The North defeated the South 21-0 in the 40th Annual Bucks County Lions All-Star Football Classic. Check back for photos of the all-star game.
By Scott Huff
Doylestown – The 40th Annual Bucks County Lions All Star Football Classic may, in fact, be the last one. And if indeed it is the final classic – it was the North All Stars that collected that final victory with a 21-0 victory over the South All Stars.
The buzz along the sideline by the ‘powers to be’ indicated – unofficially – that this would be the final Bucks County All Star game. The hope is that next year Bucks County would merge its All Star game with Montgomery County and the game would be played on a Friday night either late in May or early in June. The Montgomery County All-Star game was discontinued two years ago.
“I would like to see it the way it is now,” said Pennridge head coach Jeff Hollenbach who coached the North squad to victory. “This year we had eight kids from Pennridge make the team – and if the format changes we might get only three or four..JPG)
“But really, it is just great to play some football in May,” added Hollenbach. “It is just a great way to end a school year.”
“I can see the idea behind it,” said Council Rock North head coach Adam Collachi who coached the South squad. “Maybe it is time to do something to stimulate interest in the game.”
There was indeed a game that was played on a pleasant spring evening – and it was the North that showcased some magnificent defensive play to limit the South offense.
In fact, it was Pennridge linebacker Zach Hockman that exited War Memorial Field with the MVP plaque. Hockman made some ferocious hits from his inside linebacker position.
“I was really excited to be able to play in a final high school football game,” said Hockman who will continue his playing career at West Chester University. “We lost on Thanksgiving to Quakertown – and it was great to be able to win the final high school game I played in.”
If Hockman was the MVP – the runner-up had to be fellow North linebacker Hunter Nice of Quakertown. Nice and Hockman – who both stand 6-2 and 215 pounds - terrorized the South offense all evening with vicious hits on ball carriers and quarterbacks.
“It was great to be able to play alongside Hunter,” said Hockman. “Every practice we talked about what it would have been like to play together through high school. All he had to do was move a couple of miles down the road, and he could have gone to Pennridge.”
“For us to be able shut out an All Star team is impressive,” said Hollenbach. “And both the size and speed of Zach and Hunter was a big reason why we were able to do that.”
The North squad posted a 7-0 first period lead as Quakertown quarterback Alec Vera fired a gorgeous 43-yard touchdown pass to Matt Kilkenny from Central Bucks West. Oliver Boucher of Central Bucks East added the point after touchdown.
The North expanded the lead to 14-0 by the close of the first half. The North defense forced one of its four fumbles on the night and cashed in on the short field as Luke Durkin from Central Bucks West scored on a 1-yard run. The highlight of the drive was a 12-yard pass from Nik Banks (William Tennent) to Ian Mosser (Pennridge). Tyler Fischer of Central Bucks South added the extra point.
The final North score came in the fourth period. Pennridge running back Joe Unangst – who rushed for a team-high 45 yards and caught two passes for 40 yards – scored on a 13-yard run. Boucher closed out the scoring for the night with his placement.
But everyone agreed that the final score had very little to do with the overall experience.
“This was a tremendous experience,” said Neshaminy lineman Tyler Irwin who was voted the Sportsmanship Award for the South team. “Sure you want to win – but playing football for fun is what it is all about. And playing with this group of guys was a whole lot of fun.”
“I’m really proud of the way that we played the game and competed,” said Collachi. “We had two kids play quarterback (Anthony Pitt from Pennsbury and Devante Porter of Bensalem) who never really played quarterback in high school. In fact, Anthony told me that he only played a little bit of quarterback in middle school.
“But they were willing to go out and compete,” added Collachi. “They stepped up for the team – and I admire them for that.”
“Our coaching staff had so much fun coaching these players,” said Hollenbach. “There were no egos – all the kids got along from the beginning. We meshed as a group – and that showed.”
And the result was a victory – in what just might be the final Bucks County Lions All-Star Classic.
North All Stars 7 7 0 7 - 21
South All Stars 0 0 0 0 - 0
N: Matt Kilkenny 43 pass from Alec Vera (Oliver Boucher kick)
N: Luke Durkin 1 run (Tyler Fischer kick)
N: Joe Unangst 13 run (Boucher kick)
Bucks County All Star Classic Extra Points:
The North owns a 22-15-3 record against the South over the 40 years…Some impressive scholastic coaches from Bucks County have been head coaches in the game – that list includes Michael Pettine, Sr., Walt Snyder, Wayne Helman, Larry Greene, Mike Carey, Mark Schmidt, Mike Ortman, Galen Snyder, and Vince Bedesem…Jeff Hollenbach coached the North to a victory in 2000 – 13-6.
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