The Sunnyvale Sun

Sports

Local players picked to North all-star team

By Dick Sparrer

There wasn't much time left to play--just a little over a minute.

Rich Scudellari knew he had to do something or the North squad would lose a 3-0 decision to the South in the 32nd Silicon Valley Youth Classic Charlie Wedemeyer All-Star Football Game.

Well, he did something. The St. Francis quarterback avoided a blitz and hit Chantz Staden of Westmont with a cross-field pass for a touchdown, and the North had a come-from-behind 7-3 all-star victory.

The North win snapped a string of four straight South victories, but the South still holds a 17-13-2 edge in the series that will be rekindled on July 18, 7:30 p.m., at San Jose State University's Spartan Stadium when the all-stars continue their rivalry.

The Scudellari to Staden touchdown pass ranks as just one of the many moments in time to remember from the Silicon Valley Youth Classic as high school seniors step forward to take starring roles each year in the summer all-star game, sponsored annually by the Almaden Rotary Club. And as the classic returns for a 33rd time this summer, the question is who will be next stars of the "Best Game in Town"?

The rosters for the 2007 all-star game have just been released, and a talented crop of graduating high school seniors are set to play in this summer's game.

Among the local players set to play for the North team in the summer game are Kevin Rahbar and Ben Shin of Lynbrook, Scott Savory of Cupertino, Matt Power of Homestead and Alex Atkins, Kota Kojima and Marcus Woo of Monta Vista.

The local players join an impressive cast of former all-stars, many of whom went on to greatness following their participation in the summer all-star game.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jeff Garcia (Gilroy/San Jose State University) is a former all-star who went on to turn pro, along with Doug Cosbie (St. Francis/Dallas Cowboys), Don Schwartz (Mitty/St. Louis Cardinals), Jeff Toews (Del Mar/Miami Dolphins), Rich Campbell (Santa Teresa/Green Bay Packers), Greg Woodard (Silver Creek/Oakland Raiders), Ben Bennett (Peterson/Chicago Bears), John Faylor (Mitty/49ers), Erik Howard (Bellarmine/Giants), Randy Kirk (Bellarmine/49ers). Also included on that last are the late Pat Tillman (Leland/Arizona Cardinals), Carl Monroe (Overfelt/49ers) and John Tuggle (Independence/New York Giants).

Ken Caminiti (Leigh) and Bill Haselman (Saratoga) each played in the summer game, then went on to play baseball in the major leagues, and Millard Hampton (Silver Creek) was an all-star who went on to win an Olympic gold medal.

North team

Monta Vista High School coach Jeff Mueller will lead the North team in the all-star game. Members of the North team include:

Archbishop Mitty--Joe Frangieh, Pablo Garcia; Cupertino--Scott Savory; Fremont--Juan Escamilla; Gunn--Stephan Campbell, Tucker Laurence; Homestead--Matt Power; King's Academy--Steven Lim; Leigh--Chris Balcom-Miller, Daniel Franke, Doug Webster; Los Altos--Semisi Hoko, Yousef Saadeh; Los Gatos--Billy James, Will Kapp, David Martini, Andy Zweng; Lynbrook--Kevin Rahbar, Ben Shin; Milpitas--Tyler Dimich, Jess Newman, Anthony Royall; Monta Vista--Alex Atkins, Kota Kojima, Marcus Woo; Mountain View--Brandon Hamilton, Leshawn James, Joape Pela; Palo Alto--Nick Goodspeed, John Stirrat; Prospect--Kendall Hendon, J.D. Snyder; Santa Clara--Vince Pereira, Jeremy Raudez; Saratoga--Sean Casserly, Alex Lagemann; St. Francis--Bob Enquist, Stephen Kadash, Andy Vargas; Westmont--Kevin Blakley, Tremayne Johnson; Wilcox--Antione Briggs, Patric Martinez, Justice Patterson.

South team

Willow Glen High School head coach Andy Penwarden will head up the South squad for the summer game. Members of the South team include:

Andrew Hill--Jonathan Garcia; Bellarmine--Kevin Gonzales; Branham--Erik Findley, Craig Hertler, Mandel Wright; Evergreen--Quinton Scott, Justin Stephens; Gilroy--Paul Gonzalez; Gunderson--Nick Powell, Jacob Timoteo; Independence--Giovanni Marchetti; James Lick--Dominic Brewster; Leland--Lance Gemette, Adam Ondi, Daniel Schroeder; Lincoln--Tarik Hakmi, Miles Hidalgo, Chris Mendoza; Live Oak--Kevin Abbott, Victor Kalata; Mt. Pleasant--Tyler Miller; Oak Grove--Larry LaCotti, Joey Nigos, Kevin Vye; Overfelt--Moni Leulu, Lawrence Taylor; Piedmont Hills--Ernie Barrieau, Danny Cruz, Alex McCarthy; Pioneer--Chris Brookmeyer, Steven Lopes, Jason Wetzel; San Jose--Rogelio Villa; Santa Teresa--Aki Dionisopoulos, Stephen McIntyre, Ryan Medeiros, Josh Uribe; Silver Creek--Paulo Semedo; Sobrato--Juvenal Rodriguez; Valley Christian--Anthony Schmidt, Eddie Williams; Willow Glen--Uriel Basilio, Marcos Garces, Mike Roseland; Yerba Buena--Ricky Tiscareno.