EVERETT — With the impending arrival of dynamic receiver Mitch Saylor, the Montana Grizzlies have a lot to look forward to.
Saylor, a University of Montana football recruit, put on a show Saturday during the 2010 Class 3A/4A East-West All-Star Football Game at Everett Memorial Stadium. Playing in a high school game for the final time before he joins Montana’s nationally prominent program, the seemingly unstoppable 6-foot-6 receiver helped the East team drill the West team 28-9.
Named the East’s Most Valuable Player, Saylor, from Union High School in Camas, made seven receptions for 129 yards and two touchdowns. He caught TD passes of 56 yards and 10 yards from East quarterback Austin Dodge of Skyview High (Vancouver).
“That’s a pretty potent combination,” West head coach Mark Stewart (Meadowdale High) said.
Dodge completed 10 of 16 passes for 116 yards and two TDs with one interception. The East team’s other QB, Mt. Spokane’s Travis Ward, also excelled. Ward, the nephew of Archbishop Murphy football coach Dave Ward, was 8-for-11 for 128 yards, including a 67-yard TD completion to Nathaniel Penaranda, Saylor’s teammate at Union.
Led by a tough group of linemen that included 6-3, 285-pound University of Washington recruit Sione Potoa’e, the East defense was near-perfect. It limited the West team to 24 yards of total offense (33 yards passing, minus-9 yards rushing). Federal Way’s Trenton Pinson scored the West’s lone TD on a 3-yard run late in the first quarter.
“When you have guys up front like Kjelby Oiland (Ferris) and Sione Potoa’e (Lakes) and Trevor Poole (Ferris) and backers — we just had really good people up front,” said East team head coach Dave Miller, who coached Potoa’e at Lakes.
Asked about East’s punishing ‘D,’ West team QB Andy Smith of Arlington said: “They were just solid everywhere. There wasn’t a weak spot. They had great pressure and then they had great coverage.”
Meanwhile, the West, which was outscored 14-0 in the fourth quarter, had no answer for Saylor. His first TD catch, on a deep route over the middle, gave the East team a 7-0 lead with 4 minutes, 39 seconds to play in the first quarter. It came on fourth-and-1 at the East 44-yard line.
Saylor’s second score essentially squashed the West’s hope for a late comeback. On third-and-9 from the West 10, Dodge rifled a low pass to Saylor, who went to his knees to make the reception. It put the East team on top 21-9 with 5:33 to play in the game.
In Saylor, the Montana Grizzlies are getting a great receiver, coach Miller said.
“He got a little bit tired, I think, at times. We were trying to wear him out,” Miller joked.
The East-West Game showcases many of the state’s elite Class of 2010 high school gridiron standouts. The 2011 game will be in Spokane, where the East will go for its fourth consecutive victory in the annual series. The West hasn’t won since 2007.
On Saturday, the West’s offense struggled mightily, but the team pulled within 14-9 in the third quarter when Cascade High’s Brandon Blinn blocked a punt by Jake Miller, sending the ball out of the East end zone for a safety.
However, the East wrapped up the victory by scoring two TDs in the fourth quarter: Saylor’s second score and, after the East defense recovered a fumble for the third time, a 1-yard TD run by Levi Taylor (Lewis &Clark).
Oak Harbor’s Nick Rouser, a 6-4 defensive end, was named the West’s MVP. Rouser made six tackles (two solo), including a sack.
Mike Cane: mcane@heraldnet.com. Check out the prep sports blog Double Team at www.heraldnet.com/doubleteam.
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