PREP FOOTBALL / NORTH-SOUTH ALL-STAR GAME : Young Stands Out in Victory

COSTA MESA — The 36th North-South All-Star football game appeared headed for its second scoreless tie when Charles Young stepped in.

Or better yet stepped in front of a South wide receiver at the 43-yard line, picked off his second pass of the game, and returned it 33 yards to the 10.

North quarterback Adam Hoover took it from there. After absorbing a sack that moved the ball back to the 14, the former Canyon star Hoover rifled a touchdown pass to Jeff Turbarg with 3 minutes 25 seconds left in the game for a 6-0 victory in front of an estimated 5,500 at Orange Coast College.

It was the third consecutive victory for the North, which leads the series 20-14-2.

“Thank God for Chris Young,” North Coach Gary Meek said. “He was our secret weapon. He was definitely the player of the game.”

Young, from Rancho Alamitos, was certainly the standout in a game that featured defense.

Both interceptions came off of South quarterback Brian Wilson, who still managed 121 yards on 13-of-18 passing. The first came at the end of the first half. There was no return yardage, but it was a preview of things to come.

Young--who was the defensive player of the game--nearly broke open the contest in the third quarter. After South kicker Jason Bartusick was short on a 52-yard attempt, Young alertly picked up the ball in the end zone and raced 48 yards before getting tackled.

“We’re always taught to play until you hear the whistle,” Young said. “I didn’t hear one and I didn’t think anyone was paying attention.”

Hoover, voted the offensive player of the game, called the winning pass.

On third down, he got permission from the coaches to call 22-boot, a pass play that allowed him to roam back and forth along the line of scrimmage. That’s just what Hoover did until Turbarg broke free.

“In these games, you expect to have your ups and downs on offense,” said Hoover, who completed nine of 12 for 83 yards. “But when Chris made his play, there was no way we weren’t going to score.”

The teams took different routes in trying to get into the end zone.

Meek had the advantage having starter Chris Stretch as his quarterback at Esperanza the past two years, so he knew the system. So the North was looking for a quick strike through play-action passes and counter plays. “We have no idea what they will do [on defense], and they have no idea what we’ll do,” Meek said, expecting to make a bunch of early adjustments.

Barnett, on the other hand, chose to “experiment,” lining up in several different offensive formations to see what the North defense reacted to best. “I needed to look at a lot of things,” Barnett said.

Neither saw what they wanted to--points.

The North’s deepest penetration was the South 29, and that came on the North’s opening drive. Stretch completed two of four passes for 40 yards and Hoover was three of four for 16 yards. Hoover also had the single longest gain of the half--a 23-yard quarterback scramble.

But running backs Footman and Bedard found the South defensive wall unyielding; they were a combined minus five yards rushing. And Hoover saw one drive end when his overthrown pass was intercepted by Charles Chatman at the South 18. Chatman had two interceptions.

Wilson wasn’t finding things any easier when he and the South had the ball. The former El Toro star completed five of nine passes for 41 yards, and Dwayne Cherrington of Santa Ana Valley rushed for 20 yards on five carries mainly on pitch plays to the right side of the North defense.

The South only got as far as the North 32. But it stalled its drives with three penalties, as well as Wilson taking a couple of sacks. Wilson also threw an interception to Chris Young on the final play of the half.