Public League Edges Non-Public in 45th Annual City All Star Football Game

When Jovan Hinton (Bishop McDevitt) forced a fumble after he smacked the Public Leagues talented QB Tarik Bey, which  was recovered by Terrance Thompson (Penn Charter), it didn’t take long for the Non-Public squad trailing 7-6 at the time to take the lead.

On the very next play from scrimmage, Jahlil Sanders (Archbishop Ryan) sprinted 40 yards to the endzone to give the Non-Pub a 13-6 advantage with 8:42 remaining on the fourth quarter clock. The PAT failed, which eventually turned out to be the difference in the game.

After the Pub’s Jawan Rodriguez, a teammate of Bey’s at John Bartram, returned the ensuing kickoff 18 yards to his own 26-yard line, the final drive for the game-winning ending was about to begin. After a 10-yard penalty on first down, Bey was now forced to lead his team 84 yards. Bey’s last completed pass of the game came on second down when he found Nasir McCrae-Dixon (Bartram) for 23 yards and a first down at the Pub’s 44 yard line.

Two runs by Symear Williams (Imhotep) followed the pass play and after a 15-yard infraction against the N-P, the Public League now had the ball on the other side of midfield at the 31 with 4:40 on the clock.

After a Pub timeout, the elusive Bey ran 10 yards to the 21-yard line. The next play saw Bey attempt his final pass, which was incomplete.

Bey finished 9 for 16 for 106 yards and a TD.  Pub Head Coach Nick Lincoln (Imhotep) then decided it was time to run the ball. The biggest gain of the last half dozen rushes was a 10 yarder by Yusuf Terry (Imhotep). Two penalties against the Non-Pub moved the ball five yards from paydirt at the 1:46 mark.

On second down, Rodriguez gained two yards. Kyle Powell (Lincoln)  then ran for another two yards before Bey sneaked in from the one-yard line with just 45 seconds on the clock.  The TD saw the scoreboard read 13-12 in favor of the Non-Pub.

The two-point conversion was successful when Jordan Price (Frankford) ran it in, giving the Public League the lead at 14-13.

The Non- Pub had one last chance but constant pressure on QB Alex Goldsby (Conwell-Egan)  mostly from the Pub’s Sebastian Benjamin (Northeast), who was the Pub League’s Defensive Player of the game, saw the game end around midfield for the losers as time expired.

The first quarter was scoreless but the Pub got on the board first when Bey launched a 28-yard pass early in the second quarter that was snatched by Terry for a touchdown.

The Non-Pub answered right back with a 9-play, 67 yard drive when their Offensive MVP, Jacir Savoy (West Catholic Prep) sprinted 30 yards to tie the score at 6. After Gavin Dioniso’s (Archbishop Ryan) PAT boot, the men in the white jerseys led 7-6 with 4:13 to go before halftime.

The Pub then took over but a sack by Gerald Smith (Bonner-Prendergast) and a forced fumble by Richard Lawrence (McDevitt), which was recovered by Zach Bouggess (St. Joe’s Prep) put the Non-Pub in good field position at their opponent’s 32 with 1:43 before the break.

On first down, QB Shane Dooley (Father Judge) started running for his life while being chased and eventually tackled at the 50 by a host of Pub defenders for an 18-yard loss.  The now second and 28 was too much to overcome, which forced the Non-Pub to punt on fourth down.  The Pub then took its turn before halftime and Bey gave them some hope when he completed two passed totaling 21 yards but again a 10-yard penalty stopped the momentum as the teams entered their locker rooms with the Non-Pub ahead 7-6.

BOX SCORE

HISTORY OF THE GAME

(Links Courtesy of Ted Silary)