SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT — In Superbowl 43, the New York Giants used their defensive line to dethrone a superior New England Patriots team. In this year’s District 4 All-Star game, the North deployed a similar tactic to win 20-7 over the South All-Stars.
“We knew we could get pressure,” said North Coach Dick Delaney. “This whole week of practice was extremely difficult for our offensive line. This was a special group of players on the defense, and we knew we would get to the quarterback.”
The North defense finished with six sacks and caused eight mishandled snaps on the quarterback-center exchange for the South. The pressure forced the South to change game plans and try to complete short, high-percentage passes.
“We tried to complete shorter passes to get our quarterbacks back into the game,” said South coach Fran Romanelli. “There was just so much pressure it was hard to get the offense going.”
The amount of pressure the South was facing could be seen on its third series of the game, when Line Mountain’s Clark Morris was forced into an interception.
“It was tough to go through any progressions,” said Clark. “There was always a guy in my face, which made it hard to see the field.”
The offensive line of the South wore down quickly as the North kept pushing. The exchange between the center and quarterback also suffered because of the push the North line was getting.
“It was tough because we were rotating three different centers in the game,” said Morris. “Add that to the amount of pressure and it made the exchanges more difficult. With three centers the ball was always being snapped to a different place. It was tough.”
The South’s only big play happened in the first quarter when Selinsgrove’s Mike Ritter intercepted a pass and returned it 49 yards for a touchdown.
“We needed to get more pressure from the line,” said South coach Jim Roth. “When we did, we were able to execute.”
Williamsport’s Jake Fagnano controlled the offensive tempo for the North with seven catches for 64 yards and a two-point conversion. Kenan Michael of Montoursville had two catches for 77 yards and a score.
“After that week of practice we knew we would be able to get some big plays offensively,” said Fagnano.
After watching the defensive line’s performance in the week heading into the game, the North was confident it could get pressure on the South quarterbacks.
Delaney was confident heading into the game about protecting his quarterbacks.
“I told our offense they wouldn’t see anything much tougher than the line they faced this week in practice. I knew we had a solid group, which helped our offensive line get stronger as the week went on.”
As time expired, many players shifted gears and are now preparing for the next level.
“Now I’m going to get ready for (Bloomsburg),” said Morris. “I know there are things I need to get better at. I’m going to work on getting faster and stronger now, and I’ll also work on throwing and keeping my arm strength up.”
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