North stars fall as relaxed rules don't help quarterbacks

By: SCOTT BAIR - Staff Writer | Friday, July 13, 2007 11:40 PM PDT ∞

The North's Kyle Albini, right, from San Pasqual, tackles the South's Jarod Stutts, from Crawford, during the 1st quarter of the Alex Spanos Classic at Mesa College on Friday.
HAYNE PALMOUR IV Staff Photographer
Order a copy of this photo
Visit our Photo Gallery

---

SAN DIEGO ---- Blitzing is apparently overrated. Even when the rules took it partially away, the best prep defensive linemen in the San Diego Section still found a way to break through. That created a long-lasting stalemate in the Spanos All-Star Football Classic and turned a game designed for offense into a defensive struggle.

The South team eventually broke through with two big plays and walked away with a 14-0 victory over the North on Friday evening at San Diego Mesa College.

The North, led by defensive tackle Mick Witzman from La Costa Canyon High and Mike Reid from Rancho Buena Vista, shut down a potent South attack all game long despite being at a significant size disadvantage.

"They were a lot bigger, but we were a lot faster," said Witzman, who had seven tackles and a sack. "We used our speed to shoot the gaps and get into the backfield. That was really important given the rules against blitzing."

The main rule was that no one could blitz inside the offensive line, forcing aggressive linebackers to the outside. That meant defensive linemen had to win head-to-head matchups. And, in large part, the North was successful.

"We just looked at it as a challenge," said Reid, a defensive end who had two sacks and was honored as the North Player of the Game. "We knew how good (El Capitan's Ryan Lindley) was, and we knew that we had to create pressure in order to slow him down. Luckily we were able to do that."

Unfortunately for the North, the South was equally as good on defense, swarming throwers and running backs alike.

The teams played to a scoreless first half, a period dominated entirely by defense. There were eight sacks on this night and even the finest rusher had no room to breathe. North running back Ivory Herd (Rancho Buena Vista) led all ball carriers with 9 yards in the first half.

The momentum increased ever slightly in the second half, as the South connected on two big pass plays from Lindley, a San Diego State recruit, to Trevor Kolocheski. Both put the South near the goal line, where it converted short fields into touchdowns.

While the entire game was a classic defensive struggle, it ended on a sour note. It was called with 1 minute, 44 seconds remaining due to a scuffle between North and South that had been brewing throughout the second half. It eventually got to be too much, and the game was finally called after every available flag was on the field.

"On the whole, this was a great experience," North coach Trace Deneke (El Camino) said. "The end, however, was frustrating. Some of these kids come from prolific programs and losing caused some friction. Some guys lost their composure, but they need to remember that this is an all-star game and it's supposed to be fun.

"A loss doesn't set the price of oil or set the economy. This whole process was fun and, losing wasn't the end of the world."

Contact staff writer Scott Bair at (760) 739-6642 or sbair@nctimes.com.