CHARLESTON, W.Va. — With heavy rains contributing to 10 fumbles and eight turnovers, the defenses dominated at the North-South Classic.
Even the game’s only touchdown came on a tipped pass.
Jake Martin’s 6-yard catch at the goal line—on a fourth-down throw that slipped through the hands of teammate Alex Childers—provided all the scoring in the South’s 7-0 win at Laidley Field on Saturday night.
The North squad, losers for a sixth straight year, still had a chance to tie in the final 3 minutes before Deonte Glover’s fumble at the South 35-yard line was recovered by Greenbrier West linebacker Marquis Frazier.
“I saw that ball on the ground and I said I had to get that ball,” Frazier said. “Mean and nasty is the way we played defense all night.”
MetroNews North-South Classic radio broadcast:
With a downpour saturating the turf, the North gained only 108 yards and committed five turnovers, including first-half fumbles at the South’s 3 and 18.
The South recorded the Classic’s first shutout since 2009.
“I feel like we were unstoppable on defense,” said South MVP Noah Hancock, a defensive end from Woodrow Wilson whose fourth-down sack erased a North scoring threat.
”I feel like we played almost the perfect game. The rain helped a little bit—thank God—but we were practicing hard on stripping drills and it all came together.”
North MVP Max Chefren, a defensive end from Parkersburg, also made a fumble recovery and realized how treacherous the ballhandling was.
“It was really hard out there for the offenses,” Chefren said. “I picked up that fumble andI tried to take off, but I ended up diving on it because I couldn’t hold it.”
The South lost two of its four fumbles and suffered an interception when Wayne quarterback Grant Ferguson was picked off by Robert C. Byrd’s Alex Banko. But Westside’s Justin Cogar was at the controls for the game’s crucial drive late in the third quarter.
His third-and-11 keeper netted a first down at the North 15, and on fourth-and-1 at the 6 he rolled out and threw toward a crowd.
“We had three guys in the area. and (Martin) bailed me out,” said Cogar, who’s headed for WVU as a preferred walk-on. “The ball goes through Childers’ hands, but luckily Martin was there to make a play.”
Martin, the Ripley graduate, admitted he wasn’t the intended receiver.
“Not at all,” he said. “I was supposed to run a fade, but I cut off the route. And when Cogar overthrew his man I was just fortunate to be there to catch it.”
South coach Luke Salmons of Cabell Midland previously won this Classic as a player, though under not-so-stormy conditions
“The weather was bad tonight, but the kids had fun,” Salmons said. “It came down to just being physical in the second half. Hats off to the defense. They were lockdown all night.”
Sparse offense: The South, which leads the all-time series 40-19-3, finished with 234 yards.
Childers gained 59 yards on 14 carries while Kennedy Award winner Kashuan Haley of Capital tacked on 48 yards on 15 rushes.
While leading Westside to the Class AA semifinals, Cogar threw for 2,611 yards and 23 touchdowns and ran for 1,993 yards and 38 touchdowns.
The rainstorms on Saturday told him the all-star game wouldn’t feature much offense.
“Once I saw the conditions we were playing in, I knew it was hard for both teams to get going,” Cogar said.
Glover’s 42 yards on 14 carries paced the North, which averaged 2.3 yards per carry.
Top play: Cabell Midland linebacker Terron Robison made a wild interception on a pass that was tipped and then kicked by cornerback Brandon Morrison of Huntington.
Top play, part II: The South pulled off a daring fourth-and-3 pass from midfield when receiver Jordan Kinney took an end-around toss and threw to quarterback Grant Ferguson.
Bucket list: Mike Young has been inducted in the West Liberty Hall of Fame and his teams at Wheeling Central won state championships in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2010, and 2011. But his first North-South Classic proved rewarding too.
“I’ll take these kids anytime. I loved being a part of this,” Young said. “This is just an honor for me to throw this in my bucket list with 44 years of coaching.”