Truxton stands out

COSTA MESA — Leading up to his final high school football game, Kellon Truxton figured to play a lot Friday.

For three weeks, the South All-Stars lined up Truxton almost everywhere on the field during practice. The recent Newport Harbor High graduate spent time at safety, outside linebacker, wide receiver and on special teams.

With so many roles, Truxton was unsure where he might see the most time at the 52nd annual Brea Lions Club Orange County North-South All-Star Game. Where he played did not matter to Truxton.

He just wanted to contribute. When he got his chance at Orange Coast College, Truxton made an immediate impact.

The South All-Stars can thank Truxton for jumping out to a 17-0 lead in the first 15 minutes of the game. The South, which also included Costa Mesa’s DaSean Grayson, held on to beat the North, 23-22.

Truxton did it all in the South’s third straight victory over the North. He forced a fumble that led to the game’s first touchdown and he scored the team’s second touchdown on a 14-yard pass.

For most of the game, Truxton never rested. He had the rest of the summer to relax.

From the opening kickoff, Truxton seemed to always to be on the field. When he was not chasing down the kick returner, he stripped the ball out of Loara wide receiver Howard Gauta’s arms on a reverse play near the midway point of the opening quarter.

The play started with a little trickery, but it was Truxton helping the South recover the goods, the ball for the second time in as many series.

“He was holding [the ball] way out and I just swung at it,” Truxton said.

The momentum continued to swing the South’s way.

Terrell Johnson, a running back from San Clemente, scored on a two-yard run and the South took a 10-0 lead. With the type of offense South’s coach, Myron Miller, is known for running at Tustin, the lead seemed like a safe one.

Miller, a former coach at Costa Mesa, loves to pound the ball with the double wing-T. The South ran the ball more than it threw it, using the nifty Johnson, named the game’s offensive MVP after rushing for 143 yards and two touchdowns on 26 carries.

The offense still needed a threat in the air to keep the North defense honest and Truxton provided it. He finished with a team-best 52 yards on four receptions. The team completed only five passes.

Not bad numbers for a first-team All-Sunset League pick not expecting to catch a ball all night.

The first grab by Truxton marked the first play of the second quarter. Quarterback Adam Young hit Truxton with a 13-yard pass in the flat.

The play moved the offense near the red zone. A couple of plays later, the South went to the air again and Truxton was the target. No one else was as wide open as Truxton.

This time, no one was going to bring him down.

Truxton ran into the end zone untouched, by far the easiest touchdown of his high school career. He pushed the South’s lead to 17-0 with nine minutes left before halftime.

If there was ever a first-half MVP, Truxton was it.

The South needed Truxton in the second half as well. And he answered the call after the North scored 15 points in the third quarter to take a 22-17 lead.

Truxton hauled in the biggest catch when it mattered most. Young hit a wide-open Truxton on a 22-yard pass, setting up the South near the red zone again.

The South chewed more than three minutes off the clock before it tossed the ball to Johnson. He did not have to go far to find the end zone, scoring on a one-yard run.

With 6:23 left to play, the South regained the lead. Plenty of time for the North to put together a scoring drive, but the South stopped any comeback.

Trent Mason of Dana Hills blocked a potential game-winning 29-yard field-goal attempt by Servite’s Connor Loftus with 2:24 left. The North earned one more chance when it forced the South to punt.

The North took over near midfield with 75 seconds left to play, but it was not going anywhere. On the game’s final play, as the seconds ticked away, Truxton dropped back into coverage only to see that time ran out on the North.

Truxton’s night ended on a great note, a winner in his last high school game.