East Has Edge, West Has Personnel in 12th Hall of Fame All-Star Game

Many of the top graduated high school seniors in the San Gabriel Valley will compete in the 12th annual Hall of Fame All-Star Football Game at 8 p.m. Friday at Citrus College in Glendora.

The East holds a 6-3-2 advantage in the series and has a 4-1-1 record in the past six games.

But game chairman Jim Brownfield, who also coaches the Muir High girls track team, thinks the West has the personnel to rebound this time.

The West, under the direction of former Cantwell High Coach Mike Noonan, may have the edge at quarterback and wide receiver. The quarterbacks are Sedrick Thomas from Muir and Jay Macias from Schurr.

Thomas, who will attend Oregon State University in the fall, completed 87 of 132 passes for 1,991 yards and 19 touchdowns with only five interceptions last season. With his 4.5-second speed in the 40-yard dash, he also rushed for 740 yards and four touchdowns.

Thomas and Macias will have a solid corps of receivers that includes Demetrice Martin of Muir and Chang Weisberg of Rosemead.

Weisberg, the leading pass-catcher in the valley last season, had 64 receptions for 1,089 yards and eight touchdowns as a senior after catching 60 passes for 811 yards and nine touchdowns as a junior. Martin, who will play for Michigan State in the fall, is the West’s big-play threat, having caught 20 passes for 612 yards and 10 touchdowns last season--an average of more than 30 yards a catch.

Other leaders for the West offense include fullback Jhayson Hall of Pasadena, tight end Sean Dublin of Temple City and linemen Hank Curtis of Muir and Matt Hicks of El Rancho. The defense will revolve around defensive end Matt Gilmour of Temple City, linebackers Jelani Pulliam of Muir and Daimon Shelton of Duarte and defensive back George Frazier of Duarte.

The East, coached by Baldwin Park’s Tony Zane, will counter with a talented contingent of running backs that includes Tyrone Edwards from Nogales, Bill Zernickow from Glendora and Damon Washington from Rowland.

Edwards, who will attend UC Berkeley in the fall, was one of the top rushers in the valley last season with 1,285 yards and 12 touchdowns in 166 carries--an average of 7.7 yards a carry. He also finished second in the state in the long jump in June and runs the 40 in 4.4 seconds.

Zernickow, who led Glendora to a 24-3-1 record over the past two seasons, rushed for 1,594 yards and 17 touchdowns as a senior and ran for 3,538 yards in his prep career. He will also play safety on defense, having logged eight quarterback sacks and two interceptions last season.

Zane will rotate among Anthony Delavarra of Northview, Adam Metwalli of Claremont and Tyson Stull of San Dimas at quarterback. The top receivers are Tony Campbell of Pomona, Todd Quinsey of Northview and Matthew Harding of San Dimas.

The East also has a big, physical offensive line that includes Claremont’s Chad Ventriglia and Bishop Amat’s John Ludwiczak. The East defense features linemen James Robinson of Walnut and Kurt Oliver of Damien, linebacker Luis Cuevas of Nogales and defensive back Anthony Ferguson of Ganesha.

Admission is $5. Proceeds will go toward the National Football Foundation’s scholar-athlete awards fund and scholarships.