by Frank Tate
CORRESPONDENT
(June 22) CHARLESTON --
Even though the South continued its dominance in the annual North-South All-Star Football Classic Saturday night, North players left the game believing the experience was worth a week of grueling practices.The South's 26-0 win gave it a 30-12-3 edge in the overall series, but area players still enjoyed the chance to play against the state's best.
"I thought we played fairly well tonight," Robert C. Byrd's Marshall Cox said.
"I'd do this all over again ... this has been a great week and good experience. I got to meet a lot of new people and just wish everybody well in their future."
Two area players had stellar performances with Bridgeport's Zach Anglin winning the Kenny Wright Award given to the North's top player.
Anglin punted the ball six times for a 43-yard average with punts of 55 and 52 yards.
"I'm proud to get the award but I wish I didn't have to get it," Anglin said.
"I wish the game would have turned out differently so they wouldn't have to give the award to a punter."
Grafton's Brad Westfall turned in a great defensive effort with two interceptions and had a big hit to break up a pass in the second quarter.
"This was an interesting experience for me," Westfall said. "I'm happy and I thought the team did well. I just feel bad for the players because we lost."
Grafton teammate Jay Garrett turned double duty this weekend playing for the losing side in the North-South basketball game on Friday. Although he admitted he was tired, he still enjoyed the experience.
"I had a fun time this weekend," Garrett said. "They did some things defensively that we couldn't pick up and they didn't have any turnovers."
Liberty lineman Shawn Bennett said, "I thought the line played well overall, we just made some dumb mental mistakes."
South Harrison's Brent Fenstermacher enjoyed the experience to play with and against the elite players in West Virginia.
"It's been fun to play with these guys. It's interesting to see how you stack up against some of them," Fenstermacher said.