Golden Bears Impact South Win in Montco All-Star Classic

Any of the 3,200 people in attendance at the 2011 Montgomery County All-Star Classic who wanted to see a knock-down, drag-out battle to the end were probably disappointed with Monday night’s 38-14 outcome.

In what will probably never be confused with a classic clash, the South rose again to claim the hardware and bragging rights in the 44th annual gridiron meeting. It was, for many, the last time they would step onto a football field to compete.

What fans did witness was an outstanding display of the area's best senior talent in a unique environment that has arch rivals playing together for one purpose and one cause.

“It was cool playing with guys that are usually trying to kill you,” said Upper Dublin defensive end Ryan Hopkins. “It has been fun practicing the last few weeks with these guys. We all respect each other, and this game is about pride and bragging rights. It’s just a fun game to play in.”

The Souderton-Telford Rotary Club, which has hosted the event since for the past 21 years, will be donating a large check to The Children’s Tumor Foundation, the primary charity of the event.

“We love seeing the kids get together,” said Jim Church, who has been with the Rotary Club since 1970. “I love high school football, and the Maxwell Football Club came on board last year, and they have really helped us get the word out. We had pro football player Dan Klecko here tonight. We can’t get those people here [on our own]. We are very thankful to have them involved. Just the name Maxwell Football Club gets people interested. It’s a great event and very good cause.”

The North had difficulty getting out of its own way offensively, despite a touchdown run by Pottsgrove’s Maika Polamalu, who racked up 42 yards on 11 carries and later converted a two-point conversion in the first quarter to post the only score for the boys in yellow before the half.

For the South, which has won the most All-Star games overall, at 23-20-1, the longest drive of the game came on its first possession as the team marched the length of the field possession, covering 89 on a 10-play drive that consumed 4:13 off the clock, culminating with Germantown Academy quarterback Keith Braccia (193 yards passing, four touchdowns) throwing a 55-yard strike to the awaiting arms of Cheltenham’s Dan Rouse to take a 7-0 lead.

“It was awesome to line up with this much talent on the field,” said Braccia, who plays in the Inter-Ac as the leader of Germantown Academy. “These receivers are so fast, I just had to get the ball out to them, and they made the play. This was so much fun to play in this game.”

The Upper Moreland area was well represented by Golden Bears and , who lined up alongside Academy New Church’s Malcom Lites and Reece Ayers on the defensive side of the ball, along with Dave Driscoll, Dave Connolly and James Norton on the offensive side.  

 “It was cool to be here,” said Upper Moreland’s Dave Driscoll. “The first couple days, it's like you're not sure if guys don’t like you, or they are going to take you out, but after we all started playing together, it was cool.”

With enough yellow flapping in the breeze to make the teams feel like they were at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, the South was whistled for 17 penalties for more than 140 yards, but the North could not take advantage and translate the fouls into points.

Bishop McDevitt’s quarterback Martin Henry and running back Gary Postell, who ran for 34 yards, along with Matt Conroy, and brothers Kevin and Joe Polansky, helped exhort the Lancers presence on the field.

“This was a great way to end our high school football [career],” said Henry. “It’s a big win, but it was more about just playing football and playing for a good cause.”

“This is so much fun," said the Flying Cardinals’ Jeff Buchanan. "The past two weeks have been great. Just to be playing with the five of us playing together in pads again. You see the teams we lost to and the teams we beat. It’s awesome.”

After taking a 21-6 halftime lead with a touchdown run by Braccia, the South added two more TDs, one scored by Cheltenham’s Dan Rouse and a 24-yard field goal by Ian MacMillan (Abington) to break it open in the third quarter.

“It was kind of crazy at first,” said Anthony Williams, who has just finished the track season. “During the regular season, these guys are usually trying to kill me, and to finally meet them all and get to know them was really pretty cool.”

North Penn runningback Craig Needhammer (7 for 35 yards, one touchdown) was named the North MVP, while Cheltenham cornerback Chris Stephens claimed the MVP honors for the South with an interception and four tackles.

“I was surprised to win it,” said Stephens. “When they announced it, I was clapping and didn’t even realize it was for me. This has been a great experience to play with all these guys.”

“It was tough at first,” said Upper Dublin senior Bill Kim. “You realize in the heat of a game, you're bumping heads, but when you're teammates, you're teammates and still having fun. There was a lot of chirping going on tonight.”

“This is all about fun, “ added Braccia, who will be studying engineering at University of Pennsylvania. “This is the last football game a lot of us are going to play, and there is a lot of skill on this field. You don’t need much time to just throw it and let them run under it.”