MODESTO – After building a respectable 10-0 halftime lead the North squad dominated the South over the final two quarters, cruising to a 30-0 win in the 39th Annual Lions All-Star Football Game Saturday featuring high school seniors who just graduated.
Offensively, the North was able to show chemistry from the onset, while their South counterparts proved incapable of sustaining any offense for the better of four quarters. With the North’s defense stifling the South’s offense, any productivity from the North’s offense would prove enough.
Sierra High standout Zach Penirian made his presence felt in the contest, hauling in a key third-down conversion catch during the North’s second successful scoring drive. Penirian also posted a highlight late in the contest with a huge comeback.
“In the end it felt like any other game,” Penirian said. “We heard that their team was the bigger, faster, stronger squad, so we just wanted to come out here and win. Personally, I just wanted to come out here and perform for my team.
“We were able to build a family in just that one week.”
North head coach Brian Gray from Lincoln High of Stockton echoed those sentiments, saying the group “instantly gelled”. The performance the group put together seemed to substantiate how well they group worked as a unit.
“A ‘W’ is a ‘W’ and we’ll take them,” Gray said after the shutout. “We just want the kids to play hard and enjoy the process. That is what the big thing is about. They enjoyed the game, they enjoyed the week and they enjoyed being together.
“The win is just the cherry on top.”
East Union standout TJ Williams was plagued by an injury throughout the week of camp and found limited action in the contest. Lathrop resident and St. Mary’s High standout Jamie Christopherson helped key the North to the shutout from his linebacker spot. Joining forces with Ripon Christian’s James Vander Schaaf in holding a talented South offensive unit in check for the duration.
Vander Schaff was able to get the crowd’s attention in the game’s waning seconds, when an interception led to Vander Schaff decleating a player with a huge block that sent the crowd into a frenzy.
“It just turned out to be one of those perfect plays that sets itself up,” Vander Schaaf said of the hit. “It was exciting playing out here with all of these great players. It was a good feeling being able to trust the guy next to you and have that confidence in one another.”
