Sunnyvale, California Since 1994
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Game ends—the memory is forever By Dick Sparrer Tony Barba was making memories for a lifetime last week. The 275-pound defensive lineman from Prospect was a member of the North squad in the 28th annual Silicon Valley Youth Classic Charlie Wedemeyer High School All-Star Football Game last Wednesday night at San Jose City College. And it was an experience the recently graduated senior will not soon forget. "It's a privilege just knowing that you're picked by someone to go out and play," said Barba, who had a quarterback sack among his game-high seven tackles in the North's 19-15 loss to the South. "I feel a little down because of the loss, but it was just great to play," he added. "This will be one of my grandpa stories." Barba wasn't alone. "It was a very special experience," said linebacker Ryan Schaefers, Barba's teammate for the North squad and at Prospect. "I'll remember this the rest of my life." And those were sentiments expressed by players from the losing club. Playing for the winning side in the Almaden Rotary Club sponsored game made the experience even that much more special. "It was everything I hoped it would be," said Pioneer's James Dunne, an offensive guard for the winning South team. "It was good to go out of high school with a win." It was a win that didn't come easy for the South. The North scored first with a Los Gatos connection when Trent Edwards tossed to Chris Willard for an 8-yard touchdown, and the North went up again 15-12 late in the second quarter when Edwards followed center Eli Ledesma (Milpitas) over from the one on a quarterback sneak. But Tyler Silva (Lincoln) found Christopher Gengl (Valley Christian) alone in the end zone for a 10-yard TD toss with 12.9 seconds left in the half to put the South on top 19-15. The clubs locked in a defensive struggle in a scoreless second half, and the South held on for the tight victory. "We knew we had to have speed on the corners," said South coach Mark Krail of Pioneer, referring to the defensive ends who kept the pressure on the talented Edwards all night. "I thought going in that we'd have a lot of speed." The South certainly kept the heat on Edwards and Milpitas quarterback Dustin Guglielmelli. The passers were sacked a combined seven times and pressured on many other occasions. Leading the assault were David Salamida (Santa Teresa), Richard Faiva (Bellarmine), Willie Gamboa (Gilroy), Christian Lilleland (Live Oak), Neil Duffy-Smith (Oak Grove) and Jeff Worrell (Pioneer). Salamida led the sack attack with three and Faiva, Gamboa and Lilleland were in on two each. Still, Edwards was able to complete 12 of 18 passes for 110 yards and the one touchdown, and hit on nine of his first 10 attempts. Guglielmelli hooked up on 2 of 5 passes for 37 yards. Devin Schrock (Saratoga) and Scott Cohn (Los Gatos) led the North corps of receivers with three catches apiece. Schrock snagged three tosses for 48 yards, including a leaping grab of a Guglielmelli pass for 28 yards that kept the North's hopes alive in the final moments. Cohn caught three balls for 29 yards and snatched an Edwards pass for a 2-point conversion in the second quarter. Geno Gingery (Los Gatos), Willard and Ardell Briggs (Wilcox) caught two passes each for the North and Ted Mason (Santa Clara) and Michael Crooks (Leigh) each had a reception. Briggs led all ground gainers in the game with 75 yards on eight carries and Willard supported with 27 yards on eight tries. Steven Nichols (Homestead) had a couple of carries for five yards. Leading the charge in the offensive front for the North were tackles Chad Helmonds (Westmont), Nick Crafford (Los Gatos) and Pat Justman (Palo Alto), guards Marc Muniz (Saratoga), Andrew Martin (Wilcox) and Sean Timon (Wilcox) and Ledesma at center. Barba, Trevor Hooper (Mountain View) and Jordan Nelson (Mountain View) shared the lead in tackles with seven each. Barba had a quarterback sack in his total. Aaron Rouleau (St. Francis) had a sack among his six tackles and he also recovered a fumble forced by Hooper. Scott Mueller (Cupertino) finished with five tackles, Marquis Henderson (Wilcox) and Nick Arnold (Fremont) were in on four apiece, and Jared Schablaske (Cupertino), Jesus Garcia (Palo Alto) and Justman were in on three each. Schaefers, James Murdock (Leigh), Cohn, Ledesma and Drew Rogers (Monta Vista) were also in on stops. It was an interception by Rogers that helped the North battle from behind to get the lead in the second quarter. Rogers picked off a Guglielmelli pass at the South 34 and ran it down to the 21. Then Edwards went to work, hitting Cohn for eight yards and Mason for 12 before sneaking the final yard for the touchdown. Cohn made a diving catch on an Edwards toss for the 2-point conversion, the North led 15-12 with 4:09 left in the half. But the 10-yard TD toss from Silva to Gengl in the final seconds of the half helped the South regain the lead it would never relinquish. The South, which had used a double-pass to set up its second score, surprised the North with an onside kick to open the second half. Raymond Menchaca (Valley Christian) recovered the short kick at the North 49. Later in the game, the South would gamble on a fourth and short from its 40, and Brad Yanez (Lincoln) dashed nine yards for a big first down. "We pulled it all out, and it worked out OK," said Krail after the win. "Coming in to a game like this, you just want to have a good time. But once you get in, the competitive juices start flowing." The North took the early lead in the game when Edwards tossed eight yards to Willard just 2:43 into the game. A.J. Weitsman (Saratoga) drilled the extra point, and it was 7-0 in a hurry. But the South answered right back. Jacob French (Pioneer) ran for five yards and snagged Silva pass for eight more before Leone Iosefa (Oak Grove) ran 12 yards to set up his own 1-yard TD run. The South took the lead just a few minutes later. Silva tossed to Juan Gonzalez (Overfelt), who then hit a wide-open Gregory Lovely (Gunderson) for a 45-yard gain. A play later, Tyler Jones (Leland) was off to the races on a 29-yard touchdown run. The North scored to regain the lead, but then Silva hit Gengl and Jones kicked the extra point to make it 19-15. |
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