What's more there was no script writer dreaming up a Hollywood ending for the high school all-star football game--only South head coach Mark Krail on the sidelines trying to dream up a play that would get his club into the endzone.

The South needed to get in, too. There was precious little time remaining, and the North held on to a tenuous 16-12 lead with the South facing a fourth and goal just a yard away from the goalline.

It was a tense moment for both teams as the game hung in the balance--for everyone, that is, except South center Pat Walsh.

"There was no doubt in my mind that we were gong to get in," said Walsh, a three-year varsity veteran from Pioneer. "We had a lot of heart out there."

And Krail must have had a lot of confidence in Walsh and the other members of that South offensive line, because he called on Piedmont Hills running back Steven Piñon to go over the middle. And that's just what he did.

Piñon blasted over for that final yard--running behind Walsh and right guard Sammy Guerra of Oak Grove--to give the South an 18-16 lead with just 2:12 left to play.

Thanks to a key defensive stop by Mitty's Joe Ciesinski when Oak Grove's Burton Iosefa attempted to sweep left for the 2-point conversion, the North still had a shot at regaining the lead in the final two minutes. An 11-yard toss from Erik Rollin (Los Gatos) to Andy Holloway (Leigh), an 8-yard run by Rollin and a 9-yard run by Nathan Ford (Palo Alto) moved the North close to midfield, but Dytanion Eley (Gunderson) picked off a pass with 20 seconds left in the game and the South ran out the clock for the victory--its fourth straight in the summer game hosted by the Almaden Valley Rotary Club.

"We all came together," Walsh said after the win. And that's a credit to all-star players who just a few months ago were bitter rivals in the regular season.

"It's amazing," said Blake Ferras, a defensive lineman from Leland, who mugged North quarterbacks much of the night and also blocked an extra point kick. "You play with the guys you played against in the season. But we all came together and we all respected each other. We worked together so that everyone could succeed."

And succeed they did. They battled back from a 16-6 fourth-quarter deficit to clinch the victory.

But winning isn't all that's important in a game like this. Just being there is quite an honor for these graduated high school seniors.

"It was so amazing," Walsh said. "I haven't been able to sleep since March, I've been so excited."

The same sentiment was true on the North sidelines.

"This was probably one of the best experiences I could have had coming out of high school," said Chris Cuthbert of Los Gatos. "And it was a real good game. I thought we played really well."

Still, Cuthbert--a North co-captain with Mike Morales (St. Francis), Brian Wendt (Leigh) and Ekahi Casino (St. Francis)--would have liked to have seen a difference finish ... in more ways than one.

"It was a good experience, but bittersweet," he said, standing on crutches at the game's end after injuring his knee late in the contest. He called the injury minor, though, and expected to back in a couple of weeks preparing for his freshman season at the University of San Diego.

Cuthbert was on the field with fellow Los Gatos offensive linemen Liam Smith and Evan Wynne, along with Josh Pickles (St. Francis), Matt Ravadge (Cupertino) and Daniel Beeby (Wilcox) and tight end Dustin Johnson (Mountain View), as the North drove right down the field on his first possession for a field goal.

Chris Morris (Homestead), who led the North ground game with 62 yards on nine tries, carried most of the load on the drive, that also included a 20-yard pass from Ford to Michael Brienzo (Los Gatos). Ciesinski capped the march with a 28-yard field goal.

It didn't take the South long to answer back, though. Eley ran back the ensuing kickoff 73 yards, and Iosefa took a sweep 20 yards for a touchdown on the next play.

That's how it remained until the third quarter when Morales scooped up a South fumble and raced 62 yards for a score. Ferras blocked the extra point attempt, but the North moved in front 9-6.

The North struck again before the end of the period when Casino ran back a punt 86 yards for a touchdown. Ciesinski's kick made it 16-6.

The South battled back, though. Working behind an offensive line of Walsh at center, Guerra and Steve Matos (Pioneer) at guards, Nate Torres (Willow Glen) and Gabe Castañeda (Leland) at tackles and Rolando Gomez (Pioneer) at tight end, the South marched 74 yards on nine plays to score. A 46-yard run by Marlon Rosales (Santa Teresa) was the key play on the drive that Iosefa capped with a 4-yard run.

The Northerners went to the ground in an attempt to run the clock, but despite a couple of Morris runs for 21 yards, they stalled at their own 38 and punted the ball away.

An outstanding catch in a crowd by Terrence Critchlow (Piedmont Hills) on a halfback pass thrown by Rosales was good for 35 yards and put the South in position for the final TD that clinched the win.

Iosefa led the South offense with eight carries for 79 yards and a couple of touchdowns, and Rosales picked up 62 yards on six attempts and had the key pass completion late in the game. Piñon added 22 yards on seven tries and Raul Figueroa (Lincoln) ran six times for 21 yards.

Morris led the North with his 62 yards on the ground and Peter Rutti (Saratoga) had a couple of runs for 10 yards.

Kiel Trudeau (Leigh) was the most effective North quarterback, hitting on 5 of 8 passes for 45 yards. Ford completed 3 of 9 for 28 and Rollin hit 1 of 4 for 11. Holloway caught three balls for 39 yards and Brienzo, Phil Spencer (Saratoga), Casey Modiri (Westmont), Michael Fullbright (Milpitas), Nick Gancayco (Mitty) and Vince Bellotti (Los Gatos) also had receptions.

Defensive stars for the South included Alex Bynum (Leland), Eley, Ferras, Steve McGovern (Bellarmine) and Patrick Yanez (Lincoln), who were in on four tackles each in the win.

Wendt was the game's tackling leader with eight stops and J.J. Flannery (Leigh) was in on seven. Chris Reese (St. Francis) had five tackles and an interception, and Mike Howery (Del Mar) five stops including a quarterback sack. Bellotti and Greg Pratt (Wilcox) added five tackles apiece and Joe Harris (St. Francis) and Jason Triggas (Mitty) got in on four apiece. Morales had three tackles to go with two fumble recoveries and Fullbright and Chip Leffel (Wilcox) had three tackles each.

Rutti, Ramsey Habib (Westmont), Matthew Delgado (Monta Vista), Sean Garrett (Fremont), Bronson Farr (Cupertino), Billy Flick (Leigh) and Marc Robinson (Homestead) were also in on tackles for the North.