By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
There were more take-aways than touchdowns in the St. Elizabeth Healthcare East-West All-Star Game on Thursday, so giving the most valuable player award to a defensive back seemed like the right thing to do.
Gavin Terhaar of Ryle received the award because his interception return in the fourth quarter set up a 35-yard field goal by Christian Seger of Simon Kenton that gave the East team a 10-7 victory in this year’s all-star game played at Dixie Heights High School.
East quarterback Caleb Farfsing tries to elude a tackler during the East-West All-Star Game. (Photo by Dale Dawn)
Terhaar’s interception was one of three take-aways by the East defensive unit that kept the West team from mounting a serious scoring threat during the second half.
“When we built our roster, I made sure we stacked our defense up pretty good,” said East coach Chad Montgomery. “In all-star games, it’s easy to play defense and hard to get into an offensive flow. We wanted to make sure they couldn’t move the ball on us and it worked out.”
The game’s first big play was a 46-yard breakaway by West running back Sean Stratton of Ludlow. But that was one of his team’s six possessions that resulted in a punt.
Late in the first quarter, East wide receiver Austin Klosterman of Dayton caught a nicely thrown lead pass from quarterback Caleb Farfsing of Simon Kenton for a 44-yard gain. On the next play, running back Will Ryan of Bellevue carried the ball into the end zone untouched on a 23-yard run and Nick Bowman of Highlands kicked the extra point to give the East a 7-0 lead.
The West tied the score with an 11-play, 75-yard drive late in the second quarter. After running back Luke Saladin of Ryle made a one-handed catch on a pass and took the ball to the 15, he carried on the next two plays and scored on a 5-yard run. Mason Molique of Ryle kicked the extra point that made it 7-7 at halftime.
Gavin Terhaar
The West wasn’t able to get much going on offense in the second half, but the score remained tied. On three consecutive possessions, the East turned the ball over on downs, had a pass intercepted and missed a field goal.
After Terharr picked off a pass and returned it to the 16-yard line, the East wasn’t able to get a first down. But Seger converted the 35-yard field goal to make it 10-7 with 5:28 left in the game.
“It feels good,” Seger said of his tie-breaking kick. “I go out on the field expecting to make every single one. Obviously, I’m happy because I feel like I did something important.”
There were several unsportsmanlike conduct penalties called against both teams during the fourth quarter. The East team faced a 2nd-and-45 situation because of penalties and ended up turning the ball over on downs with 1:19 left in the game.
That gave the West one last chance to score, but a pass interception by East defensive back Bailey Armstrong of Highlands sealed the victory for his team.
“I knew we had a good defense with a good set of DBs (defensive backs) from schools all around,” Terharr said. “We were just out there playing our game and doing what we do best.”
EAST ALL-STARS 7 0 0 3 — 10
WEST ALL-STARS 0 7 0 0 — 7
E – Will Ryan 23 run (Nick Bowman kick)
W – Jackson Saladin 5 run (Mason Molique kick)
E – Christian Seger 35 FG
PLAYERS AWARDED $500 SCHOLARSHIPS
Beechwood — Tyler Donohoo. Bellevue — Will Ryan. Boone County — John Mark Shutt. Brossart — Nathan Bezold. Campbell County — Tanner Lawrence. Conner — Zane Cahill. Cooper — Gavin Floyd. CovCath — Carter Black. Dayton — Austin Klosterman. Dixie Heights — Dan Miller.
Highlands — Nick Bowman. Holmes — Anthony Thomas. Holy Cross — Charles Moses. Lloyd — Brad Turner. Ludlow — Jason Conn. NewCath — Hunter Cain. Newport — Nathan Turner. Ryle — Max Inabnit. Scott — Justin Grindstaff. Simon Kenton — J.J. Courtney.
CHRIS VIER COURAGE AWARDS
Sean Monohan (Scott) and Jonathan Jimenez (Dayton).
