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East races past West in East-West football game

michael lindsay, the high point enterprise, n.c.
·4 min read

Dec. 18—GREENSBORO — The East pulled away over the final three quarters to defeat the West 35-7 in the North Carolina Coaches Association's East-West All-Star Football Game on Saturday afternoon at Grimsley's Jamieson Stadium.

The East broke free from a 7-7 tie after one quarter when D.H. Conley's Isaiah Crumpler scored on a 28-yard touchdown pass from Northern Nash's Randall King with 8:09 left in the second.

The East tacked on a trio of rushing touchdowns in the second half for its second straight win in the series after winning the matchup in July. The game was moved to December in an effort to attract more high-level players.

Triton's Javon Cowan, who had 159 yards rushing and two touchdowns, was selected the game's offensive MVP. Cape Fear's Landon Sargent was named the game's defensive MVP.

AREA ATHLETES

Four area athletes played in Saturday's game: Jaylen Carl and Darius Hairston from Southwest Guilford, Ragsdale's Marquis Varner-James, and Thomasville's Jalen Thomas.

Thomas, a defensive back, tied for a game-high eight tackles — including five solo — and added a pass break-up. Carl and Hairston each added a solo tackle.

"It went pretty good," Thomas said. "I would've liked to win, but we didn't get it. The week went good — going out to eat, practicing. I liked it."

"I think it went pretty well," Carl added. "I was on both sides of the ball, so I had fun with it. Being my last high school game, it was a good experience."

ALL-STAR EXPERIENCES

For all four area athletes, Saturday was their final high school football game, and the week leading up to it was filled with enjoyable moments on and off the field.

"It was a great week," said Varner-James, who played on the defensive line. "It was a good experience — bonding with new guys, building new relationships, meeting new coaches. It was everything. All the practices were real competitive. So, it was a great week."

"It was just meeting new guys and getting battle ready for them," Hairston said. "Just knowing you've got to go to war with some new guys. And you just have to adjust to everything. It was a fun experience, just getting to know new people — kind of like college."

RECRUITING OPPORTUNITIES

This year's all-star week included a recruiting fair, which hadn't been a part of previous years' events because players largely had already made their plans.

Three of the area's four participants are still undecided (Carl has committed to play defensive end at Duke). So, the event allowed just a little bit more face-to-face discussion between players and college coaches.

"It helped," Varner-James said. "I actually had a bond already with a lot of the coaches there. So, we just had a conversation — catch up more, build a better relationship. I definitely think this was a great opportunity for guys — get noticed more, more exposure."

Derek Anderson was selected as one of the assistant coaches for head coach Butch Carter from Alexander Central.

Anderson is currently an assistant for Mark Holcomb at Bishop McGuinness. But, in three decades coaching and teaching, he has also been an assistant at Ragsdale and Southwest Guilford, as well as head coach at T.W. Andrews.

"It's about coming out here, competing and having fun — celebrating a career over four years for these kids," he said. "It's the relationships, and it's good to see them build some connections that'll last a lifetime."

Many of the area's most distinguished coaches have participated in the East-West games — going all the way back to early icons such as Tony Simeon. And the opportunity for Anderson, who coached the secondary for Saturday's game, to join their ranks was a special one.

"There are a lot of memories for me, from the son of a coach and a teacher," he said. "Coming to this game and sitting in the stands watching. Having players play in it. I had a little moment thinking of my good friend Ronnie Smith.

"Coach Smith was I think the first assistant coach when they started this process. And I became the first as part of this fall edition — that's my little historical moment," he said with a smile.

"But I just thought about that — Ronnie and I were great friends. And Coach Norwood (longtime Ragsdale coach Tommy Norwood). I've been around a lot of great coaches, and that's really what I was reflecting on."