EVERETT — The East team’s passing offense — a four-receiver spread attack — was on target all afternoon in the Class 3A/4A East-West All-Star Football Game on Saturday at Everett Memorial Stadium.
Quarterbacks Austin Dodge of Skyview (Vancouver) and Travis Ward of Mt. Spokane combined to complete 18 of 27 passes (66.7 percent) for 244 yards and three touchdowns with just one interception. They helped lead the East team to an impressive 28-9 victory.
“We had two kids that could throw it well,” East team head coach Dave Miller said. “The last time I coached in the (East-West Game) we didn’t really have a guy who could throw a spiral, so it was nice having two quarterbacks that could throw it and understood the passing game.”
Following his brother’s lead
There’s nothing quite like sibling rivalry.
Oak Harbor’s Jake Rouser earned defensive most valuable player honors for the West team two years ago at the 3A/4A East-West All-Star football game, so naturally little brother Nick, a recent Oak Harbor graduate, had to go for an award as well.
Nick, a 6-foot-4, 240 pound lineman for the West team, came up with six tackles, including a first-quarter sack.
And just like his brother, now a lineman for Idaho State University, Nick earned West team most valuable player honors Saturday.
“I’m surprised I got this award,” Rouser said. “He’s (Jake) pretty much been my role model since sophomore year and I thought it was amazing that he got it and I’m humbled that I got it.”
Rouser, a Central Washington University recruit, hadn’t played since the end of the fall football season, but looked to get quickly into the swing of things with a first-half sack that forced a turnover on downs.
“It takes a couple days, but I started getting stoked once I got some hits,” Rouser said.
Rouser, who comes from a family of football players — his father played linebacker for the Naval Academy while two uncles played for Navy and Air Force — said he doesn’t know which side of the ball he’ll play for CWU.
“It was great competition on both sides of the field,” Rouser said. “I didn’t think I’d pull through and get this (award) during the week considering all that competition. These are the best guys I’ve played.”
Team captains
The East team captains were Dodge, receiver Mitch Saylor (Union), nose guard Sione Potoa’e (Lakes) and defensive lineman Trevor Poole (Ferris). The West team captains were receiver Cole Graves (Juanita), running back Larry Dixon (Olympic), lineman Coleton Langdon (Liberty) and linebacker Anthony DeMatteo (Skyline).
The unstoppable “man-child”
Potoa’e, the highly regarded East defensive lineman, tied for second-most tackles on his team with six (one solo, five assists). According to Scout.com, he is the No. 2 Class of 2010 football recruit in Washington and fourth-best in the country among defensive tackles. He made an impact despite getting extra attention from the West team.
“We had two or three (blockers) on him sometimes,” West team QB Andy Smith (Arlington) said. “He’s a man-child.”
A Grizzly group
Saylor (seven receptions, 129 yards, two TDs) was named the East team Most Valuable Player.
Having such a huge individual game and helping the East win “was awesome,” the 6-foot-6 Saylor said, “but I think the best part was I met two (East) teammates who I’m going to have at Montana with me.”
Saylor, Poole and Bo Tully, a safety from Mead, were all recruited to play for the University of Montana Grizzlies football team.
Rosenbach and Whitefield award winners
At the end of the third quarter the Lynn Rosenbach and Tony Whitefield Awards of Excellence were presented. East team defensive back/running back Bennett Bontemps (Rogers of Puyallup) and West team lineman Aaron Moetului (Mount Si) were the respective winners. The Rosenbach and Whitefield awards “symbolize dedication, attitude, sportsmanship and athletic ability,” according to the East-West Game program.
Recognizing the zebras
The officials during the first half, according to the game program, were Dean Corcoran, Mike Shumway, Jeff Schireman, Don O’Neal and Pat Sievers. The second-half officials were Murray Gordon, Tom Rosenbach, Jay Wilson, Ross Noe and John Ray.
Get on the same page
The relationship between the center and the quarterback is crucial to the success of any well-executed offense, so naturally you’d expect a few mishandled snaps and shoddy handoffs.
Playing from a shotgun formation, the release just needed to be at the quarterback’s hands, but that didn’t stop both teams from having a few errant snaps.
“I have two centers that are here that have never shotgun snapped,” West head coach Mark Stewart said. “It looked a little shaky on Monday, but they stepped up and they got that part down and we didn’t have an issue with it during the game.”
The East had a bit more trouble with botched snaps and handoffs and one snap sailed over the quarterback’s head and a handoff to running back Colten Williams of Mt. Spokane was fumbled.
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