VHSCA All-Star game

[Beamerball 566]

http://www.tricities.com/tristate/tri/sports.apx.-content-articles-TRI-2007-07-15-0015.html

 

BY ALLEN GREGORY

 

BRISTOL HERALD COURIER

 

HAMPTON, Va. – Southwest Virginia fans focused on three athletes Friday night at Darling Stadium.

 

Once again, all three delivered.

 

Virginia Tech recruit Tyrod Taylor from Hampton passed for 174 yards and two touchdowns en route to offensive Most Valuable Player honors for the East in the Virginia High School Coaches Association all-star game.

 

Meanwhile, running back Caleb Jennings and quarterback Justin McCracken from Richlands were key factors for the West offense.

 

"Our kids represented Southwest Virginia extremely well," said Richlands head coach Greg Mance, who served on the West coaching staff. "It’s tough learning a new scheme in five days, but all our guys played with a lot of heart and leadership."

 

McCracken, the West starter at quarterback, completed 9-of-12 passes for 60 yards and showed the ability to scramble. One of those completions was a 16-yard connection over the middle to Jennings.

 

"I was hoping Caleb could get his head down and come out of the pile like he’s done before on that play," Mance said.

 

The stat line for the 5-foot-6 Jennings included four receptions for 30 yards, two rushes for six yards and around 50 yards in kick returns. Jennings drew one of four personal foul penalties on the East by bouncing off several tacklers on a kick return.

 

"Caleb is not very big, but you can’t measure what’s in his chest," Mance said. "The East had tremendous speed along with kids going to Michigan, Maryland and other big colleges, but Justin settled down at quarterback and did a good job of leading us on several drives."

 

Brett Clayburne of Richlands contributed five tackles at linebacker and special teams.

 

Coaches from both squads were upset with the rough tone of the game. There were 15 penalties, including 12 on the East, and plenty of trash-talking.

 

"Anytime you have to stop an all-star game with 1:40 left, it’s embarrassing to the players and coaches," Mance said. "It’s the first time I’ve ever been involved in something like that.

 

"Kids take pride and get emotional in representing their areas. You’re going to get personal fouls, but this wasn’t a good way to end all-star week. I don’t know what, but something’s got to be done."

 

The officiating crew stopped the game and left the field moments after Taylor was hit out of bounds on a quarterback scramble. Taylor, who suffered a cut on his elbow after falling, responded in an angry manner and players from both teams then exchanged words.

 

In a week where many all-star athletes opted not to compete for various reasons, Taylor drove back to his hometown from a summer school session at Virginia Tech.

 

"I wanted to come back and play well for my final high school game," Taylor said.

 

Taylor drew even more applause than a bevy of Peninsula-area National Football League figures, including Ronald Curry, Aaron Brooks and new Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin.

 

"There’s been pressure in my whole career," Taylor said. "People have wanted to me live up to different players, but my mother and father have always just told me to play my game. It’s all about competition in this area. Every team is competitive and has great athletes, so we push each other."

 

The signature play for Taylor Friday was a 65-yard scoring pass which traveled 70 yards in the air.

 

"That was a nice way to go out," said Taylor, who remained on the field long after the game talking with fans from both teams.

 

Jay Coleman of J.I. Burton was impressed with the East star.

 

"You can’t really stop Taylor because he can do so much," Coleman said.

 

Another Southwest Virginia native who got a close-up view of Taylor was Emory & Henry graduate and Rockbridge County head coach Jason White, who served as quarterback mentor for the East.

 

"Tyrod is a very humble kid and special talent," White said. "We couldn’t even get to Tyrod playing two-hand touch this week. Some people talk about his scrambling ability, but he throws the ball very well. Virginia Tech fans have a good player coming their way.

 

"There are just so many great athletes from this (Peninsula) area, and that’s reflected in the number of Division I recruits you see."

 

Friday marked the first all-star trip for the 29-year-old White.

 

"I know all those coaches from the West," White said. "When I got the Rockbridge job, the first thing I did was set down with Phil Robbins of Powell Valley for a day. Coaches like Nick Colobro [Gate City], Norman Lineburg [Radford] and Steve Ragsdale [Giles] are like my heroes.’’

 

Pound linebacker Drew Hubbard recorded a couple of tackle for the West, while Lebanon’s Zak Jessee contributed at wide receiver.

 

"This was nice way to cap everything that went good in high school," Jessee said. "We were up at 6 in the morning this week and then tried to beat the heat during two-a-days, but this should get me in good shape for college."

 

Jessee was guarded by some of Virginia’s elite cornerbacks, including defensive MVP Davon Morgan, who will play at Virginia Tech.

 

"These cornerbacks were as good as you’ll see anywhere," Jessee said.

 

Lebanon coach John Adams made the trip to watch his prized pupil.

 

"Zak has been one of the best athletes we’ve ever had," Adams said.

 

Rural Retreat’s Matt Heldreth earned rave reviews from the West coaching staff at cornerback despite facing much taller defenders. The 5-11 Heldreth, who will not play football at Virginia Tech, tipped away one East pass in the end zone.

 

Linemen Jason Neeley (Powell Valley) and Jarod Scalf (J.I. Burton) also played for the West.

[Beamerball 566]

And another one....

 

http://www.tricities.com/tristate/tri/sports.apx.-content-articles-TRI-2007-07-15-0016.html

 

BY ALLEN GREGORY

 

BRISTOL HERALD COURIER

 

HAMPTON, Va. – It was a strange Friday evening at Darling Stadium.

 

The Virginia High School Coaches Association All-Star football game started late due to a traffic jam and ended early due to prolonged bickering between the two teams. In between, a section of stadium lights went dark.

 

Josh Spurlock survived and thrived. While the East posted a 27-7 win, the former Powell Valley standout earned defensive MVP for the West with a trio of big plays.

 

"This was the greatest experience I’ve had in my life," Spurlock said.

 

A 6-foot-4, 210-pound defensive end, Spurlock sacked Concord University-bound quarterback Jeff Mehlhaff for 16 yards, blocked a field goal attempt in the third quarter and recovered a fumble in the final quarter.

 

"I played as hard as I could, but I didn’t expect all this," said Spurlock, who will play football at the University of Virginia’s College at Wise.

 

Spurlock was at Darling Stadium two years ago when Powell Valley quarterback Brad Robbins earned offensive MVP honors for the West.

 

"My brother (Luke) actually played in that game," Spurlock said. "We have a lot of tradition in our region and school. You win state championships and have a lot of good players coming out of your program, people expect a lot.

 

"This was a wild game and we wanted to win, but things just didn’t go our way."

 

The game was so wild that the officiating crew elected to halt play with 1:40 remaining.

 

A total of 13 players from Southwest Virginia competed for the West, but none saw more action than Graham’s T.J. Carper. The 5-foot-10, 175-pound safety collected eight tackles, nearly intercepted a pass and even earned the attention of the animated Peninsula football community with a couple of big hits.

 

"They know who I am now," said Carper, who will play at Ferrum College.

 

Nearly every fan at Darling Stadium knew about East quarterback Tyrod Taylor. As expected, the Virginia Tech recruit from Hampton High School wowed fans with his arm and quickness.

 

"I heard all week about how good (Taylor) was and how he’s a five-star athlete," Carper said. "I practiced hard every day for the challenge, then my work paid off in the game. Playing against the best athletes in the state definitely gives you confidence and shows your ready for the next level."

 

Jay Coleman of J.I. Burton, one of four Virginia-Wise recruits in the game, caught two passés for 12 yards and contributed one of the biggest gains for the West with a 13-yard run on an end around.

 

"That was a designed play. I just tried to use follow my blockers, use my speed and get outside the defense," Coleman said.

 

Jonathan Pope, a 6-3, 285-pound lineman from Gate City, supplied the key block on Coleman’s run.

 

"It was different playing against bigger and stronger athletes going to all these big colleges," Coleman said. "I didn’t really like all the talk that was going back and forth between players all night, but I still enjoyed the game."

 

Coleman said the all-star routine helped heal his wounds from the controversial loss to Riverheads in the Division I state title game this season.

 

"It took a while to get over that state championship game," Coleman said. "Actually it took a couple months, but I’m ready to start over now in college."

 

Virginia-Wise head football coach Bruce Wasem actually made the seven-hour trip to Hampton Friday afternoon, then returned to Wise after the game to attend a college orientation service Saturday.

 

In addition to Spurlock and Coleman, Wasem has recruited Southwest Virginia defensive player of the year C.J. Phillips from Clintwood and 6-1, 245-pound center Jacob Fowler from Varina.

 

"We had Matthew Barbour from William Campbell in this game last season and he developed into one of our best receivers," Wasem said. "I think we’ve recruited some more kids that can help us. There is an interesting contrast in football styles in this game, but we’re committed to family in our football program so it doesn’t matter where a kid comes from."

 

Few athletes in Southwest Virginia have come farther than the 6-2, 240-pound Phillips, who suffered a serious knee injury in 2005.

 

"It’s been a long road back from tearing my ACL, and I never thought I would make it here," Phillips said. "The doctor had to reconstruct my knee, then I had to wear a brace and just be patient until it healed."

 

Phillips made an unassisted tackle on Dennis Mathis from Division 5 state champion Phoebus Friday and came close to tackling Taylor a couple times.

 

"The Lonesome Pine District is tough, but these guys are the best of the best," Phillips said. "I need to step it up a little bit for college."

 

Emory & Henry head football coach Don Montgomery also attended Friday’s game after speaking on the spread option during Thursday’s VHSCA clinic session.

 

The E&H recruits playing in Friday’s game included tailback Caleb Jennings (Richlands), linebacker Brett Clayburne (Richlands), receiver Zack Jessee (Lebanon) and 6-2, 260-pound lineman Andrew Watts from Patrick Henry of Roanoke.

[ghs84 10]

did george damon and tj carper go and play in this game?i know they were suppose to.

[Beamerball 566]

Not sure abut Damon but Carper was mentioned in the second write-up by them. Looks like he had nice showing.

[beano5 14]

yeah i called Carp up last night and he told me he had more like 12 tackles....and 3 deflections...he said even though his team lost he had a good game...so its good to see he did well....according to the second write-up he played the most out of any SWD players that went...

[SALTSHAKER 10]

It must have got Johnny Mack RED for the Refs to call it. Did any coaches show themself?

[ghs84 10]

great job TJ we are all proud of how you have been an exciting player and how you dedicated yourself to our football program and the community.good luck in the future and at the next level.