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Published on 07/28/1999 All articles from this issue

South rushes past North in all-star football game

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By Pete Borello / Town Crier Staff Writer

While winning last Friday's Charlie Wedemeyer All-Star Football Game would have been nice, local players on the North team aren't losing any sleep over what transpired.

After all, it was only an exhibition game.

"I'm a little disappointed, but it was just a fun game," said St. Francis High's Jeff Endaya after the South's 20-3 victory at Spartan Stadium in San Jose.

North teammates Alex Ware (Los Altos High), Josh McDonald (Mountain View High) and Grant Mattos (St. Francis) also used the word "fun" to describe the game, which featured Santa Clara County's top high school players from the class of 1999.

"It felt good to put on the pads again and hit," said Mattos, a receiver who will play at Foothill College in the fall. "I hadn't played in awhile and it was good to be out there."

Mattos wasn't out on the field as much as he would have liked, though. He and the rest of the North offense spent more time watching than playing. That's because the South controlled the clock with its power running game, which racked up 180 yards. Bellarmine's Jeremy Jones and Overfelt's Larry Morris led the ground attack.

Jones scored the game's initial touchdown on a 1-yard run in the first quarter.

The North narrowed the gap in the second quarter when Ware drilled a 40-yard field goal.

After a scoreless third quarter, the South pulled away with two touchdowns in the fourth. The first came on a halfback pass that involved Oak Grove quarterback Jon Barragan flipping the ball to Gunderson's Kenan Smith, who tossed a 35-yard strike to Willow Glen's John Fernandez. A series later, Morris broke loose for a 39-yard run into the end zone.

The North only totaled 146 yards of offense, with a mere 25 of that coming on the ground. Endaya, a halfback headed to Sacramento State, had the bulk of the rushing yards.

"I think our timing was off," Endaya said. "We weren't on the same page and a lot of the guys didn't know their assignments.

The North did manage to get inside the South's 20-yard-line three times, but had little to show for it. The North twice went on fourth down and failed.

"Our passing game worked pretty well," said Dartmouth-bound Ware, who handled kicking, punting and tight end duties. "But every time we got some momentum, we'd drop a ball or do something else that hurt us."

One of the North's leading receivers was Mattos, who had three catches for about 30 yards. Ware did not get a pass thrown his way, but he was a factor on special teams. Along with the field goal, he boomed a punt 45 yards and booted the opening kickoff through the end zone.

Defensive tackle McDonald had two assisted tackles and called the game "a good learning experience."

Also playing for the North were center Gabe Garcia of St. Francis, cornerback Trumaine Green and fullback Ben Mika of Homestead, plus halfback Anthony Butler and lineman Micah McElravy of Gunn.