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North kick returner Nick Hord is tripped up by the South's Steve Frank in Friday night's all-star game. The South rolled to a 20-3 victory.
Photograph by Dai Sugano
South runs over North at all-star
And Pilgeram block helps them do it
By Dick Sparrer
They called Bobby Thompson's game-winning home run in the 1951 National League playoffs "the shot heard 'round the world."
Well, it wasn't exactly heard 'round the world, but Kyle Pilgeram's block was certainly a shot heard 'round Spartan Stadium last Friday night.
And while Thompson's shot gave the New York Giants a thrilling victory over the Brooklyn Dodgers, Pilgeram's block helped the South to a 20-3 victory over the North in the 25th annual Charlie Wedemeyer All-Star Football Game.
"I was on a crossing pattern over the middle," said Bellarmine's Pilgeram, describing his bone-crushing block that helped spring Larry Morris of Overfelt for a 39-yard touchdown run. "I saw the guy coming across the field, then he looked back at the runner. That's when I knew I had him."
As soon as Pilgeram leveled the North linebacker, Morris turned the corner to go 39 yards for the touchdown that all but wrapped up the victory for the South.
But that certainly wasn't the only big play of the night for the South. Just a possession earlier, the South had scored on a double-pass with Willow Glen's John Fernandez on the receiving end of the TD toss.
"I don't know if it's any more special [than other touchdowns I've scored]," said Fernandez, "but it is more memorable, coming in an all-star game against higher competition."
It was the final high school touchdown for Fernandez, who scored more than his share of TDs as a talented wide receiver for the Rams, but it probably won't be his last touchdown at Spartan Stadium. Fernandez will head to San Jose State University in the fall on the football scholarship.
And his TD reception in the all-star game last Friday night was a fitting end to an outstanding high school football career.
"It was a good experience, bonding with guys we didn't really know... and really didn't like," said Fernandez. "And now we're friends."
"It was awesome," said Pilgeram of the all-star-game experience. "It was a great thing to end my career on."
Despite the loss, the players on the North felt much the same way.
"I'm satisfied," said Wilcox offensive tackle Amin Nikfar. "My whole football experience came together tonight. This game put closure on everything."
Saratoga's Ryan Bernard was also pleased to be part of the "Best Game in Town" that's sponsored each summer by the Almaden Valley Rotary Club.
"This is the closest to college football that many of us will get," said Bernard, a talented running back who also played in the first annual high school all-star baseball game earlier in the summer. "We just didn't have the same amount of time to prepare (as a college team would)."
Generally, the offense requires more preparation time than the defense, and Bernard figures that was the case for the North.
"The defense played great," said Bernard. "But the offense just couldn't hack it."
The South offense outgained the North 200-160 in total yards on the night. And while the North managed to move the football, it couldn't punch the ball in the end zone.
A bend-but-never-break defense led by Grant Murdock (Pioneer), Cory Hare (Willow Glen), Val Sauao (Overfelt) and A.J. Lee (Gilroy) kept the North on its own side of the 50 most of the night.
Murdock got in on nine tackles to finish as the game leader, and Hare, Sauao and Lee were in on seven each for the South.
Jason Murdock (Pioneer) and Paul Sanchez (Willow Glen) worked in the offensive line that helped lead the South to 148 rushing yards in the win.
Jeremy Jones (Bellarmine) led the ground show with 65 yards on 11 carries, and Morris finished with 42 yards on two tries. Jones had a 40-yard run in the fourth quarter that set up Morris for his 39-yard TD dash.
Daniel Cisneros (Valley Christian) scooted for 25 yards on five carries, and Francisco Castañeda (Leland) carried four times for 16 yards.
Jon Barragan (Oak Grove) completed two passes in five tries for 19 yards, going to his high school teammate Lee Robinson (Oak Grove) for both of them. But the big completion for the South came when Barragan flipped to Kenan Smith (Gunderson), who then found Fernandez for the 33-yard touchdown pass.
Quarterbacks Freddie Lewis Jr. (Mitty) and Joe Ginanni (Palo Alto) threw for a combined 125 yards for the North. Lewis hit on eight-of-12 passes for 86 yards and Ginanni completed six-of-10 for 39 yards.
Jason Bumbaca (Wilcox) and Charles Boughton (Wilcox) pulled in three passes apiece for the North and John Murphy (Santa Clara), Grant Mattos (St. Francis) and Eugene Mirador (Milpitas) had two catches each. Mitch Andrade (Cupertino) had a 14-yard reception for the North and Vik Rajagopal (Lynbrook) caught a pass for eight yards.
Jeff Endaya (St. Francis) led the North ground show with 19 yards on 10 carries.
Tackle Lou Petrossi (Saratoga), guard Brady Moran (Saratoga) and center Jonathon Fought (Del Mar) helped lead the charge in the North offensive line, and fullback Ben Mika (Homestead) was a blocking force in the backfield.
Defensive stars for the North included Jeff Roper, Darious Crowther (Del Mar), Brian Laatsch (Monta Vista), Chris Cavanagh (Los Gatos), Cedrick Dawson (Milpitas) and Adam Labare (Leigh).
Roper and Crowther shared the team lead in tackles with five apiece. Roper sacked the South quarterback twice, and Crowther teamed with Laatsch to force a fumble. Laatsch also tipped away a potential South touchdown pass in the end zone.
Cavanagh came up from his safety position to get in on four tackles. Dawson also had three tackles and Labare had three tackles to go with an interception.
Ryan Mitchell (Monta Vista), T.J. Aimonetti (Westmont), Austin Neale (Los Gatos), Ryan Brando (Westmont) and Iszik Clarke (Leigh) were also among the tackling leaders for the North.
It was a couple of defensive plays by Roper and Cavanagh that stopped the South cold in the first half and set up the North's only score, a 36-yard field goal by Alex Ware (Los Altos).
The South had scored earlier in the game on a one-yard TD plunge by Jones and Richard Tillman (Leland) kicked the extra point.
It remained 7-3 until midway through the fourth quarter.
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Sunnyvale, California Since 1994
