STOCKTON -- As he was most of the night, Escalon High's Nick Largent was in the thick of the play that helped decide the 37th Lions All-Star Classic.
With quarterback Nathan Sanchez of Atwater struggling for a first down that could have sealed a South win, Largent reached in and knocked the ball loose.
The North pounced on it with 4:28 to play, and that was plenty of time for St. Mary's quarterback Marcus McDade to rally the North to a 15-14 victory.
• North QB Marcus McDade, St. Mary's: He was 16 of 24 for 317 yards, including a 12-yard scoring pass to Tracy's DePrey Celestine. McDade directed the game-winning, 71-yard TD drive and tossed the decisive two-point conversion to Sierra's Anthony Hall with 2:11 left.
• South RB James Ingram, Modesto: The tailback in the I-formation, Ingram had 14 carries 112 yards. His 46-yard run in the first quarter set up the game's first touchdown.
• North RB Depray Celestine, Tracy: Though he played taillback last fall, Celestine caught five balls for 148 yards. He had acrobatic catches of 41, 33 and 52 yards -- to go with his 12-yard TD reception. By lining up in the slot, he was able to exploit the slower South defenders on deep pass patterns.
• South NG Cody Wichmann, Mariposa: Off to Fresno State in the fall, the 6-foot-6, 285-pounder typically lines up at defensive end. He filled a need for the South, though, moving to noseguard and finishing with 3½ sacks and six tackles.
• North LB Nick Largent, Escalon: At the heart of the North defense, his inspirational play in the second half helped shut down the South offense, He had 11 tackles and forced a fumble -- making a stab at the ball while in traffic -- that set up the winning drive.
The quarterback drove the North 71 yards in 2:11, needing only eight plays. He hooked up with Lincoln's Jamal Campbell for plays of 26 and 28 yards -- hitting him on the sideline for the first, and then catching him on a crossing pattern to take the ball to the South 18.
Trailing 14-7, Stagg's Ty Minkin ran it in from the 5 to make it a one-point game. McDade then found Sierra's Anthony Hall in the right flat, flipping the ball to him as Hall crossed the goal line for a two-point conversion and the win.
It was fitting that Largent and the defense got the ball back for the offense, because the defense had kept the game close while the offense sputtered.
The Largent-led defense shut out the South during the final three quarters, stacking the middle with players in a bid to slow the South running game.
"We didn't make many adjustments during the game, we just started playing with more intensity," Largent said. "We knew they would be big and that they were going to be running the ball."
South coach Roger Canepa of Central Catholic had promised his team would use its power running game to try and keep the North's fast playmakers off the field, and the strategy was working.
Lining up in an I-formation, with Modesto's James Ingram behind Oakdale's Tim House, the South used a variety of runs and short passes to gain 107 yards in the first half.
A 12-play, 40-yard drive set the tone for the South, though it didn't produce any points.
The South got the ball back as Mariposa's Cody Wichmann -- the official Defensive Player of the Game with 3½ sacks and six tackles -- sacked Marcus McDade on third down and pressure forced McDade into an incompletion on fourth.
"We had a lot of defensive ends on our team, and most of them were coming from large schools, so I got moved inside," said Wichmann, whose rural school is in the remote southeast corner of the Stanislaus District. "Because I wasn't familiar with the position, I was just using my size and strength to get the sacks."
That gave the South the ball at its 43. Ingram burst up the middle on second-and-2 from the 46, following House for a few steps before stepping out to the left side and taking off.
Ingram was caught at the 3, and on third down Sanchez came in at quarterback and scored on a 2-yard keeper behind Merced tackle Taj Brown and Buhach Colony guard Justin Carter.
It didn't take long for the North to tie it, going 77 yards in 11 plays. McDade connected with his receivers on short plays, as Lincoln's 6-foot Jamal Campbell exploited a size advantage to beat Central Valley's 5-7 Vince Lopez.
On third-and-10 from its 35, McDade hit Campbell for 11 yards and a facemask added five more yards. He capped the drive with a 12-yard toss to Tracy's Depray Celestine -- a tailback playing the slot.
McDade was the game's official MVP after completing 16 of 24 for 317 yards. Those numbers would have thrilled Fresno State coach Pat Hill a few months ago, when McDade was still heading to Fresno.
McDade's academic struggles, however, have him going to a prep school in the fall in a bid to become eligible.
RSS
E-Mail
Print
reprint or license
