadcast in high-definition in prime time in seven states with a potential reach of nearly 13 million cable and satellite viewers, Clarke said.

“We’ve never had anything of this magnitude before, in my memory,” said city spokesperson Sherry Sullivan. “It’s going to be more like a college game than a high school one.”

Tickets for the Oct. 13 game can be purchased at FHS and National Bank of Commerce in Fairhope.

The Oct. 12 Meet the Players event will be broadcast live on WABF 1220-AM radio.