Published: July 18, 2008 11:58 pm            

Sycamore recruits help South top North in all-star football game

Terre Haute North’s Dorsett catches one pass for 3 yards

INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana State-bound Jared Blue of Vincennes Lincoln caught one of three touchdown passes thrown by game Most Valuable Player Adam Wiese, helping the South squad defeat the North 34-14 in the Grange Insurance North-South All-Star Classic for 2008 high school graduates Friday night at Indianapolis North Central.

The 6-foot-3, 198-pound Blue ended up with two receptions for 39 yards in the annual contest sponsored by the Indiana Football Coaches Association (IFCA).

Wiese, a former Perry Meridian standout who will continue his college career at Lambuth, completed 16 of 21 attempts for 237 yards with zero interceptions. The South’s other quarterback, Purdue-bound Colton Cooper of Danville, contributed one TD pass himself.

Also snaring TD passes for the South were Ben Davis’ Tandon Doss (Indiana), Carmel’s Jordan Brewer (Purdue) and Indianapolis Chatard’s Kyle Dietrick (Indiana), all wide receivers.

Another future Sycamore wide receiver, Brandon Dorsett of Terre Haute North, recorded one catch for 3 yards for the South. Early in the fourth quarter, a Cooper pass intended for Dorsett in the right side of the end zone was overthrown and intercepted by Demario Richardson of Merrillville.

“I got to go against some great players who are going to some big-time schools,” Dorsett reflected on the field afterward.

“This experience definitely gave me a jump-start for college,” added Blue, who mentioned that he’ll report to ISU practices July 30.

The South, coached by Derek Moyers of Pike, didn’t waste time in putting points on the scoreboard.

On its first play from scrimmage, Wiese connected with the speedy Doss for a 65-yard bomb down the right sideline. Doss hauled it in at the North 20-yard line and sprinted away from defenders on his way to the end zone only 15 seconds into the game.

The North answered with a long, methodical drive (13 plays, 73 yards), which culminated with a 4-yard quarterback draw for a touchdown by Harvard-bound Alex Sarkisian of Valparaiso.

But the South answered with another super-quick TD, thanks to a 97-yard kickoff return by Warren Central’s Jewel Hampton with 7:07 left in the first period.

The North (30-yard pass from Tim Fogarty to Brady Young) and South (22-yard pass from Wiese to Brewer) traded TDs in the second quarter, leaving the halftime score at 21-14 in favor of the South.

Dietrick (14 yards from Cooper) and Blue (31 yards from Wiese) finished off the TD barrage in the third frame.

“It was a go route,” said Blue, who made a nice lunge for the ball as he was crossing the goal line. “He threw it out there where it needed to be. It was an excellent pass.”

Wiese’s three TD passes tied the record for most thrown in the North-South Classic, which debuted in 1967. In addition to the game MVP award, Wiese received the same honor for the South squad. Fogarty won it for the North team.

In addition to Blue and Dorsett, ISU was represented on the South squad by Perry Central defensive back Bo Gibson, Columbus North linebacker C.J. Cook, Centerville linebacker Alex Jones, Center Grove offensive lineman Justin Wood and Columbus North offensive lineman Casey Passwater.

Cook finished with four tackles, while Gibson had three.

Indiana State-bound athletes on the North team were Northwestern punter Taylor Richardson, Penn offensive lineman Mike Smith and South Bend Riley defensive tackle Mike Palmer.

Richardson punted four times, averaging 44.0 yards per attempt. Palmer had two tackles-for-loss.

Also from the Wabash Valley, North Central running back Michael Woodsmall (DePauw) carried the ball four times for 9 yards and caught one pass for minus-2 yards.

Rockville running back Zach Clapp (DePauw) was chosen to play in this game but could not because of a prior injury.



North 7 7 0 0 — 14

South 14 7 13 0 — 34

S — Doss 65 pass from Wiese (Mossbrucker kick), 11:45 1Q

N — Sarkisian 4 run (Scott kick), 7:19 1Q

S — Hampton 97 kickoff return (Mossbrucker kick), 7:07 1Q

N — Young 30 pass from Fogarty (Scott kick), 9:15 2Q

S — Brewer 22 pass from Wiese (Mossbrucker kick), 5:13 2Q

S — Dietrick 14 pass from Cooper (Mossbrucker kick), 7:23 3Q

S — Blue 31 pass from Wiese (kick failed), 2:19 3Q

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing — North, Fogarty 9-59, Taylor 5-20, Mannering 3-16, Simmons 2-4, Sarkisian 7-4, team 1 (-1), Evans 5-(-18). South, Hampton 8-23, Cooper 3-17, Wiese 4-16, Woodsmall 4-9, Atwood 3-7, Doss 1-5, team 1-(-5).

Passing — North, Sarkisian 12-22-0 114, Fogarty 7-17-1 103. South, Wiese 16-21-0 237, Cooper 3-8-1 29, Berryhill 1-1-0 (-2).

Receiving — North, Welsh 7-45, Suel 5-72, Nash 3-52, Young 3-43, Williams 1-5. South, Dietrick 6-74, Brewer 6-62, Doss 4-88, Blue 2-39, Dorsett 1-3, Woodsmall 1-(-2).

Tackles leaders — North, Kiermaier 5-1-6, Gaines 4-1-5, Fenstermaker 3-1-4, Zinsmaster 2-2-4. South, Weddle 5-3-8, Martin 5-3-8, Carlino 3-4-7, Hickman 3-2-5, O’Bannon 2-3-5, Smith 2-2-4, Hardin 2-2-4, Cook 2-2-4.

        

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