Two Long Branch seniors officially closed their high school football careers as all-stars. Kicker Vincent Mota and running back Dahmiere Willis were selected to play in the 37th annual Phil Simms North-South High School All-Star Football Classic, which was held at Kean University June 29.
Mota earned Offensive Most Valuable Player honors with three field goals in the game. After missing his first attempt, Mota connected on his next three tries. His field goals from 45 and 37 yards gave the South a 6-0 lead heading into the finals minutes of the first half.
The former Green Wave kicker and punter made his final field goal — another 37-yard kick — in the third quarter.
Mota also completed two extra-point attempts in the South’s 23-21 victory.
The first one came after Matt Castronuova of Jackson Memorial High School returned a kickoff 102 yards for a touchdown that put the South back in front early in the third quarter. Later in the quarter, Lacey Township High School’s Connor Davies threw a touchdown pass, and Mota’s extra point gave the South a wider cushion, 23-14.
The South held off a last-second comeback from the North, whose final possession came with under a minute remaining. The North’s comeback hopes were dashed when Piscataway Township High School’s Charles Mitchell sacked Lenape Valley Regional High School quarterback Rylan Pangborn near midfield to secure the win.
The South now has an all-time record of 18-16-2 in New Jersey’s biggest high school all-star game. Simms, a two-time Super Bowl-champion quarterback with the New York Giants, has been the face of the All-Star Classic for two years.
Out of 78 players invited to the 2015 All-Star Classic, 17 of the recently graduated seniors played for Shore Conference schools. Long Branch and Jackson Memorial were the only two Shore Conference squads to have more than one representative.
Among the game’s Shore players were Middletown High School North’s Troy Thompson, St. John Vianney High School’s Dan Calabro, Matawan Regional High School’s Justin Ferrara and Mater Dei Prep’s Quylil Maxwell.
Long Branch’s Willis set the Shore Conference’s single-season record for rushing yards in 2014. With 295 yards on the ground in his final game, Willis posted a season total of 2,589 yards to break the previous high mark of 2,544 yards set by Matt McClain of Pinelands Regional High School in 2010.
Willis scored 27 touchdowns and ran for more than 300 yards twice in his senior season.