Local quintet contribute to win
From the start, four of the five Newport-Mesa players in the Brea Lions Club Orange County North-South Prep All-Star Football Game made an impact.
The contributions from the recent graduates helped the South take control early on en route to winning the 56th edition of the OC All-Star Game, 30-20, at Orange Coast College on Thursday.
Corona del Mar wide receivers Bo St. Geme and Cole Collins, and running back Cole Martin, as well as Estancia outside linebacker Ronnie Urquiza and center Dorian Navarrete participated in the contest, allowing the South to prevail in it for the sixth time in seven years.
On the opening kickoff, Martin and Urquiza were on the return team, Urquiza stood near midfield and Martin at the 15-yard line. The South’s offense began on the 23. The first series featured Martin in the backfield and St. Geme and Collins lined up at receiver on the right side.
The CdM trio played a role in South’s 11-play, 77-yard scoring drive. Martin rushed five times for 11 yards, while Collins caught a 23-yard pass over the middle and St. Geme hauled in a six-yard pass near the sideline.
The South scored a play after Martin’s four-yard run set up the South inside the red zone. Facing a third-and-seven, Capistrano Valley quarterback Gavin Pruett found Aliso Niguel’s Remy Wasserbach wide open for a 16-yard touchdown. Almost four and half minutes in, the South struck first, thanks to Pruett completing each of his six passes on the drive for 66 yards.
The South blanked the North in the opening quarter. Urquiza, playing on defense for the first time, tried to keep the shutout alive early in the second quarter. He made a touchdown-saving tackle by bringing down Cypress’ Nick Buras on the South’s two. Buras did pick up the first down on a fourth-and-five play, gaining 14 yards on the pass from Rancho Alamitos quarterback Nick Brown.
Ninety-four seconds into the second quarter, the North scored and it had a chance to even things up after Kennedy running back TJ Williams’ two-yard touchdown run. After the South was flagged for an illegal substitution before the extra-point attempt, the North decided to go for a two-point conversion. The South stopped the 6-foot-1, 230-pound Williams, keeping the South ahead, 7-6.
The South extended the lead twice in the second quarter, and each time it carved up the North secondary. The North didn’t help itself by leaving receivers all alone in the middle of the field. Pruett threw his second touchdown, a 44-yarder to Edison receiver Jake Favreau at the 8:52 mark.
Seventy-eight seconds later, the South had the ball again. Edison’s Manase Time recovered a fumble by Los Alamitos tight end Matt Nelson and the South took over on its 28. Nothing came of the turnover, the South punting five plays later, but the North hurt itself when it was its turn to punt.
On its 20-yard line, the North shanked a punt, netting only two yards. With great field position, starting on the opponent’s 22, Pruett tried to hit Collins in the end zone right away, but the first-down pass fell incomplete, ending Pruett’s perfect start of eight for eight passing.
The next play Pruett connected with his target, Santa Margarita receiver Conner Bianchini, for a 22-yard touchdown. While Collins was unable to score, he contributed as the holder for Woodbridge’s Ryan Eisendrath, who converted the extra-point kick to give the South a 21-6 lead.
The 15-point lead held up in the first half, and by halftime, Pruett was on his way to a big night, completing nine of 10 passes for 135 yards and three touchdowns. In the first half, Pruett tied the OC All-Star Game record for touchdown passes.
Pruett, who finished 14 of 18 passing for 186 yards, broke the mark early in the fourth quarter. On a fourth-and-three call on the opponent’s 25-yard line, Pruett threw a jump ball to Bianchini, who didn’t have to leap to get it. With two defensive backs around him, Bianchini caught the pass, and from a yard out, he walked into the end zone to give him two touchdowns and Pruett four.
Pruett earned the OC All-Star Game’s Offensive MVP award. While none of his touchdown passes went to CdM players, St. Geme, who had two receptions for 12 yards, Collins and Martin, who rushed 11 times for 39 yards to lead the South and had one catch for eight yards, wrapped up their high school careers as winners.
Two of them plan to play in college, St. Geme as a walk-on player at USC and Martin at Simpson College, a NCAA Division III program in Indianola, Iowa.