OMG, getting to the Dome was easy, but parking was an absolute pain in the ass as it took me an hour to find parking since Lots A, B, ad C were FULL!!! I ended up paying $15 to park in what looked like an alley under a bridge…oh, I had to back my car in to the space!!! Yeah, really weird. I almost decided to skip the first game and get something to eat and try again to find parking which I am sure I could’ve gotten in to Lot A…oh well.
Because of the parking adventures, I only missed the first quarter of the USAAAB game. I was amazed when I arrived and saw the Dome full of 40,000 fans!!! WOW!! I just wish they would’ve stuck around for the SASASFG cause it decreased to 8,000 fans which is still pretty awesome numbers for a local all star football game.
I watched the rest of the USAAAB bowl from the press-box. It was fun but to be honest, it was hard to follow since I didn’t know any of the players…well, I knew Jerrord Heard from Denton Guyer (I watched him and his team defeat the Brennan Bears for the state championship) and Trey Lealaimatafao from Warren High School.
I did make my to the field for all of the post game festivities of the trophy presentation and an autograph session with the players and dude, that was awesome!!! I did that because I could and also I was waiting for my Dad to text me telling me had arrived. My Dad has come to a few games with me and I know he loves it cause he gets to be an “amateur sports photographer” and hang out with his favorite son (sorry Evan, my older brother)!!!
When I finally did meet up with my Dad, I showed him around and introduced him to all the media folks in the press-box. A few minutes before the SASASFG started, I told him to watch number 5 for the West team which was Justin Stockton (he scored 5 touchdowns and I will talk a lot more about him later).
Prior to this years game, this particular game was played in May and was conducted by the Kids Sports Network and the proceeds from the game benefit the nonprofit programs of the Kids Sports Network.
I, for one am glad they moved it up to January as the kids are still mostly in football shape and they got a great time slot after the USAAAB. In addition to the time slot change, the all star game got a major boost as they joined forces with the San Antonio Sports Foundation. I don’t know how this went down and if the money raised still goes to charity…maybe if Brandon Parrott reads this (he is the CEO of the Kids Sports Network), he can shed some light on this for me. Don and Chuck interviewed Brandon during the 4th quarter.
The last game I worked as on December 6th and since then, I have been physically, mentally, and emotionally preparing for the MARK BOWL, which I am sad to announce that no advanced tickets were sold and I only got 1 sponsor in Soapmarked.com. So, I had to change the entire format of the MARK BOWL to me having a bowl of cheerios last night instead of 100,000 fans watching me do stats and writing about it!!!
You know something, I had mixed feelings when I worked this all star game…I know this is the last official game of the season and I gotta wait till August to resume my high school football addiction and I also get to see the best players from the San Antonio area play one final game!!
When I looked at the rosters for the West and East, I clearly saw the East had an advantage…I mean, they had players from Judson, Madison, Smithson Valley, Steele, Reagan, and Johnson; NO FAIR!!!
These 6 teams were consistently in the TOP 10 all year long and Madison and Johnson lost in the state semifinals, Steele and Judson lost in the state quarterfinals, and Reagan (Steele beat them in the seconds of the playoffs) and Smithson Valley (Johnson beat them in the first round of the playoffs) had undefeated regular seasons.
On my stat-boards, I had to indicate that the East team was in RED and the West team was in WHITE!! I also had to indicate that East was on the RIGHT side and the West was on the left side of my excel spreadsheet (I use a laptop and the numbers I enter appear on TV).
Yeah, I got confused a few times.
The final score of the game was East 53 and West 35. After the game, my Dad took me to China Inn (man, I was starving) for a very nice post-game meal!!!
WEST STATS
Quarterbacks
Zach Galindo, O’Connor Panthers – 16 of 22 for 209 yards and 4 touchdowns
Chad Tatum, Antonian Apaches – 6 of 11 for 78 yards
I was not surprised at all with Zach Galindo’s numbers as I have seen him throw the ball with accuracy since we he was a sophomore. He has not yet made a college commitment.
Wide Receivers
Tyler Ahrens, Kerrville Tivy Antlers – 9 receptions for 163 yards and 2 touchdowns
Larry Stephens, Brandeis Broncos – 4 receptions for 32 yards and 1 touchdown
PJ Anderson, Taft Raiders – 3 receptions for 31 yards and 1 touchdown
Hunter Lees, Boerne Greyhounds – 2 receptions for 27 yards
Gary Walls Jr, Holmes Huskies – 1 reception for 13 yards
Chris Sausedo, Holmes Huskies – 1 reception for 12 yards
Zach Galindo, O’Connor Panthers – 1 reception for 7 yards
Andres Aguilar, Edison Golden Bears – 1 reception for 3 yards
Man, I was really impressed with Tyler Ahrens and he will be a great target at Kansas State. I wish he was healthy when Tivy played Steele in Week 2.
In Week 4, Larry Stephens had 5 receptions for 163 yards and 4 touchdowns. It is too bad he didn’t get more opportunities to show off.
Running Backs
Brandon Valle, Clark Cougars – 6 carries for 49 yards
Marquie Hinton, Stevens Falcons – 8 carries for 39 yards and 1 touchdown
Matt Medina, Sabinal Yellow Jackets – 6 carries for 38 yards
Zach Galindo, O’Connor Panthers – 6 carries for 9 yards
Larry Stephens, Brandeis Broncos – 2 carries for 5 yards
Andres Aguilar, Edison Golden Bears – 1 carry for 5 yards
Chad Tatum, Antonian Apaches – 6 carries for -7 yards
Marquie Hinton was a 1,000 yard rusher this season and as a junior he rushed for 1,700 yards. In those 2 years and out of all the Stevens games I have worked, I have never seen Marquie have a HUGE game so yeah, I was very glad he was able to showcase his skills. He has not yet made a college commitment.
Brandon Valle is an absolute workhorse and his numbers were nothing out of the ordinary. I worked a Clark game in Week 7 where he had 27 carries for 204 yards and 3 touchdowns.
Dude, the players from Antonian and Sabinal showed that they indeed can play with the BIG BOYS!!!
EAST STATS
Quarterbacks
Cody Ennis, Madison Mavericks – 2 of 4 for 52 yards and 1 touchdown
Garrett Smith, Smithson Valley Rangers – 2 of 6 for 48 yards and 1 interception
Hunter Rittiman, Johnson Jaguars – 2 of 2 for 7 yards
Brandon Ramon, Harlandale Indians – 1 of 5 for 2 yards
These are 4 of the top qb’s in the area and none of them had great numbers and they didn’t have to cause the special teams scored 3 touchdowns!!!
Combined, they were 683 of 1,134 passing for 11,241 yards with 120 touchdowns and 23 interceptions!!!
I kinda wish the special teams didn’t score cause that would’ve allowed more throwing opportunities.
I would’ve liked to have seen Judson quarterback Rayjohn Austin-Ramsey play in this game, but man, who would he replace? Tough decision!!! Gosh, I would love to be in the “war-room” for next year’s game when they start selecting players.
Wait, what about a new all star game…NORTHEAST ISD vs NORTHSIDE ISD?
Wide Receivers
Ashton Glenn, MacArthur Brahmas – 1 reception for 45 yards
Kash Knutson, Reagan Rattlers – 2 receptions for 38 yards and 1 touchdown
Matt Moen, Steele Knights – 1 reception for 14 yards
Andre Wilson, Judson Rockets – 1 reception for 7 yards
Justin Stockton, Steele Knights – 1 reception for 3 yards
Zach Sterling, San Marcos Rattlers – 1 reception for 2 yards
I wish Andre would’ve gotten some more touches cause he is explosive and has a knack for finding the end-zone. I got to see a bunch of great moves and touchdowns from Andre as I worked all the Judson games this season.
Running Backs
Marshall Young, Reagan Rattlers – 8 carries for 66 yards
Vincent Gill, LaVernia Bears – 6 carries for 55 yards and 1 touchdown
Justin Stockton, Steele Knights – 4 carries for 41 yards and 2 touchdowns
Garrett Smith, Smithson Valley Rangers – 2 carries for 24 yards
Cody Ennis, Madison Mavericks -6 carries for 7 yards and 1 touchdown
I saw Justin Stockton, the Steele Knights running back, make his debut in 2010 as a freshmen on Thursday Night Lights (he had 2 carries for 78 yards and 1 touchdown). Yeah, that got my attention, the fans in the stands attention, and all the people watching online and live attention!!! WOW!!! Stockton was a back-up to Malcolm Brown, who is now a running back at UT Austin. Steele won the state championship that year, lost the state championship in 2011, lost in the semifinals in 2012, and this year, they lost in the quarterfinals.
Justin Stockton’s final numbers were very impressive…6,309 yards and 87 touchdowns. He is in 5th place for the career rushing leaders for San Antonio. Would’ve been more but Steele had so many blow-out wins in his 4 years, that Justin didn’t play the 2nd half of a lot of games (heck, some games it was 1 quarter only for Justin).
Yeah, I was surprised that Justin Stockton wasn’t the leading rusher!! But, he did have 3 kickoff returns for touchdowns…2 went for 95 yards each and the other was for 75 yards. He has speed and speed kills.
Stockton clearly stood out as the best player on the field and I have had the pleasure to watch him for the past 4 years. I wouldn’t be surprised if he got the starting job next season at Texas Tech University!!!
This stat man is really going to miss Justin running the ball, but I will for sure be keeping an eye on him in college and you should too (I said the same thing about Johnny Manziel 3 years ago and he won the Heisman Trophy as a freshman).
I wish I worked some LaVernia games so I could see Vince Gill run the ball!!! Yes, he has the best name ever!!!
The majority of the players have college scholarships lined up…but, there are still several undecided players and I really hope they get picked up. I wish all the players BEST OF LUCK and THANKS!!!
Well, now, I can OFFICIALLY pack up the football supplies and say goodbye to 2013 high school football season.
I will continue to make site visits to Alamo stadium until the renovation is completed.
Please check out my 2013 HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL WRAP-UP Part 1 about Judson Rocket football, games of the year, and Alamo stadium and Part 2 which is all about players.
I will be writing a High School football BLOG after the UIL announces the new realignments next month.
In case you are wondering what I am going to do (besides deal with my football withdrawal symptoms), I am the “unofficial beat writer” for St. Anthony Yellow Jacket Basketball games and next year, I am expecting Nico Smisek, the Churchill Chargers running back and son of the head basketball coach at St. Anthony, to be a participant in the all star football game next January.
Tomorrow night, I will be at Judson High School as the Number 1 Judson Rockets host St. Anthony. I will have my recap of that game on Friday, January 10th.
On Monday, January 13th, I will publish my Rockport vacation BLOG.
