By Jacob Verket
Sports Editor
The Lions All-Star Football Game draws comparisons to the NFL Pro Bowl: both games feature the best players from each league, and this particular game came down to a last-second field goal.
In this year’s Lions Game, the Blue team, coached by Mira Costa’s Don Morrow, trumped the White team, coached by Redondo Union’s Matt Ballard, 14-12. Athletes from 23 different schools in the South Bay competed in this edition of the Lions All-Star Game.
Mira Costa seniors offensive lineman Joe Anderson, running back Sebastian Franck-Love, running back and linebacker Brandon Mills, wide receiver and safety Harrison Morrow, kicker and punter Casey Sublette and defensive end Jahlani Tavai played for Blue. The game was played over a month into the winter sport season, and according to Morrow, getting the players back into a football mindset was difficult for the coaches to deal with.
“We have been sitting around for a month or so, and now you try and get back into that mindset and it is tough,” Morrow said. “From a physical standpoint, they did great.”
According to Don Morrow, he wanted his players to play hard but with good sportsmanship as well.
“The winning part of it is great,” Morrow said. “When we first met a couple of weeks ago, all I said to them was go play the ball game, conduct yourself like you are a gentleman and play hard. That was the thing that I liked best. There was not any trash talk.”
The first quarter started with a touchdown by the White team, thrown by Redondo quarterback Harrison Faecher to Narbonne wide receiver Marvelle Lias. Tavai blocked the extra point to keep the score at 6-0.
“After I blocked their extra point, it gave us a spark, which allowed our offense to score 14 points before the half and allowed our defense to play at our best and hold them to 12 points in the end,” Tavai said.
In the second quarter, the Blue team got on the board with 14 unanswered points. A quarterback sneak by Peninsula quarterback Ian Escutia gave the Blue team its first points of the game. A touchdown pass with 30 seconds left in the half from Bishop Montgomery quarterback Louie Soto to Gardena wide receiver Preshay Houston made the score 14-6, Blue.
“We had three different quarterbacks switching in,” Harrison Morrow said. “Getting used to each of these three quarterbacks with different releases and all with different ways of throwing the ball was tough. But after a while, we got in sync with each other.”
The third quarter ended with an interception returned for a touchdown by the White team, but the two-point conversion failed, making it 14-12, Blue. In the fourth quarter, the potential game-winning field goal by White was blocked by Peninsula safety Ryan Augello as time expired, securing Blue the victory, 14-12.
“Coach Sean Finnerty set up a great block,” Don Morrow said. “We called timeout, brought the guys over, and set up a great block.”
According to Morrow, the most challenging aspect of coaching the all-stars was getting the offensive line to work as a single unit in a short period of time.
“You got two weeks to pull it all together with players coming from different schools. Just meshing the whole thing is the hardest part,” Morrow said. “Offensively, you have five linemen that have never played together, and they have to become a cohesive unit. The best thing is that the kids handle themselves with so much class.”
This was the 50th anniversary of the Lions All-Star Game. Many professional athletes have participated in this game, including former Serra defensive back Duke Ihenacho, who is playing in Super Bowl XLVIII for the Denver Broncos.
“It was an honor to play in one of the few still on-going all-star classics,” Mills said. “This game has been around since my parents’ time in high school, and I hope the game continues for many years to come. On a personal note, it was great putting on the pads again after a season with an unsatisfactory end. I’m glad I got to step on the gridiron with my Mustang family.”
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