But the all-star game played July 21 on the San José City College football field was the exception.

The 30th annual Silicon Valley Youth Classic Charlie Wedemeyer High School All-Star Football Game had it all—the great players, drama and a thrilling climax. And when a final North pass fell incomplete in the end zone on the last play of the night, no one wanted it to end.

No one, that is, expect the South squad that pulled out a 20-15 win.

"This is going to be one of the most memorable games I've ever been a part of," said the South's starting quarterback, Chris Hobbs of Willow Glen. "I got to play with all these guys, there was the dedication to Tillman and then there's backing this game gets from the Almaden Rotary."

The game, sponsored each summer by the Almaden Rotary Club, was dedicated to the late Pat Tillman, whose story is already something of a legend. Tillman, who represented Leland High School in the all-star game in the summer of 1994, went on to star at Arizona State University and with the Arizona Cardinals before giving it all up to join the elite Army Rangers. He was killed in Afghanistan on April 22 of this year.

The game this summer was dedicated in his memory, and his number 42 jersey was retired and presented to his father, Pat Tillman Sr.

"It was special just being able to play in this game," said South running back Mike Day, the winner of Leland's first Pat Tillman Memorial Award this past spring. "Then, to score the first touchdown ... "

Day set up his first-quarter TD with a 47-yard pass reception from Hobbs and a 9-yard run. A couple of runs by Kevin Jurovich (Valley Christian) for 26 yards also helped get the South in position for Day's 1-yard TD blast behind his Leland teammate, center Alex Baumeister.

The North answered right back with a 14-yard touchdown pass from Brett Granum (Saratoga) to Tom Bingham (Leigh), and the South scored again on an electrifying 78-yard TD toss from Hobbs to Jurovich.

But as exciting as the start of the game may have been, it was the end that was really thrilling.

The North, trailing 20-15, took over at its own 11-yard-line following a 35-yard punt by Hobbs. Jeremy Nuia (Prospect), the North workhorse with 10 carries for 47 yards, gained five yards, Anthony Reyes (Wilcox) ran a couple of times for 16 yards and Will Taufoou (St. Francis) picked up 12 yards as the North moved to the South 29 before the drive stalled.

The South tried its best to run out the clock, but a fumble with 32.5 seconds left in the game was recovered by Nykk Ramirez-Baker (Cupertino), and the North had life at the South 17.

"I saw the ball hit the ground and my heart kind of stopped," said Day. "All the drama was at the end of the game."

A run by Reyes went for no gain, before two Granum passes fell incomplete, the second with just .8 seconds left to play. But the South was flagged for pass interference in the end zone, and since a game cannot end on a defensive infraction, the North got one more try from the South 9-yard-line.

But Granum's fourth attempt to force a pass in to Bingham in the end zone was broken up by Hasani Houston (Piedmont Hills), and the South clinched the win.

"I thought we were going to score," said Granum, who finished the night hitting on 5 of 13 passes for 76 yards and the one TD. "But we held on. We definitely did a good job of staying with them. I just wish we could have pulled it out in the end."

It was a case of too little, too late for the North, though, after the South got off to its fast start, then held on in the second half.

"Our first two drives—I think they were six plays and one play," said Hobbs. "We were clicking on all cylinders. Then in the second half our defense shined through. They definitely proved they came to play tonight."

The South had taken the early 13-7 lead, but a punt snap flew out of the end zone and the safety cut the advantage to 13-9 in the first period. The North then took off on a 14-play, 70-yard march with Taufoou, Nuia and Danny Bates (Los Gatos) carrying the load behind offensive linemen Mike Van Orden (Homestead), Michael Stary (Del Mar), Chris Danser (Los Gatos), Gilbert Sierraz (Wilcox) and Alex Reyes (Santa Clara). Taufoou capped the drive with a 1-yard blast over the middle to give his club a 15-13 lead with 3:43 left in the half.

It didn't take the South long to answer back. A 35-yard pass from Jurovich to Arvelle Thompson and a roughing the passer penalty ate up most of the field, and quarterback Ben Hemeon (Gilroy) followed Scott Glicksberg (Leland) the final yard to paydirt. Willie Pierson (Valley Christian) kicked his second extra point, and the South led 20-15. That would turn out to be the final score.

Along with Glicksberg and Baumeister, leading the charge up front offensively for the South were Chip Lewis (Bellarmine), Eli Castillo (Silver Creek) and Jason Alexander (Gunderson).

In the second half, it was the defense that helped the South maintain the lead. Kraig Kitong (Silver Creek), Gavin Binz (Oak Grove), Stefan Pierce (Piedmont Hills), Chris Leatigaga (Independence), Houston, Chris Parrette (Bellarmine), Andy Armstrong (Bellarmine), Lee Dydo (Lincoln) and Chris Jackson (Andrew Hill) were defensive leaders in the win. Parrette picked off a North pass and Leatigaga sacked the North quarterback.

Hobbs hit on 4 of 7 passes for 147 yards to lead the offense. Jurovich, Hemeon and Jon Gonzales (Santa Teresa) also completed passes.

Jurovich caught two passes for 91 yards, Day and Thompson each had two catches for 52 yards and Jeremy Landucci (Pioneer) had a catch for 11 yards.

Granum led the North offense but Shawn Girouard (Los Altos) also completed five passes for 34 yards and Mike Silva (Fremont) tossed one for six yards. Bingham led the receiving corps with six grabs for 68 yards and Reyes, Brad Cintas (Santa Clara), Mike Kinsman (Santa Clara), Matt O'Donnell (Santa Clara) and Matt Martini (Los Gatos) caught one each.

Defensive leaders for the North included Tom Blake (Gunn), Jeremy Belligan (Wilcox), Taufoou, James McCluskey (Palo Alto), Andre Robinson (Wilcox) and Siua Musika (Milpitas).

Ivan Batinich (Los Gatos) intercepted a pass, Musika sacked the South quarterback and Ramirez-Baker had the big fumble recovery.

Jonathan Price (Cupertino) and Burt Codera (Westmont) each had 30-yard kick off returns and Sione Umufuke (St. Francis), Ryan McCullough (Del Mar), Daniel Croom (Mountain View) and Nathan Taber (Palo Alto) were also in on tackles.

The win marked the third straight for the South, and the sixth all-star game in the last seven years decided by a touchdown or less.