The all-star game was a final chance at high school football
By: Justin Feil
EWING – Despite the outcome, several area players walked away satisfied with their own personal showing at the fourth annual Sunshine Football Classic held Friday night at The College of New Jersey.
They would have liked a brighter outcome but the opportunity to play against some of the best players in the state was encouraging enough.
"I felt great," said Greg Lowe, a West Windsor-Plainsboro High graduate. "It was my first time playing on (Astro)turf. I felt faster and quicker on my feet. But it burns when you land on it."
Part of the sting could have been because the Mercer County all-star team that Lowe was a part of got burned in the second half for 20 points in a 26-19 loss to the all-stars from the Skyland Conference. Lowe rotated at defensive tackle in an effort to stay fresh for the fourth quarter.
"I think they (Skyland) kept their strongest linemen in during the second half," Lowe said. "I was pretty tired by the end. Since we didn’t have time to condition, you weren’t in the same shape as during the season. I wasn’t tired like exhausted, but my muscles were tired."
The all-star game is an opportunity for many of the top high school football players from the area to get a little summer football in before they head to college. This fall, Lowe will be a freshman at Monmouth where he would like to continue playing.
"This was a good way to go out," said Princeton Day School graduate Paris McLean, who will play at La Salle University. "It was a good feeling to play one last time in high school.
"Preseason starts August 13 for me. This was good because it forced me to stay in shape. I had to get ready for this."
McLean caught three passes and was tantalizingly close to a fourth-quarter touchdown catch before the ball was knocked down at the last second by a Skyland cornerback. McLean also caught a lateral and advanced it and he showed the ability to be a possession-type receiver with two late-game catches as Mercer tried to mount a comeback.
It fell short when Ewing’s Dillion Griffith fired a Hail Mary that was intercepted to end the game. But afterward, though there was disappointment, there were also well-wishes passed between the teammates of a week.
"It was good to play with some of the kids from the other schools," McLean said. "For (Pennington’s Anthony) Frazier and I, we were able to show our talents. Sometimes prep schools don’t get the recognition. It was good that the game was on Comcast so more people could see the talent here."
Andrew Zimmer of The Hun School was another local prep school player, while public school players were Dave Goode, John Huttenberger, T.J. Malave and Dan Peterson of WW-P and Mattaay Smith of Princeton.
Goode made his presence felt with six carries and he proved an admirable lead blocker for Frazier, who scored twice and credited Goode afterward with helping him break a 27-yard touchdown run. Peterson and Zimmer helped also clear the way for the Mercer County running attack. And when the Mercer team couldn’t advance the ball, Huttenberger punted three times and even made a tackle on one of them.
"It was different playing with guys from other teams," Lowe said. "We were all talking about the games we had. It was fun playing with the guys we played against for the past four years. It felt good playing with a lot of the players from West Windsor. It was a good experience."
The only regret any of the Mercer players had was with the outcome of the game. It moved the record for the series to 2-1-1 in favor of the Skyland Conference.
"They were pretty good," admitted Lowe, "But we could have won. We didn’t come together like we needed to. It was tough with that short time. But I think we could have beaten them."