Prep football: South falls, 13-7

Barry Faulkner

COSTA MESA - Corona del Mar High product Jay Bottom made the most

of his opportunity and fellow defensive lineman Kyle Westman from

Estancia High was also in the middle of several piles for the South

All-Star football team.

But, unfortunately for the Rebels, neither Bottom nor Westman were

asked to throw, kick, or catch the ball.

The North outclassed the South in all those categories en route to a

13-7 victory Friday in the 41st Orange County All-Star Football Game at

Orange Coast College.

“Their special teams kicked our butt,” said South Coach Scott Orloff,

who saw the two decisive second-quarter field goals set up by a 61-yard

North punt return and a shanked 15-yard South punt, which set the Yankees

up at the South 22 with 1:04 left before halftime.

Steve Yaden of Kennedy High provided the big punt return, rambling to

the South 19 to set up an eventual 37-yard field goal by UCLA-bound Chris

Kluwe from Los Alamitos.

Kluwe cashed in the poor punt, which wobbled out of bounds, with a

34-yard field goal with 15 seconds left before intermission.

The North, which also showed the superior ground game (149 yards on 43

carries) and converted 9 of 13 passing attempts for an additional 92

yards, drove 69 yards on eight plays to open the scoring.

Will Ruffin (Western) strolled 29 yards to paydirt through a cavernous

hole up the middle on a misdirection play to put the North up, 7-0, with

3:07 left in the first quarter.

The South offense, hampered by less-than-ideal pass protection, a

handful of dropped passes and an unspectacular ground attack, got new

life when South defensive tackle Steven Fafita (Fountain Valley) stripped

the ball from the North quarterback in the backfield and defensive

lineman Steve Casciotti scooped it up and outsprinted the pursuit for a

76-yard touchdown return with 5:39 left in the third quarter.

Kluwe, who missed a 50-yard field-goal try late in the third quarter,

pushed a 45-yard attempt barely wide right with 1:19 left in the game to

give the Rebels one last try to extend their three-game winning streak in

the annual summer showcase.

But, after two completions from former El Toro quarterback Evan

Whitaker moved the ball to the North 49, Jeremy Ellis from Loara snatched

an interception that clinched the win, upping the North’s series lead to

21-17-3.

“We had chances to make plays, but we dropped passes,” Orloff said.

“When you don’t make plays in a game like this, you’re going to get

beat.”

Orloff praised his defense, which included a flashy debut series by

Bottom late in the second quarter.

Bottom, the coaches’ Pacific Coast League Defensive Player of the

Year, stuffed Oregon-bound running back Josh Herrera from La Habra (the

game’s Offensive MVP with 95 rushing yards) for a 3-yard loss, then

sacked quarterback Jason Whieldon (Orange Lutheran) for a 4-yard loss on

the next snap.

Bottom’s back-to-back collars forced the Kluwe 37-yard field goal that

made it 10-0 North.

Westman chipped in the third of the South’s four sacks in the third

quarter, pulling down former Valencia quarterback Brian Bartczak with one

hand for a 3-yard loss on third down to force a punt.

“We did what we could,” Bottom said.

Jimmy Herzog, a former Costa Mesa High standout who closed out his

prep career at Santa Margarita, started at fullback and had 5 yards on

two carries. He also recovered a teammate’s fumble deep in South

territory to avert a potentially disastrous turnover.

Fafita, a Utah recruit who made himself at home in the North

backfield, was named the Defensive MVP.

Before kickoff, the South jersey of late Newport Harbor High standout

Andre Stewart was presented at midfield to his parents, Dariel and Sonja

William. A moment of silence was also observed for the Stewart, who died

in a car accident May 14.