CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Saturday’s North-South All-Star Football Classic will be the final sendoff for the 2012 football season as the North faces the South from Laidley Field in Charleston.
While standouts like George Washington’s Ryan Switzer (North Carolina) and Spring Valley’s Elijah Wellman (WVU), among other notables, are already getting set to begin their college careers, there will still be plenty of talent in Saturday’s matchup. One of those guys is Martinsburg quarterback Justin ‘Cookie’ Clinton who finished second to Switzer in the Kennedy Award and led his team to its third straight state championship.
“It’s a big opportunity to be a part of this,” Clinton said. “I get to play with the whole state – not just my conference or teams that made the playoffs. It’s the whole state. Each player has a lot of talent, you never know what will happen, but I’m focused and ready to go.”
Clinton, who will play with the University of Charleston in the fall, rushed for 1,542 yards and 24 touchdowns, to go along with 1,660 passing yards and 18 more scores this past season — a dual threat that he hopes will give the North an edge.
“I just have one mindset and that is to get into the end-zone,” Clinton said. “That’s the point of the game and that’s what I like to do. I just stay focused and when it’s game time I don’t worry about anything else — you just have to play football.”
And if it’s anything like last year’s game, Saturday’s contest will be entertaining, at the least. In 2012, it was the South edging the North in overtime, 36-28. It was just the second overtime game in the history of the contest.
This season, it’s Midland Trail head coach Joe Dean leading the South squad.
“Some of the guys will have to eat their ego because they were all the go-to guys on their team in high school,” Dean said. “Some of them are being asked to do some things a little different — and that’s where character shows. And they’ve all been wonderful.”
As for the North, it’s St. Mary’s head coach Jodi Mote leading the way.
“We’re going to try to get Clinton to make plays for us,” Mote said. “The speed is going to be so fast, that the kids up front blocking will be a challenge. Hopefully we’ll get our offense moving and can try to slow the South down.”
Kickoff on Saturday is set for 7 p.m.