PREP FOOTBALL / SHRINE GAME : Avina Gives North a Leg Up on South, 14-0

Armando Avina of Manteca East Union High kicked two Shrine Game-record field goals and quarterback Mark Butterfield of Antioch led a second-half charge to give the North a 14-0 victory over the South in the 40th Shrine all-star high school football game Saturday night at the Rose Bowl.

Before an estimated 11,000, the North took control late in the first half on Avina’s right leg. After the teams exchanged eight punts in the game’s first 22 minutes, Avina, who was named the North’s most valuable player, made two field goals within the last two minutes of the half.

After missing an early first-quarter 32-yard field goal, Avina made a line-drive 51-yarder to give the North a 3-0 lead with 1:48 remaining and break the Shrine Game mark of 41 yards, set in 1971 by the North’s Eddie King of Fresno Bullard.

Avina followed after a South punt with a 52-yard field goal on the last play of the half to stretch the North’s lead to 6-0.

“It felt good to set the record at first, and then to break it again is something special,” said Avina, who during his senior season made eight field goals and averaged 43.9 yards per punt. “The second one was supposed to be 51 yards, but I moved it back so I could break the record.”

The North scored on its first possession of the second half with an 80-yard, 16-play drive. Butterfield, who completed four of seven passes for 54 yards in the quarter, capped the drive with a six-yard toss to Michael Fields of San Francisco Galileo. Butterfield also completed a two-point conversion pass to Aaron McDonald of Bakersfield to give the North a 14-0 lead.

With a two-touchdown lead, the North’s defense took over, finishing with eight sacks and limiting the South to 88 yards. The South’s quarterbacks, John Walsh of Carson and Todd Preston of Westlake Village Westlake, combined to complete five of 12 passes for 46 yards with two interceptions.

A key defensive force for the North was UCLA-bound Jamir Miller of El Cerrito, who finished with a game-high 10 tackles. The 6-foot-5 Miller dominated from his outside linebacker position with four sacks. After playing inside linebacker last fall, his charge from the ends caught the South off guard.

“We thought that they would have him playing inside,” said Napolean Kaufman of Lompoc, who was the South’s most valuable player with 67 yards rushing in 12 carries. “(The North’s defense) was really good in that they moved so quick to the ball.”

With Miller providing pressure, the South was limited to five first downs. Its longest gains came late in the fourth quarter when the Washington-bound Kaufman broke loose for 59 yards in four carries.

The North closed the South’s edge in the series to 20-14-5. It was the first time the South has been shut out since 1957 and only the second time ever in a statewide format.

“Just playing in the Rose Bowl meant a lot to me,” said Miller, who is expected to see action as a freshman for UCLA. “Getting out here and playing like this will get me ready for the season.”