SANTA CLARA, CA -- Other than chewing up the Levi’s Stadium turf a bit, the Charlie Wedemeyer All-Star Game went off without a hitch on Saturday and was deemed a success by coaches and players.
The South defeated the North 14-6 in the 41st football event involving recently graduated high school seniors from Santa Clara County. It was the first time the game was played at the new home of the San Francisco 49ers, site of Super Bowl 50.
“It’s unfortunate that one costly turnover decided a really tight game,” North coach Jake Messina said of the event, witnessed by an estimated 8,000. Both defenses played great. Their quarterbacks played a little better than ours and that was kind of the difference.”
Oak Grove’s Tajhel Johnson made the key play for the South. He intercepted a tipped Dominic Sabel pass and returned it 60 yards for a touchdown. The defensive score put the South ahead 14-0 with 5:32 left in the second quarter.
Branham quarterback Luke Morin had given the South a 7-0 lead on a 9-yard run with 9:54 left in the first half as the teams battled under blustery skies at Levi’s.
“We held those guys to seven points and the other score came off a turnover,” Messina said. “Seven points against our defense – I’ll take that any day. We just couldn’t produce offensively. But I thought it was great for everyone that was here. Getting to play in this environment and getting to work with these kids was great.”
Said South coach Eric Perry: “We persevered. It was a tale of two halves there. This game is all about momentum and turnovers and who can sustain a drive. They made some great adjustments at halftime and shut my offense down. Thankfully we played well on defense. It was a battle and that’s the way things should be. I’m just glad we were on the winning side.”
The game’s hero, Johnson, was surprised to make the pivotal and most dramatic play of the game, picking off a pass and then weaving to the end zone.
“I was just playing my zone and then I saw the screen and I just came up,” said Johnson who will play at City College of San Francisco in the fall. “It tipped off the running back’s hands and it came straight to me. Then I just followed my blockers. It was great. I never would have guessed that would have happened. It was the greatest thing ever.”
Piedmont Hills’ Aaron Tillak was a dominant player for the North, playing both wideout and quarterback. His 19-yard TD catch of a Sabel pass brought the North to within one touchdown and a two-point conversion of the South with 8:53 left in the game.
“It felt good,” Tillak said. “I knew I was going to be playing some wideout and I got a couple of snaps at quarterback, but for me the best thing was the experience – making some new friends with guys I’ve played against. And being here at Levi’s Stadium and getting to make some plays and score a touchdown feels pretty good."
Like Johnson, Tillak will also play at CCSF in the fall.
Big hitter Curt Calomeni of Bellarmine College Prep also had a stellar game for the North
“It was a lot of fun,” Calomeni said. “Before it was a little nerve-wracking just because (the stadium) is so big. I’ve never played in such a big stadium. But it was fun. I have mixed emotions now. I’m excited about college, but a little sad about leaving my friends.”
Calomeni will play at Chapman College in 2015.
The South scored its first TD after taking over at midfield following a punt. Los Gatos quarterback Dru Brown, headed to College of San Mateo this year, ran 10 yards for a first down. Then he threw a 9-yard completion for a first down and an 8-yarder to Kevin Cance to the move the ball to the 9. That set up Morin’s TD run. Morin was inserted at QB for the play and hurriedly had to find his helmet.
Brown was smiling after as members of the press circled and clearly enjoyed the proceedings.
“It was fun – a lot of fun,” he said. “I thought for only two weeks of preparation that we played pretty well. We didn’t have that many mental mistakes. It was really impressive how fast our guys picked up the system. It was definitely nice to get a win.”
Linebacker Sam Kanongata’a of Fremont had two quarterback sacks for the North. Also shining was Mitty’s Nick McMurray who had two sacks for the South. Also recording sacks were Oak Grove’s Rushawn Jones, Santa Teresa’s Corey Garcia and Sobrato’s Ben Hagiperos.
Lucy Wedemeyer again attended the event. She is the widow of Charlie Wedemeyer, the iconic Los Gatos coach whom the game was named after. Wedemeyer died in 2010 after a long battle with Lou Gehrig’s disease.
The 2 ½ hours of prep action put a hurt on the Levi’s Stadium Field. Media reports from the venue said the turf was a bit torn up for the 49ers’ practice which immediately followed the prep event.
