Normal Friday nights for me do not include sitting in the press box at Ohio Stadium. That’s why I had to jump at the chance when I was offered this assignment. Go to Ohio Stadium for the 65th Annual Ohio North-South All-Star Classic, the longest running all-star game, featuring seventy-two of the best high school football players in the state of Ohio. All seniors, some playing in the stadium they will get to know better; including Christian Bryant (DB), Tyrone Williams (WR), JT Moore (DL) and Darryl Baldwin (DL) from the North All-Stars. And let us not forget the games MVP, Verlon Reed (QB), from the South which had a 23-20 victory tonight.
Being inside of Ohio Stadium is already distracting as it is. It is the Horseshoe after all. But being able to sit inside the press box at Ohio Stadium is a bit overwhelming; especially if it is the first time you’ve ever been inside of a press box. But this girl can handle anything thrown her way. Being in the Press box I was able to observe a lot of different things.
Observations from the game and surroundings:
- The Ohio State Marching band performed before and during halftime to entertain the crowd. They also played throughout the game. I heard a bit of Bad Romance by Lady Gaga from them in the beginning of the second quarter.
- The game started off slow but once the second quarter was coming to an end, the offenses decided to wake up. The score was 6-0 with the North on top. Only 6 because the extra point was blocked. For the South, Jack Tomlinson caught a 32 yard touchdown pass from Patrick Angle to tie up the game 6-6. Extra point was also blocked. This was beginning to be a pattern. Jerrod Ronyak then hooked up with Chase Hammond for a 56 yard touchdown pass to give the North a 12-6 lead. On the next drive for the South, Patrick Angle was intercepted by Luke Wollet. The North thought they were in control but the turnovers weren’t over. Mark Fackler from the South stripped EJ Tucker and Roosevelt Nix scooped up the fumble and ran 40 yards for the touchdown. The extra point was good! The South headed into halftime with a 13-12 lead. Entertaining Stuff.
- Jibreel Black is good. Pretty darn good. Unfortunately he’ll be suiting up for the Maize and Blue this fall. He had 2 key sacks on the last drive against the North and was the South’s Defensive MVP.
- The second half showed dominance by the South’s defense, more scoring by their offense and also a little drama in the closing minutes. Kyle Clinton kicked a field goal and Verlon Reed scored a 37 yard touchdown on a quarterback draw to go up 23-12. The North fought back even after falling short in the red zone. Another turnover helped. Jayron Elliot had a huge hit on Patrick Angle and Antonio Kinard picked it up and ran it in for a 45 yard touch down. A 2 point coversion was completed by EJ Tuker to Tyrone Williams. The score was now 23-20. The North then went for the onside kick and kicker Carey Spears recovered his own kick. But the South’s defense was too stout. Jibreel Black came up big, as mentioned before, with his 2 sacks.
- During timeouts I heard music by Michael Jackson, Rihanna, Muse and Kings of Leon.
- The MVPs were announced at the end of the game. For the victorious South we had Jack Tomlinson as the Offensive MVP and Jibreel Black as the Defensive MVP. For the North we had Chase Hammond as the Offensive MVP and Jewone Snow as the Defensive MVP. And as mentioned before Verlon Reed was the MVP of the Classic.
All in all it was an experience I took in and hope to have many more of them. I wish good luck to all the athletes in their future endeavors and congratulate them on an entertaining all-star game.
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