Zakery Willson, a recent grad from Sierra High of Manteca, went 11-for-11 passing for more than 200 yards in this year’s Lions All-Star Football Game. Photo: Mark Tennis.
This time, a trick play in the final minutes helped preserve a 42-37 victory when it looked like the South might pull off another win in the final seconds like last year. Zakery Willson from Sierra of Manteca gained MVP honors with three TD passes and one TD run. This event will reach 50 years next summer.
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Local all-star football games throughout the state have a difficult time getting the most recognized players to participate due to the increasing demands of their college destinations, but some of them, especially the Central California Lions All-Star Football game that was played Saturday night at Wayne Schneider Stadium in Tracy, continue to put on games that are extremely competitive and will be talked about for a long time.
The Lions All-Star Game that we help out with at CalHiSports.com since we’re based in Stockton and it’s our way of giving back to our local community went down to the wire on Saturday for the third time in the last four years. After a lead change in the final four seconds last year that allowed the South team (players mostly from Stanislaus County) to pull out a win over the North team (players mostly from San Joaquin County), it looked like the same thing was going to happen again. But instead of the South team rallying for a come-from-behind win, the North team pulled a rabbit out of its hat with less than two minutes left and held on for a wild-and-wacky 42-37 triumph.
After the South had sliced the lead to 42-37 with 3:55 left on a 47-yard touchdown pass from Carson Lamb (Modesto Downey) to Joseph Delte (Turlock), its defense had the North team facing a fourth down and 12 situation from inside its own 20-yard line. That was an obvious punting situation, but the North team called an offensive play, switched into an offensive formation and caught the South team expecting the punt with a completed pass from Matthew Schallberger (Linden) to Marcus Harrison (Stockton Edison) for a first down conversion. The North then was able to run out the clock to post the win.
Stockton WRs like Isaac Sagapolu of Edison (two TD catches), Marcus Harrison of Edison and Terrence Hampton of Lincoln were tough for the South defense to contain all night long. Photo: Mark Tennis.
In the rules for the game, there are no fake punts allowed. According to sideline observers, North head coach Tony Franks (Stockton St. Mary’s) told his offensive coordinator to call a play, who looked at him as if he was crazy. The team did start out the play in a punt formation, but switched out of it so it wasn’t technically a fake punt.
“This felt like a great Friday night football game in the fall,” said Franks, who ranks among the winningest head coaches in CIF Sac-Joaquin Section history. “We had a great time with these kids all week long.”
“It says in the rules no fake punts and it seemed like a fake punt,” said South head coach Jeremy Plaa, who led Downey of Modesto to the SJS D1 playoff quarterfinals last season and a top 50 final state ranking. “But it was still a very good week. It seemed like a lot of the kids on the two teams knew each other a lot more than in the past.”
Both teams scored on their first drives of the game, but the North also scored on its second series and forced the South to try a field goal (which was made by Jacob Wallace of Downey from 38 yards out) and had a 14-10 lead. That lead went to 21-10 in the second quarter on a 56-yard TD pass from Zakery Willson (Manteca Sierra) to Isaac Sagapolu (Stockton Edison).
After the South cut the lead to 21-17 just before halftime, it looked to take the lead on its first series of the third quarter. The North defense, though, got a stop and went on a long scoring drive itself that culminated with a 42-yard TD pass from Willson to Terrence Hampton (Stockton Lincoln).
Just like there is a rule about fake punts, there is another rule about rushing the punter and blocking a punt. Nothing was called, however, when Hughson’s Colton Taylor blocked a punt that set up the South for a 5-yard TD run by Adarias Morales-Saetern (Merced) early in the fourth quarter that cut the lead to 28-23. The North came right back to score on a 48-yard screen pass from Willson to Harrison.
Another trick play was one pulled off by the South. Still not out of the game, Plaa called a double pass in which Lamb threw to Delte, who had stepped back a few steps at the snap, who then threw far downfield to Noah Cozart (Patterson) for a 54-yard TD pass with nine minutes left in the contest. The North scored once again in response on a drive that ended with a 14-yard TD run by Cody Ferrante (San Andreas Calaveras). Those scores then set the stage for the final plays of the night.
Willson rotated with Schallberger as the North QB all night and took advantage of his opportunities. He was a perfect 11-for-11 for 205 yards with three TDs and he scored on a 13-yard keeper that made the score 14-7. He isn’t that big at just 5-foot-9, 150 pounds, but one never knows how much a young man might grow after high school and the big night has Zakery rethinking his plans.
“Before this game, I thought this was going to be my last game,” Willson said. “Now that this has happened tonight, I’ve got to explore my options.”
The South’s M.J. Uili of Modesto High (Class of 2025) had the most tackles in this year’s game with 13. Photo: Mark Tennis.
Sagapolu also had a TD catch on a throw from Schallberger. He also had 90 yards on five catches in all and was named Offensive MVP of the game. Harrison had even more receiving yards (100) on six catches but one less TD. The North team also featured Tracy’s Elijah Gutierrez, who rushed for a team-high 49 yards on nine carries and went 6-for-6 on PATs.
Lamb finished nine of 19 passing for 162 yards and two TDs. Delte also was considered for offensive MVP as he had a 47-yard TD catch to go with a 54-yard passing touchdown. Merced’s Quintell Dupree also had a versatile night. He rushed for one touchdown in the first half and during some snaps played on defense in the second half came up with a couple of sacks.
“I just think the coaches at St. Mary’s are phenomenal,” Willson said. “I just thoroughly enjoyed everything. We also had to have the guys to do it. The WRs were catching everything. This is definitely the most fun I’ve ever had in a game. I’m going to hold on to these memories forever.”
Since we keep track of defensive stats during the game to help with picking a Defensive MVP, here are the defensive leaders for this year’s game (Modesto’s M.J. Uili was named Defensive MVP):
North
Ahymri Hall (St. Mary’s) 6 tackles, pass deflection
Ruben Moreno (Manteca) 5 tackles
Isaiah White (Manteca) 4 tackles, two tipped passes
Adrian Bankston (Bear Creek) 4 tackles, QB pressure, tipped 2-pt conv pass
Jaylon Mays (Lincoln) 2 tackles, interception
South
M.J. Uili (Modesto) 13 tackles
Aiden Millan (Atwater) 11 tackles
Reis Smith (Ceres) 8 tackles, pass deflection
Ryne Moore (Modesto Downey) 5 tackles, two sacks
Quintell Dupree (Merced) 3 tackles, two sacks
Seneca Ybarra (Atwater) 7 tackles
Colton Taylor (Hughson) blocked punt (should have been nullified)
Mark Tennis is the co-founder and publisher of CalHiSports.com. He can be reached at markjtennis@gmail.com. Don’t forget to follow Mark on the Cal-Hi Sports Twitter handle: @CalHiSports
