California’s Lone Score Beats Lone Star State

Derrick Gardner’s second-quarter interception and touchdown return led the California All-Stars to a 6-0 victory over the Texas All-Stars in the revamped 44th annual Shrine Game July 22 at Cal State Fullerton before 10,000 spectators.

Gardner, of Skyline High School in Oakland, stepped in front of a Texas receiver at the Texas 47-yard line and sprinted to the end zone. Appropriately, the defense accounted for the only scoring in a game dominated by each side’s sizable defensive lines and quick backfields.

This year’s Shrine game abandoned the usual format pitting Northern and Southern California high school stars against one another. Combining North and South players limited the number of central city stars, but they made the most of their moments.

Locke High star and Texas A&M; freshman-to-be Sirr Parker had a rough time running the ball (minus-seven yards in 11 attempts) but did turn a couple of screen passes into first downs.

Loyola’s Matt Pentecost justified his recruitment by UCLA with a strong performance as California’s starting right guard.

Parker said the team felt a sense of camaraderie going into the game.

“We were like family,” Parker said of the weeklong camp at Pacific Christian College in Fullerton where the California stars gathered and trained.

The team, led by Mater Dei Santa Ana coach Bruce Rollinson, seemed to be in better shape than its Texas counterparts. The Texans called timeouts on two late drives while attempting to tie the game and walked to their sideline huddle both times.

Pentecost credited the coaching staff (all from Mater Dei) for the victory, saying: “They worked us real hard.”

The defensive struggle was marred by fights and unsportsmanlike conduct penalties. Crespi lineman Kane Collins and Texas lineman D.J. Cooper were both ejected from the game after a third quarter fight that emptied both benches. But for all the emotion, the players kept in sight the real purpose of the game: the children of the Shriners Crippled Children’s Hospital, who benefit from money raised by the game.

Echoing the game’s motto, “Strong legs run that weak legs may walk,” Parker said of a visit the team took to the hospital: “We saw kids that couldn’t even walk, and so we left the hospital wanting to run for them.”