The South All-Stars earned a 28-7 win over the North in Monday's Montgomery County All-Star Game. Check back for a follow-up story on Tuesday night. To view photos of all the game action, please visit the Photo Gallery.
SOUDERTON – For Andrew Derr, some of the most memorable experiences came not during the game, but in the two weeks leading up to the 2012 Montgomery County All-Star Classic.
Getting a chance to work with – and to get better acquainted with – those who had previously lined up on the opposite side of the ball as he did, proved to be a most enjoyable time.
“When you get to practice with these guys, you get to see the people they are,” said Derr, the senior quarterback from Upper Dublin. “During the season, you only see them during the game. With this, you get to know the person, and to play with them is awesome, too.”
Of course, Derr – who thrilled the Upper Dublin faithful with 3,899 career passing yards and 31 touchdowns through the air – made sure the game itself was pretty special, too. He threw three touchdown passes as his yellow-clad South squad rolled to a 28-7 victory over the North in Monday’s all-star game. With 119 yards and three scores on 8-for-24 passing, Derr was named the South’s MVP.
“Conditions were difficult,” Derr said of the cold, wet weather as well as having to mesh with a new offensive line and receiving corps. “But I came in knowing we were going to air it out tonight. We worked hard with the receivers.”
“Andrew was amazing,” said Abington wideout Josh Lee, who caught a pair of touchdown passes from Derr. “He reads the defense, he knows when guys are open, he knew when to give it to me.”
Derr and Lee connected on a pair of near-identical touchdown passes down the sideline, with Lee hauling in a pass from just inside the 20 for a second-quarter touchdown, then scoring on an 18-yard pass in the third.
“We ran that route consistently, maybe every other play during practice,” Derr said. “To come out here and execute it shows how hard everyone on this team worked.”
“We talked at halftime, ‘Let’s get it open,’” Lee said. “I made a couple moves on those passes and got open and it all came together.”
The North squad actually scored the game’s first touchdown when Norristown running back Brandon Shippen scored from a yard out to complete the North’s second drive of the game, a 66-yard, nine-play march.
But the South defense stepped it up after that. The North had five three-and-out drives the remainder of the game as the South defensive front kept pressure on North quarterbacks Tanner Allem (Souderton) and Corey Ernst (North Penn). The South’s Evan Mao (Upper Dublin) clogged up the middle, and registered a pair of sacks on North’s final possession, while Plymouth Whitemarsh defensive backs Russhon Phillips (one interception), Kenny Williams and Morgan Jackson made life difficult for the North receivers.
“Our defense really sparked us,” Derr said. “The way they played tonight really sparked us.”
Both defenses played strong games, and the slippery field conditions didn’t help the offense much, either. The teams combined for just 275 yards of offense, with the South picking up 169 yards (50 rushing, 119 passing) and the North gaining 106 (19 rushing, 87 passing).
South tied the game at 7-7 on the first play of the second quarter on a one-yard flare from Derr to La Salle’s Colin Buckley. Two Derr-to-Lee scores and a one-yard touchdown run by Xavier Ellington (Plymouth Whitemarsh) – set up by a 22-yard Derr to Chris Ruhl (Abington) pass – provided the rest of the scoring, with Upper Dublin’s Eric Boyer connecting on all four point afters.
For many of the all-stars, much of the thrill of the event came from suiting up alongside those who were opponents in the fall.
“It all comes from respect,” said Cheltenham’s Aquil Reed, who played for the South. “We all respect each other’s abilities, and we all know we’re all good players. We all know we can’t be rivals if we wanted to come in here and get this win.”
“It was awesome – it was great to meet all the guys from all the different teams we play during the year,” said Hatboro-Horsham’s Dom DeFazio, who played a solid game as linebacker for the North team. “It was a lot of fun throughout the two weeks (of practice leading up to the game) to get to know everybody and learn to work together.”
And, win or lose, there were plenty of smiles, jokes and good memories to share once the final buzzer sounded.
“This was so much fun,” said Shippen, who was named the North’s MVP on the strength of his game-high 40 yards on nine carries plus one touchdown. “You play against guys you had rivalries with during the year. You know you everyone. It’s great to laugh and have fun in practice, and then come out here and play hard against all these guys you know from high school.
“It was fun. I got to score a touchdown, so I get to celebrate a little bit. It would have been nice to win the game, but for my las high school football game ever, it felt good.”
“It was fun playing with other kids, like all the guys from North Penn,” said Allem, who completed four of eight pass for 42 yards for the North. “I’ve played against a lot of them since Midgets, so it was fun to finally be on their team.”
And the players refused to let the intermittent rain showers dampen their enthusiasm for playing in the all-star game or wash out their celebration.
“It feels good to win,” Reed said. “There’s no rematch. They can’t take this back from us. This is a once-in-a-lifetime thing.”
“It was a complete honor to be able to play for this team,” Lee said. “I love the environment, it was just great. I was honored and I feel blessed I was able to get two touchdowns. It’s sad that this is my last game, but it’s great to win. I’m happy. It’s a great day.”
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