The North, which hadn’t scored a point since the third quarter of the 2006 game, scored 16 points in the final 90 seconds with the help of two onside kicks to pull off a stunning 16-15 victory over the South in the 74th annual Texas High School Coaches Association All-Star Game on Tuesday night at Alamodome.
“I said to one of my teammates in the final minutes, ‘You’d think the offense would deserve to pull off a miracle the way we’ve been stopping them,’” said Copperas Cove’s Steven Welch, a starting defensive tackle for the North who is headed for Tarleton State. “And then sure enough, there it went.”
The madness began when Dallas Highland Park’s Seth Gardner pulled in a 38-yard touchdown pass from Southlake Carroll’s Riley Dodge, and Argyle’s Ben Parks booted the extra point to cut the gap to 15-7 with 1:38 left.
After a successful onside kick, Rockwall’s Braden Smith hit Lubbock Estacado’s Jeremy Watson with a 37-yard scoring strike 14 seconds later. But when the two-point conversion pass from Smith went through the hands of Abilene’s Kortney McDow, the South still held a 15-13 advantage.
The miracle continued, however, with another onside kick that set up Parks’ 41-yard game-winning field goal with 25 seconds left.
“Win or lose, it doesn’t matter,” said South offensive tackle Dallas Butts, a Salado product who hopes to play at the Naval Academy in 2009. “It was a great experience.”
After Angleton’s D.J. Monroe - the game’s Offensive Most Valuable Player - returned the ensuing kickoff past midfield, the South still had hope. But the 45-yard field-goal attempt of Livingston’s Drew Nelson was blocked to seal the North’s second victory in the last six meetings.
“Playing against these caliber of athletes will help me out tremendously in college,” said Cameron Yoe’s Thomas Limmer, a South tight end who will play this fall at Harding (Ark.). “I thought it would be a big deal to win. But win or lose, I have to admit that I had a great time. I wouldn’t change it for the world.”
Monroe carried the ball nine times for 107 yards, including a 66-yard scoring jaunt in the third quarter that tied the second-longest run from scrimmage in all-star history.
The South used a 31-yard field goal from Nelson to take a 3-0 halftime lead, and a 50-yard TD pass from China Spring’s Dustin Eskew to Smithson Valley’s Cody Renken pushed it to 9-0 with 8:27 left in the third.
South teammates Chuck Obi (nine tackles, an interception) of Rosenberg Lamar Consolidated and Marlowe Poitier (six tackles, one sack) of Liberty Hill shared Defensive MVP honors.
Dodge threw for 134 yards on 13-of-20 passing. He was picked off once. Smith was 7-of-14 for 102 yards with an interception.
NOTES: The MVP voting was tabulated prior to the North’s rally. . . . Next year’s THSCA Convention and all-star football and basketball games will be held in Austin.
edrennan@temple-telegram.com
