Miss-Lou standouts help South to 30-7 win
Published 12:00 am Friday, December 15, 2006
CLINTON &8212; A fourth quarter flurry of turnovers helped the South MPSA All-Stars pull away from the North All-Stars in what had been a close game.
The fourth quarter featured seven turnovers, five of which came from the North side in the last nine minutes of the game en route to a 30-7 South victory.
WCCA senior Sean Venezia helped the South in the quarter with two interceptions, one of which was returned 40 yards for a touchdown as time ran out.
Huntington senior Ricky Dunbar also played well, rushing for 38 yards on 11 carries and catching four passes for 51 yards.
&8220;It feels good (to be on the winning team),&8221; Dunbar said. &8220;I&8217;m excited about playing football once again, since our season ended a little early.&8221;
Trinity&8217;s Stevan Ridley elected not to play due to his injured ankle.
Brookhaven senior Price Sessums stole the show, however, scoring two touchdowns in the second half on receptions of 20 and 69 yards to give the South the lead it would never relinquish.
The 69-yarder proved to be the back-breaker, as Sessums hauled in an X-screen and weaved through the North defense &8212; breaking at least four tackles &8212; to get the score. That touchdown gave the South a 17-7 lead with 11:26 remaining.
After each team played trade the turnover for several possessions, Brice Wilkinson of Parklane picked off a pass and returned it 20 yards for a touchdown, only to be followed a few plays later by Venezia&8217;s score.
Michael Hindman of Winston Academy scored the North&8217;s lone touchdown.
To go along with Ridley, coach David King and offensive lineman Taylor Hinson also made the trip, and Hinson felt good to come away with a win at Robinson-Hale Stadium on two consecutive Thursdays (Trinity won the state championship in the same stadium a week ago).
&8220;It&8217;s a lot of fun,&8221; Hinson said. &8220;It feels good to win in this stadium twice. We didn&8217;t practice very hard, but we had a lot of fun.&8221;
&8220;This is the third time I&8217;ve been a coach in the All-Star game, and it&8217;s a tremendous honor,&8221; King said. &8220;It&8217;s an honor just to have an opportunity to coach some of these fine student athletes, a lot of whom are finishing their careers tonight.&8221;
Also representing the Miss-Lou in the game were Adam Dollar of ACCS and Rusty Knighton of Centreville.
Dunbar and Hinson each agreed the best part of all-star week was meeting so many of their former adversaries.
&8220;Everything&8217;s fun,&8221; Hinson said. &8220;I guess the best part is just hanging out in the hotel with all the guys.&8221;
&8220;Just getting to know different people (is the best part),&8221; Dunbar said. &8220;There&8217;s guys from different teams, and you have the chance to spend time with them.&8221;