MANHEIM, Pa. – Listing only one quarterback on a roster for an all-star game isn’t always common, but that’s exactly what South head coach John Manion did for Saturday evening’s Tri-County All-Star Game.
“I got a lot of questions about that, about who the backup would be, but we had a lot athletes with (prior) experience at quarterback,” Manion said. “We knew our quarterback was a tough kid and that it would take a lot to knock him out.”
But South field general Jonathan Hulyo (McCaskey) was forced to the sideline with less than three minutes left in the fourth quarter because of an injury.
Though Hulyo was knocked out, it was backup Jordan Groff (Lampeter-Strasburg) who ultimately KO’d the North’s chances for a victory.
Groff scored the game-winning 30-yard touchdown on a designed keeper with 2:38 left in regulation and the South defense did its part to limit the North to 33 percent passing and two interceptions in a 30-23 victory in the Manheim Touchdown Club’s 11th annual Tri-County All-Star Game from a steamy Elden Rettew Field in Manheim.
“It was a designed run, a designed keeper,” Groff said. “I saw a cutback lane and took off. I ran as fast as I could. The line sealed off the back side.”
Manion said the South had that keeper play saved, but didn’t want to run it earlier in the game out of fear of possible injury to Hulyo.
“And you saw what happened in the fourth quarter – he got hurt on a run up the middle,” Manion said. “It looked like a helmet-to-helmet hit, but nobody really knows (what the injury was).”
To that point, the South had relied on the arm and legs of Hulyo, who is bound for Lebanon Valley College. He amassed 360 yards of total offense in his final scholastic game, including 321 passing on a 14-of-22 night.
“Really? I didn’t even know I threw for that much!” Hulyo exclaimed postgame. “That means a lot. It’s more about pride than anything.”
Though he mentioned pride, Hulyo said he was not upset that he was absent from the game when the winning touchdown was scored.
“Nah, nah, nah, this is a team game,” Hulyo said. “Groffy made one (heck) of a play. It’s a team game. That’s what backups are for.”
And speaking of good performances, Blaise Glover (McCaskey) was doing everything -literally – for the South in the first half, and his final stat line reflected it. The Shippensburg wide receiver recruit caught five passes for 87 yards, including a go-ahead touchdown right before halftime to push the South ahead, 16-13. He booted a 43-yard field goal at the onset of the second quarter to stake the South to a 10-6 lead and converted a trio of extra points. And he also handled the team’s punting chores, booting one of his punts for nearly 50 yards.
“I was just telling my quarterback to get me the ball so I could make plays,” Glover said. “This was just a great way to end my high school career and a great way to go out.”
Glover admitted he was mostly a decoy in the Red Tornadoes’ spread offense, which relied heavily on Division-1 prospect Diante Cherry, a junior who caught more than 60 passes and was a Pennsylvania Sportswriters’ Class AAAA All-State selection.
“Sometimes good players get overshadowed by other great teammates,” Manion said. “It was so tough for us because we had so many athletes to try to get the ball to.”
After the North jumped to an earl 6-0 lead on a Caleb Walton (Manheim Central) 8-yard touchdown, the South fired right back, and did so in only four plays as Hulyo found Jake Morgan (Wilson-West Lawn) on a 68-yard connection for a 7-6 lead.
The North grabbed a 13-10 lead when Andrew Dzurik (Lancaster Catholic) hit Alex Kuhn (Lebanon) on a 2-yard pass in the second quarter. The ball was tipped by a South defender, but Kuhn adjusted to the ball to make the catch.
After Glover’s touchdown near the end of the half, the North retook the lead in the third quarter, 20-16, on a Brandon Hollister (Lancaster Catholic) 2-yard run. Bryant Myer (Manheim Central) then made it 23-16 with a 27-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter. But that was it for the North after that, as Myer’s field goal came at the 11:48 mark of the period.
Hulyo’s third touchdown pass – a 36-yard fly pattern to QuaShaun Davis (McCaskey) knotted the game at 23-all before the deciding touchdown drive later in the period. The South had gained possession at the North 35, but had been flagged for a 15-yard penalty which set up a 2nd-and-29 scenario. Hulyo deftly escaped the North defense for an 18-yard run before hitting Davis on 3rd-and-11.
Dzurik, who helped direct Lancaster Catholic to a PIAA championship in December, never quite got going in the steamy May air. He finished 6-of-17 for 168 yards. In the fourth quarter, some of the fans in the home bleachers began chanting, “We want Garrett!” (referencing Garrett Levengood, who was the quarterback for Cedar Crest). Walton finished with 24 yards passing on a 2-of-6 night and added 12 yards on six carries. Hollister had 47 yards on nine carries. Daulton Ritter (Cedar Crest) caught three passes for 104 yards and Jordan Harro (Palmyra) added four catches for 85 yards.
In addition to his 321 yards passing, Hulyo added 39 yards rushing on 14 carries. Groff, bound for the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, ran for a game-high 53 yards on just four carries and Rodney Gillin (Wilson-West Lawn), the Bulldogs’ career rushing leader with more than 3,500 yards, had both 22 yards rushing and receiving for the South. Morgan caught three passes for 131 yards and Johnnie Martin (Donegal) added two receptions for 44 yards.
NOTES: The South leads the all-time series, 6-5, having collected all of their victories in the last seven meetings. The North, after winning the first four games of the series, last won in 2010, 14-7. Eight of the 11 games in the series have been decided by 15 points or less. The skies darkened during the first half and thunder rolled in the distance as a severe thunderstorm moved through eastern Lancaster County, though no rain fell at the stadium. The Barons’ Walton was injured in the fourth quarter and, postgame, had his right ankle area iced and was limping on crutches. An unknown male streaked across the stadium turf, causing a buzz in the crowd before the kickoff following Groff’s game-winning touchdown run, and public address announcer Dennis Enck didn’t miss the chance for a quick one-liner. “We don’t know who ran the other way,” Enck said over the mic, “but we do know that he didn’t have his mouthpiece on.”
South 30, North 23
South 7 9 0 14 – 30
North 6 7 7 3 – 23
1st quarter
N – Caleb Walton 8 run (PAT failed), 7:51.
S – Jake Morgan 68 pass from Jonathan Hulyo (Blaise Glover PAT), 5:38.
2nd quarter
S – FG, Glover 43. 11:53.
N – Alex Kuhn 2 pass from Andrew Dzurik (Bryant Myer PAT), 6:37.
S – Glover 15 pass from Hulyo (Glover PAT failed), :10.6.
3rd quarter
N – Brandon Hollister 2 run (Myer PAT), 7:31.
4th quarter
N – FG, Myer 27. 11:48.
S – Quahaun Davis 36 pass from Hulyo (Glover PAT), 5:15.
S – Jordan Groff 30 run (Glover PAT), 2:38.
North South
First downs 9 16
Rushes-yds 26-43 31-128
Passing 8-24-2 14-22-0
Passing yds 192 321
Penalties 3-30 12-80
Turnovers 2 1
Individual statistics:
RUSHING: NORTH: Brandon Hollister, 9-47 TD; Caleb Walton, 6-12 TD; Dylan Hickernell, 6-4; Tim Murray, 2-4; Andrew Dzurik, 2-minus-17. SOUTH: Jonathan Hulyo, 14-39; Rodney Gillin, 6-22; Jordan Groff, 4-53 TD; Joe Welk, 4-8; Johnnie Martin, 1-4; Blaise Glover, 1-2.
PASSING: NORTH: Dzurik, 6-17-2-168 TD; Walton, 2-6-0-24; Garrett Levengood, 0-1-0-0. SOUTH: Hulyo, 14-22-0-321 3 TD.
RECEIVING: NORTH: Jordan Harro, 4-85; Daulton Ritter, 3-104; Alex Kuhn, 1-2 TD. SOUTH: Glover, 5-87 TD; Jake Morgan, 3-131 TD; Gillin, 3-22; Martin, 2-44; QuaShaun Davis 1-36 TD.
Follow Josh Funk on Twitter @Funk_pafb
Photo provided by Chuck Blough
