July 27, 2007

All-Stars Shine

North field goal seals 24-21 win at 33rd annual Charlie Wedemeyer All-Star Football game

Turnovers and pair of close calls in fourth quarter sink South for second straight year

By Diego Abeloos
Sports Editor

Westmont’s Kevin Blakely’s 45-yard field goal with 8:59 left in the fourth quarter gave the North All-Stars a 24-21 win over the South at the 33rd annual Charlie Wedemeyer All-Star Football Game at San Jose State’s Spartan Stadium on July 18.

Raj Mathai, Sports Director for NBC 11, does the coin flip at midfield as Pioneer’s Chris Brookmeyer, right, looks on. Photo by Dan Miranda

For the North, the win was its second straight over the South, which had previously won sixth of seven All-Star classics (1999-2005).

“The kids did a great job,” said North head coach Jeff Mueller (Monta Vista). “…I’m happy that we came out on the other side so that these guys can go ahead and end their high school careers with a win.”

The win, however, did not come without its share of controversy in the fourth quarter, as South coaches protested a pair of crucial calls that went against the South.

The winning field goal was set up after the South was forced to punt from its own end zone with just over 10 minutes left in the game. On the punt play, punter/quarterback Kevin Vye (Oak Grove) kicked the ball awkwardly off the side of his right foot, with the ball spiraling down near the South sideline on the South 19, before North special teams player Ruel Rivera (Fremont) appeared to graze the ball with his foot, South coaches claimed. Game officials, however, ruled that Rivera did not touch the ball, calling the ball down at the South 19 for the North.

The North, in turn, proceeded to go backwards instead on offense, getting flagged for a false start on third-and-10
at the South 19 before quarterback Nick Goodspeed (Palo Alto) was sacked by Aki Dionisopou-los (Santa Teresa) for a 3-yard loss, setting up the 45-yard kick from Blakely.

Later in the fourth, following a South fumble at the North 32, the North offense marched down the field again, as Goodspeed found Dave Martini (Los Gatos) for a 10-yard completion on third-and-nine to set the offense up in South territory on the 44. Shortly thereafter, Goodspeed completed a low 10-yard pass to Justice Patterson (Wilcox) on fourth-and-four, which drew protests from the South coaches, who said the ball hit the ground first before Patterson caught it. Nevertheless, game officials ruled the play a catch.

“It was a very questionable call, especially in a game like this,” South head coach Andy Penwarden (Willow Glen) said. “It’s fourth down. Why don’t you call that ball down? It skipped anyway. Give the offense a chance with three minutes to go to drive half of the field and see what happens. …I thought that would’ve been a little more of an interesting ending than what they decided it was going to be.”

Marcos Garces of Willow Glen (left) follows the lead blocking of Leland’s Adam Ondi (right, 21) during a run for the South All-Stars. Photos by Ben DeKoven

Instead, the North offense chewed up the clock with four straight running plays, sealing the win.

Earlier in the game, the South managed to break through from a 21-13 halftime deficit when quarterback Danny Cruz (Pied-mont Hills) found Bellarmine’s Kevin Gonzales for a 5-yard touchdown pass with 2:47 remaining. Cruz then completed a two-point play with a pass to Anthony Schmidt (Valley Christian) to tie the game 21-21.

Gonzales, meanwhile, gave the South its first score of the day when he returned a short kickoff 84 yards for a touchdown with 5:21 left in the first quarter to answer a North touchdown – a 12-yard pass from Goodspeed to Martini – just moments earlier and cutting the North lead to 7-6. Penwarden credited his special teams unit’s blocking on the play.

“It was a wall,” Penwarden said of the kickoff return. “We knew he was going right down our sideline. It was a short kickoff, but the wall got set up nicely. …That was a big pick up, because to have that at that time, we kind of needed that.”

The South then took a 13-7 lead with 2:28 left in the first on a 7-yard touchdown run from Marcos Garces (Willow Glen), completing a six-play drive that began after the South recovered a fumble on the North 17.

Still, the North struck back just before halftime when Tyler Dimich (Milpitas) intercepted a Vye pass on third-and-14 at the North 40 and returned it for a touchdown with 4:47 left in the first half, giving the North a 14-13 lead.
“The biggest play of the game was the interception for a touchdown,” said Mueller. “That was huge.”

The North then recovered a South fumble at the North 44 less than two minutes later, resulting in a 40-yard touchdown pass from Goodspeed to Kendall Hendon (Prospect) near the North sideline for a 21-13 lead with 1:46 remaining.

South quarterback Kevin Vye (Oak Grove) passes the ball to Lawrence Taylor (Overfelt).

“Offensively, we played pretty well in the first half,” said Mueller. “They had our number in the second half. My hat’s off to Andy (Penwarden) and his staff. They did a great job making some adjustments at halftime.”

Mueller noted that his team’s ability to capitalize on two first half turnovers by the South.

“Our defensive front five really did a great job,” said Mueller. “A lot of those kids are going on to play college football and they did a great job. They were able to put pressure on all three (South) quarterbacks, and all three of those quarterbacks are quality quarterbacks.”

All told, the South committed three turnovers in the game, a stumbling block that Penwarden noted was too great to overcome.

“We made our share of mistakes and they capitalized on it and did a good job,” Penwarden said. “That’s the way football games are won and lost. It always comes down to who makes the most mistakes, and who capitalizes on those mistakes. They did, and that’s why they deserved to win.”