Published: June 13, 2009 12:16 am      

West football All-Stars roll

OWINGSVILLE — The fourth annual Northeastern Kentucky East/West Senior Bowl did not end the way East All-Stars coach Lee Evans had planned, but the experience was enjoyable as a whole.

“There was not a bad experience to the very end,” Evans said.

The West All-Stars tied the overall series at 2-2 with a 33-0 blowout of the East All-Stars with dominant play on both sides of the ball on Friday night at Bath County High School.

West tailback Jeremy Thompson of Mason County earned the Offensive Most Valuable Player award for the West All-Stars with an outstanding performance from beginning to end.

Thompson scored the game’s first points with a rushing touchdown, ending a drive in which he rushed for 28 yards.

Thompson put an exclamation point on the rout with a 59-yard scamper down the right sideline to give West a 31-0 lead before a two-point conversion.

“(West was) good on both sides,” Evans said. “They had a quality tailback and quarterback, and defensively, they moved well and played technique well all night.”

Harrison County’s Van Isaac served as West’s quarterback. He completed 8-of-10 passes for 88 yards, 46 of which came on the team’s first drive.

Harrison County product Aaron Newby contributed tremendously along with Isaac, his high school teammate.

Newby scored once on the ground and once on a perfect pass that hit him in stride in the back of the end zone from Isaac.

Raceland’s Bret Denton was named Offensive MVP for the East All-Stars. The former Ram, who does not plan to play at the next level, rushed for 18 yards on three carries. He was just happy to be a part of the process and his final game as a high school football player.

“There were a bunch of good players out there,” Denton said. “I wish I had four more years of high school.”

John Scott Carver, Todd Selvage and Robby Logan represented Raceland. Carver rushed for 27 yards on six carries and earned one of two scholarships given out by Tom Posey, the bowl director.

“The scholarship is a couple hundred dollars,” Posey said. “Once they get enrolled to college a check will go to that university or college.”

Defensive MVP awards went to Berry Ward of Paintsville and Aaron Meadows of Bath County.

East never stirred up much offense against a talented West bunch that was led by Meadows with eight tackles and Cody Caswell with seven tackles.

East worked into West’s territory late in the second quarter, but on a fourth-down opportunity, Matt Jones’ pass was deflected by cornerback Aaron Roberts.

East had another legitimate chance to get into the red zone in the fourth quarter, but former Russell quarterback A.J. Cordle’s pass slipped through the hands of Ashland’s Bryant Combs on second down.

Defensively, the East All-Stars were led by Drew Webb of Lawrence County, with seven tackles. Drew Abrams, Drew Miller, Ward and Combs each recorded six tackles.

Evans made his debut as an All-Star coach, while Nicholas County coach Robert Hopkins coached in his third Senior Bowl.

Each team had practiced together since Sunday.

“This was a week like none other,” Evans said. “All the kids that have been playing against each other for four years got along great.”

Posey was pleased with yet another successful Senior Bowl.

“I think it’s been a great success,” Posey said. “Bath County did a great job with the field. This was two good football teams getting after it, and that’s what we want to continue every year.”