South Makes It Four Straight Wins Over North In Bernard Blackwell All-Star Game

For the 75th time, some of the best high school football players in Mississippi met in the Bernard Blackwell North/South All-Star Game on Saturday.

And for the fourth straight game, the South All-Stars came out on top over the North All-Stars. It wasn’t an easy win by any means for the South, which had to overcome a 15-0 deficit to reel off 20 unanswered points for a 20-15 victory at Milner Stadium in Gulfport.

 

“A lot of defensive battles,” said South coach Blake Pennock of Gulfport about the first half. “Lot of speed and size. But we got a little offense in the second half and it went a long way to us winning. Both teams played awesome and it always seems this game comes down to the wire and did so again today. I’m really proud of the guys.”

It took the South a half dozen plays to move into the red zone of the North, but a 40-yard field goal attempt was blocked and returned to near midfield.

Three plays later, a double pass from Tupelo quarterback Jeremiah Harrell to Winona’s Chase Richardson to Houston’s Jalen Harrell for a 40-yard touchdown gave the North the lead first. Que Tillman-Evans of West Point scored the 2-point conversion for an 8-0 lead.

Both defenses then took over for the majority of the first half, but the offensive fireworks finally began just before the half ended.

With 13 seconds to play before intermission, Olive Branch quarterback Raheem Vance hit North Pontotoc wide receiver Tyler Pickens with a pass to the South 35 and the 6-2, 205-pound wideout raced to the end zone for a touchdown. Ripley kicker Freddy Lopez added the extra point to extend the North lead to 15-0.

But on the ensuing kickoff, Dee Darby of Jefferson Davis County got the momentum swung in the South’s favor. He returned the ball down the sideline 90 yards for a touchdown to put the South on the board as the first half ended. Oak Grove’s Luke Stewart added the extra point to make it a 15-7 ballgame at the break.

 

Hattiesburg running back Tavares Wade then took control on the ground in the third quarter, taking six straight handoffs into North territory. Brandon quarterback Landon Varnes hit Petal wide receiver Cayden Burger with a 15-yard pass that set up a 2-yard touchdown run by Wade.

A false start and unsportsmanlike penalty on the South pushed the conversion back to the 23-yard line. The 2-point try to tie the game was intercepted in the end zone and the South trailed 15-13 with 2:03 to play in the third quarter.

But the South defense took control in the fourth quarter.

 

The North punted out of its own end zone and Darby returned the ball to the North 26. Varnes then threw a bullet to Burger for a touchdown to put the South on top for the first time with 4:50 to play. Stewart nailed the extra point to make it 20-15.

Burger was named the South’s Offensive Player of the Game.

The North got the ball back in the final two minutes, but again, the South defense rose up and lineman Paris Evans of Wayne County came up with a game-sealing sack.

Defensively, Southern Six standouts performed well for the South All-Stars with Ocean Springs linebacker Trace Carter coming up with a sack; Pass Christian lineman Jayden Acker had a fumble recovery; and Picayune lineman JB McWilliams was selected the South Defensive Player of the Game.

 

 

Offensively, Gulfport’s Cam Joseph had a couple of receptions for the South.