Warren Ball was a popular guy down in DallasThe first of four high school football all-star games over the next week and a half, the Offense-Defense All-American Bowl took place last night at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas, Texas, with the West squad claiming a win over the East squad by a score of 21-14.
Five future Buckeyes participated in the game, and all were members of the winning team. Those players were RB Bri'onte Dunn, RB Warren Ball, LB Josh Perry, WR Roger Lewis, and DE Se'Von Pittman. It was big week down in Dallas for all Buckeyes involved, as during the week Roger Lewis and Josh Perry got some special recognition for outstanding play during practice sessions, while Se'Von Pittman was named the 2011 season Defensive Line MVP after the game, which started at 6:30 PM EST.
In the game, the East got out to a 6-0 lead early, only to be answered by Warren Ball to give the West a 7-6 lead, after knocking a score in from one yard out. The first half was reportedly a very defensive one, as the score remained 7-6 at the break, with both teams trotting back to the locker room to try to get something going.
In the beginning of the second half, Keith Byars II (yes, the son of OSU great Keith Byars) gave the East a 14-7 lead on a touchdown rush (followed by a two-point conversion), only to be answered by a scoring drive that ended with a pass from West and Maryland commit QB Caleb Rowe to WR Gabriel Marks to knot things up at 14-14, in the third quarter..
Things got defensive again in the fourth, as only one score was recorded in the period. That score came in the form of a 20-yard touchdown run from Auburn commit Jovon Robinson to give the West a 21-14 lead that would hold still to be the final outcome of the contest.
There was no box score provided after the game, but talking to someone who was in attendance, he said he was impressed with the play of all five Buckeye commits throughout practices and the way they played hard during the game. Both Dunn and Ball ran effectively (although Dunn did encounter a botched sweep play leading to the Byars TD), Lewis had a couple of catches, Perry was stellar in both run support and pass coverage, and Pittman was disruptive in the backfield throughout the game.
In addition to Buckeye news, there were four commitments made at the game. New Jersey DT Jamil Pollard became the first post-Sandusky verbal to Penn State, Brush TE/DE and former Michigan commit Pharaoh Brown pledged to Oregon, Nevada OL Cedrick Poutasi verballed to Utah, and Utah OL Brandon Fanaika gave his pledge to Stanford.
Game awards went to Caleb Rowe (overall MVP), Pharaoh Brown (West Offensive MVP), Malcolm Lewis (East Offensive MVP), Otha Peters (West Defensive MVP), and Shaq Lawson (East Defensive MVP).
In addition to Pittman winning defensive lineman of the year, Maty Mauk (Missouri) won overall player of the year, Nathan Peterman (Tennessee) won scholar-athlete of the year, Quinshad Davis (Undecided) won wide receiver of the year, JC Coleman (Virginia Tech) won running back of the year, Otha Peters (Tennessee) won linebacker of the year, Jermaine Edmondson (Michigan State) won defensive back of the year, Cedrick Poutasi (Utah) won offensive lineman of the year, and Blake Tibbs (Georgia) won special teams player of the year.
The game was not televised, but is supposed to be replayed January 2 on NBC, so check those channel guides and get the DVR ready.
