Public Schools Victorious in Shrine

For all the complaining there is about private school football programs, the public schools don’t seem to have a problem in all-star games.

The public schools won the 54th Shrine All-Star Football Classic, 42-23, on Saturday at Mt. San Antonio College for the third time in a row -- as long as the format has existed.

Two Inland Empire players -- Brandon Minor, a running back from Corona Centennial who is headed to San Jose State, and speedy receiver Brian Haith of Upland who is headed to Texas Southern -- scored two touchdowns apiece.

Minor rushed six times for 17 yards, spinning away from a tackler for his team’s first score, and bulldozing a tackler from four yards on the last.

Haith, the offensive player of the game, twice got behind the defense. His first score came from three yards as he ran under a ball lofted by Agoura’s Cory Smits into the back corner of the end zone. He also took a Karsten Sween pass at his own 45, bounced off a defender and completed an 83-yard touchdown. play.

His three catches totaled 105 yards.

“This shows I can perform at any level,” Haith said. “I showed all the college that didn’t recruit me what they missed. Texas Southern was there from the beginning, and I’m going to give them what they want.”

Trevor Theriot, a UCLA-bound linebacker from Newport Harbor, set up two touchdowns in the first half as the public schools built a 28-7 lead, until Chauncey Fagan of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame intercepted a Sween pass and returned it 20 yards for a touchdown with 17 seconds left in the half.

Theriot, the defensive player of the game, returned an interception 37 yards to set up one touchdown, a three-yard run by Los Alamitos’ Cortes Rice for a 21-7 lead. Theriot also recovered a fumble at the private school 12-yard line to set up Smits’ pass to Haith for a 28-7 margin.

Smits completed all eight of his passes for 139 yards and two touchdowns, including a brilliant in-stride 45-yarder to Canyon Country Canyon’s Dejon Negron for a 14-7 lead.

Sween finished 11 of 16 for 199 yards, one interception and one touchdown.

-- Martin Henderson

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The football game between Concord De La Salle and host Mission Viejo will take place on Oct. 8 at Mission Viejo High.

Last year, Mission Viejo won at De La Salle, 17-14. The Diablos finished 14-0, won the Southern Section Division II title and ranked second in Student Sports’ final Fab 50 national rankings.

De La Salle, which had a 151-game winning streak ended in its season opener, finished 8-3-2 and won its 13th consecutive North Coast Section title.

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Mission Viejo lineman Chase Moline, The Times’ Orange County lineman of the year, will be among the players in the 46th Orange County All-Star game on July 8 at Orange Coast College.

Moline, who has signed with UCLA, will be joined on the South squad by all-region linemen Tyler Perkins of Santa Ana Mater Dei and linemen Nick Reed and Ryan Williams of Mission Viejo, along with defensive back Alex Orth of Newport Harbor.

The North team’s all-region players include three from Orange Lutheran -- wide receiver/punter Brandon Rohr, lineman Eric Augustine and kicker Troy Van Blarcom -- plus quarterback/defensive back Xavier Hicks of Fullerton, linebacker/running back Rylon Thomas of Placentia Valencia, lineman Mike Aguayo and linebacker John Hale of Los Alamitos and linebacker Brad Johnson of Villa Park.

Los Alamitos’ John Barnes will coach the North team and Jim O’Connell of Rancho Santa Margarita Tesoro will coach the South.

Kickoff is at 7:15 p.m.

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Pomona Diamond Ranch’s Tom Leach, who guided the Panthers to the Southern Section Division VIII semifinals last year, will coach the East team in the 26th National Football Foundation’s Hall of Fame game on July 8 at El Monte Mountain View.

Ealar Gallagher of Pasadena La Salle will coach the West.

Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. and general admission is $7.