PHOTOS: South extends winning streak to eight in Orange County All-Star Classic

South all-star players and coaches celebrate after a victory Saturday night. (Photos: Fernando M. Donado, For OC Sports Zone).

The consensus among the 84 high school football players competing in Saturday’s 63^rd annual Orange County All-Star Classic at Newport Harbor High School was that it was an honor to be able to put the pads on one last time and play one last game as a high school senior.    

The South’s wide receiver Kashton Henjum (Newport Harbor) caught two touchdown passes to lead the South to a 24-7 victory over the North. It was the South’s eighth consecutive win in the series and they upped their advantage to 34-26-3 overall.

Henjum caught six passes for 138 yards and two touchdowns and was named the South’s MVP. Chase Grosfeld (Los Alamitos/wide receiver) caught four passes for 94 yards and was named the North’s MVP.    

“Our quarterbacks made me look good all night long; they had the ball on the mark,” said Henjum. “I’m blessed to be selected to play in a game like this.”

To see the slide show, click on the first photo:

The game was sponsored by Costa Mesa United and the Los Angeles Chargers.  Rick Feldman of Cypress coached the North team and Peter Lofthouse of Newport Harbor coached the South that featured many of the top Orange County high school football seniors.

The South took the opening possession (by agreement there were no kickoffs or punt returns in the game) and drove 70 yards in 11 plays to take an early lead.  South quarterback Trey Kukuk (Capo Valley) completed six passes during the scoring march that was capped off by runningback Christian Guarascio (Dana Hills) one-yard TD run to give the South a 7-0 lead.

The North countered by moving the ball to the South’s 8-yard line on the ensuing possession, but quarterback Christian Lundsberg (Canyon) was stopped short of a first-down on a fourth-down run. Later in the quarter, the North had a second scoring opportunity at the South’s 5-yard line, but quarterback Reyn Beal (Yorba Linda) was stopped short of a first-down by a jarring tackle by Owen Burnside (Tesoro) on a fourth-down run.

On the following possession, the South used some razzle-dazzle to take a 14-0 lead. Kukuk pitched the ball to runningback Adam Harper (Northwood) who launched a 76-yard TD pass to a wide-open Henjum, who easily outraced the North defenders into the end zone.

“It wasn’t my first high school touchdown pass,” said Harper. “On the first day of practice the coaches told me, ‘we saw your video and we are going to have you throw an option pass in the game.’ I’m humbled to be here among all of this great talent.”

Midway through the second quarter, following an interception by Garett Emerson (Newport Harbor), the South upped its lead to 21-0 on a 30-yard TD pass from Parker Awad (Edison) to Henjum. Awad finished with a game-high 112 yards passing.

The North got on the board late in the half three-plays following an interception by Nathan Schneider (Cypress). Lundsberg tossed a 9-yard touchdown to Jacob Apodaca (La Habra) as the North cut the lead to 21-7 at the break.     

“It’s been a great experience to play in this all-star game,” said Apodaca, who also caught four passes.  

The defenses stiffened in the second-half as the South was only able to add an Ethan Smithlin (Costa Mesa) field goal while the North missed a field goal attempt and committed a turnover.

Despite the loss, North defensive end Michael Hughes (Santa Ana) said the game was a great experience.

“I was happy to get a chance to play in this game, my last as a high school player,” said Hughes. “I have so much passion for football and it meant a lot to play here tonight.”

The two coaches, Feldman and Lofthouse both shared their enjoyment of the experience.

“It has been fun coaching a great collection of talent,” said Feldman. “We wanted to break the South’s winning streak but fell short. It’s nice to get a chance to coach these kids. They’re from all over the county and it’s great to see them come together as a team.”

“It’s an honor and it’s fun to be selected to coach a game like this,” said Lofthouse. “The kids and coaches are excited to be here and these kids love football and are looking forward to taking it to the next level. I wouldn’t be surprised if a number of these kids are offered scholarships from the college coaches watching tonight.”

Lundsberg and Beal combined to complete 21 passes for 183 yards and a TD for the North.

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Pre-game pictures, including team photos of North and South

—-Tom Connolly, For OC Sports Zone