ORANGE COUNTY ALL-STAR FOOTBALL GAME : North Holds Off South Comeback

COSTA MESA —  South starting quarterback Rob Johnson was right. The 32nd Orange County all-star football game wasn’t close . . . at least until the fourth quarter.

The North knocked Johnson out of the game with a bruised shoulder in the first quarter and then scored two touchdowns on pass interceptions to earn a 16-13 upset Friday night in front of 6,500 fans at Orange Coast College’s LeBard Stadium.

Cornerback Vince Church set the tone for an upset-minded North team by intercepting a pass thrown by South quarterback Josh Gingrich in the first quarter and returning it 20 yards for a touchdown.

It was Gingrich’s first pass of the night after he replaced El Toro’s Johnson early in the first quarter. Johnson suffered a bruised left shoulder when he was hit after throwing a pass into the North’s end zone that Santa Ana Valley wide receiver Michael Castleberry dropped.

“I don’t know if it’s cracked or bruised, but I can’t move my shoulder,” Johnson said. “I threw the ball to Castleberry and took a hit right after I threw the ball.”

Johnson, who had earlier predicted the game wouldn’t be close, was sacked twice and took a big hit from Rancho Alamitos’ Leonard Sims on a play before he threw to Castleberry.

“Those guys were really upset,” Johnson said.

The North hadn’t won a game in the series since 1987, and local sportswriters had listed the South as 17-point favorites when the rosters were announced. But a North defense led by Orange’s J.R. Sauni, Rancho Alamitos’ Chris Singletary and Sims outplayed the South.

“The defense did an outstanding job,” said North Coach Jon Looney of Brea-Olinda. “It was a great accomplishment to hold a team with all those weapons to only 13 points. The kids believed in themselves and we had a great team atmosphere. We obviously were a better team tonight.”

Even the final outcome was deceiving. The North took a 16-7 lead with 3:59 remaining when linebacker Chris Maroney stepped in front of intended receiver Dave Poltl, intercepted a pass and ran 79 yards for a touchdown.

The South, which had problems getting untracked under Gingrich, finally came alive in the final six minutes, scoring two touchdowns. Poltl caught touchdown passes of seven and nine yards from Gingrich and finished with 10 receptions for 74 yards.

Gingrich, who will play baseball at Rancho Santiago next season, completed 21 of 45 passes for 201 yards. He also threw three passes that were intercepted and was sacked twice.

North quarterback Keith McDonald of Esperanza completed six of 12 passes for 128 yards. Charlie Gipson, a quarterback at Loara last fall, was the North’s most effective weapon, catching four passes for 95 yards.

Although Gipson was named the offensive player of the game, the victory belonged to the North defense. Maroney was named the defensive player of the game, but the award could have gone to three or four of his teammates.

“Nobody gave us much credit or even a chance to win the game,” Looney said. “But we like being the underdogs at Brea and it sure felt good tonight.”