The West team received the opening kickoff, but the first possession for each team resulted in quick three and outs. During the West’s second drive, Connor Wood, a quarterback committed to The University of Texas, led the offense down the field and struck first by sailing a ball over the defenders to his emergency tight end, Ronald Powell, in the back of the end zone for a 23-yard score. Powell, known as a terrific defensive end and the fifth ranked player nationally, showed that he has the potential to be a two way player at the college level with his leaping grab.
On the ensuing drive, facing a third-and-9, Markeith Ambles came up with a spectacular forty-yard catch to keep the drive alive. Just when the East looked like they were going to get on the board, Michael Palardy had his 32-yard field goal attempt blocked by Cassius Marsh and Josh Shirley delivered and put the West up 14-0 at the half.
During the half Dillon Baxter, an explosive all purpose back from Mission Bay High School in San Diego, California, was awarded the U.S. Army player of the year award for his outstanding performance and leadership this past season. Baxter led the Buccaneers on a perfect 13-0 season that resulted in a San Diego CIF Division IV title. His stats are astonishing as he has accounted for 76 total touchdowns on the season and carried his team with 7 touchdowns in the championship game. With the departure of Pete Carroll to the Seattle Seahawks, Baxter is seriously reconsidering his commitment to USC.
Struggling to get in the rhythm and seeking a big play,the East found one from Spencer Ware who took a carry for 37 yards on the first play of the second half. With the kicking game struggling, the East decided to take a chance on fouth-and-5, but a low pass turns the ball over on downs. Sharrif Floyd, defensive tackle who just committed to the University of Florida, ended the West’s possession with an explosive sack on third-and-3 to force a three and out. Kennan Allan, set to join the Alabama Crimson Tide, received the punt and had an electrifying 52-yard return that provided the East with a much needed spark. But, once again the West defense laid to rest any momentum that the East had hoped to establish.
Off of the turnover on downs, Jake Heaps found Robert Woods for a 40-yard gain. Heaps, from Skyline High School in Washington, is the #1 ranked quarterback in the nation and a BYU commit. The drive set up Dillon Baxter for an impressive 5-yard touchdown where he weaved around a swarm of defenders to give the West a 21-0 lead.
Perhaps the most surprising performance in the game came from East quarterback, Cole Marcoux, who earned a chance to play in the All-American Bowl by winning a reality television show. On one of his first passes he connected with Ivan McCartney for a 50-yard bomb to score. However, the extra point attempt was blocked and Robert Powell who took the ball 99-yards the other way for two points, bringing the score to 23-6. The East had to perfectly execute two consecutive onsides kicks because the first one was penalized for an illegal formation call.
Marcoux took the field again and fired a perfectly thrown ball to Ambles, who was unable to haul it in. Ignoring the loss of a potential big gain, Marcoux completed a series of passes and drives to bring the East into scoring position. From 22-yards out he fired a ball to his tight end Gerald Christian. The East elected to go for two and Marcoux hit his other tight end C.J. Fiedorowicz for the conversion.
The West went on to recover an onside kick attempt and drove it down to the goal line, where it looked like Dillon Baxter was carrying a crowd of defenders into the end zone. Right before he was able to break the plane the ball was stripped from his hands and rolled into the end zone where Dominic Espinosa recovered for the score, bringing the West to a victory with the final 30-14.
Ronald Powell announced that he will attend The University of Florida. His dominant play throughout the game on both sides of the ball allowed him to take home the All-American Bowl MVP honors. Kyle Prater, the top wide receiver prospect in the nation, looked rattled by the news of Coach Carroll leaving USC and ended dropping a handful of catchable passes. Meanwhile Cole Marcoux is committed to Dartmouth, but awaiting D-I offers and based on his performance it looks like his phone will be extremely busy. From fighting to earn a spot at the game to potential D-I scholarship offers, the Cole Marcoux story might end with a Cinderella style finish.
Commitments on the Day:
C.J. Mosley: LB, Alabama
Latwan Anderson: DB, West Virginia
Demetrius Wright: DB, USC
Victor Hampton: DB, South Carolina
Dior Mathis: DB, Oregon
Sharrif Floyd: DT, Florida
Marquis Flowers: DB, Arizona
Brandon Willis: DE, Tennessee
Matt Elam: DB, Florida
Ronald Powell: LB/DE, Florida
