NORTH-SOUTH ALL-STAR FOOTBALL CLASSIC SOUTH OFFENSE CLICKS SCORES ON EVERY POSSESSION IN 33-22 WIN OVER NORTH
Publication: THE SUNDAY GAZETTE-MAIL
Published: 06/18/2006
Page: 1C
Headline: NORTH-SOUTH ALL-STAR FOOTBALL CLASSIC SOUTH OFFENSE CLICKS SCORES ON
EVERY POSSESSION IN 33-22 WIN OVER NORTH
Byline: DOUG SMOCK
dougsmock@wvgazette.com
Not only was Scott Tinsley's offense popular with the two quarterbacks that had
to learn it, it was efficient.
And for the North defense that failed to stop it Saturday night, it was deadly.
The South scored on all five of its possessions, winning 33-22 in the 53rd
edition of the Wendy's North-South All-Star Classic at Laidley
Field.
Whether by its 32 rushes for 129 yards or the 14-of-17 passing for 197 more,
that South offense was unstoppable. Whether by South MVP Nick Newell of Wayne
or fellow passer Heath Thomas of Huntington, it was almost errorless. Whether
Kennedy Award winner Josh Culbertson of Nitro or Cabell Midland's John Midkiff, it was crushing.
Neither quarterback threw an interception or really came close. The line kept
them from breaking a sweat in the pocket. Third-and-long was no problem; fourth
downs were no gamble.
"Wasn't it fun to watch them?" said Tinsley, who ran the
offense for head coach Chip McMillian of Midland.
"I thought they were super. Both of them played very well, made great
decisions. I don't think we were close to getting one intercepted, so I was
really happy for them."
"It was a blast, getting to run around here and throw to these receivers,
some of them going Division I," Newell said. "You don't have any
weaknesses; you can just do whatever you want."
The South snapped a two-game losing streak, extending its advantage in the
series to 32-18-3.
Newell, the team's MVP, completed 8-of-9 for 107 yards and two touchdowns, a
fourth-down shorty to
Culbertson rushed for 61 yards on 14 carries, including a 3-yard TD and a
28-yarder in the first quarter.
All operated behind a line of Josh Evans of Fayetteville, Grant Grishaber of Hurricane, Austin Peters of Woodrow Wilson,
Zach Lanham of Poca and Zach Hensley of Chapmanville. With
"The no-huddle worked to our tempo a little bit," Tinsley
said. "Our linemen were able to keep moving and I thought [North defenders]
kind of wore down as it went along."
The Newell-to-Fulmer combination foiled North's best effort to erase a 17-6
halftime deficit. Fulmer caught a comebacker for 13
yards on third-and-7, then deserted two defenders for the 35-yarder to make it
24-14.
"They answered everything," said North coach Mike Skinner of Grafton.
"It's difficult in an all-star game to make adjustments, because you don't
have much practice time. It didn't really help early in the game that we lost
our two inside linebackers, and the ones that did play did a whale of a job.
"We really did a good job in the second half of taking the ball down and
scoring and I thought, boy, we're back into it. And daggone
if they don't make some big plays and now we're back out of it again."
After a missed field goal, Thomas engineered an 80-yard drive, capped off by
his lob to Spurlock. A bad punt snap for a safety gave the South its biggest
lead, 33-14 with 61/2 minutes left. The special all-star game rule gave the
North the ball the rest of the game, allowing
Tyler Lowers of Williamstown and Parker Deem of Ripley scored the North's other touchdowns on the ground. Deem, who gained 70
yards and was the North's MVP, scored from 12 yards on the first drive of the
second half.
The South took a 10-0 lead in the first quarter, hoarding the ball for all but
six plays. Spurlock sparked the opening drive with a 32-yard kickoff return and
an 18-yard screen pass in succession. The drive bogged down inside the North
10, but Hurricane's Derek Moore booted a 23-yard field goal.
The South's next possession went for a touchdown, using 14 plays to travel 67
yards. This time, McMillian disdained the field goal
on fourth-and-goal at the 6, and Newell found Smith over the middle.
"Our defense had a great stop," Tinsley said of the decision
to go for it. "We thought, well, let's just go for it, and even if they
don't get it, they've got to give 95 yards."
Leach then led the North to its first sustained drive, a 65-yarder using 14
plays. Deem converted two short-yardage runs for first down, and Lowers
finished the job from the 1. The score remained 10-6 with 6:34 left in the half
when Fairmont Senior's Jay Carpenter pulled the extra point wide left.
The South put the lead back into double digits with Culbertson's 3-yard run
with 55.6 seconds left. That capped off a somewhat wacky 16-yard, 70-yard drive
highlighted by a 26-yard pass from Thomas to George Washington's Chase Keffer to the North 3.
Along the way, the officials needed an impromptu rules meeting to sort out one
play.
As Thomas was flushed out of the pocket, one of his linemen committed a holding
penalty 11 yards behind the line. Thomas escaped the rush and got out of
bounds, where he was belted late by
After a long conference, the holding penalty was enforced, then the dead-ball
foul for the late hit. After all that, the South lost a net 6 yards to its 49,
where it faced a first-and-16. Two short passes and a Wade Midkiff
run later, the South had a first down and was rolling.
To contact staff writer Doug Smock, use e-mail or call 348-5130.