North win Alex Spanos High School All-Star Classic

The Chargers’ Vincent Jackson and Legedu Naanee are both at least seven years removed from high school football, but the Bolts’ two young wide receivers were back on the sidelines soaking up the atmosphere of Friday night lights this weekend.

Jackson, a fourth-year veteran, and Naanee, who is entering his second season, served as honorary captains for the 18th annual Alex Spanos High School All-Star Classic, a North vs. South game matching San Diego's graduated seniors. The North won the game, 14-7, before 3,148 fans Friday at Mt. Carmel High.

“This is awesome to be out here with the kids,” said Jackson, who watched the game from the North sideline in his second straight year as an honorary captain. “There is so much energy, excitement and passion among the kids. It brings back a lot of memories.”

Thanks to the Spanos family’s generosity, San Diego’s all-star game is California's longest running high school all-star game with the same sponsor. It continues to buck the trend of declining interest around the country in summer all-star football games.

“It doesn’t seem like that long ago I was in high school, and it's crazy how far I've come so soon,” Naanee said. “It’s got to be a lot of fun for these kids to play in an all-star game on the same team with guys they’ve played against in high school.”

Naanee is a Boise State alumnus that had to suffer a little as he watched from the South sideline. Not only did his side lose the game, a North quarterback bound for Idaho - Boise State‘s in-state rival in the Western Athletic Conference - threw the game-winning touchdown pass.

The North was leading 7-0 in the second quarter when Carlsbad High’s Idaho-bound Justin Morales connected with high school teammate Mike Vandenkolk with a 45-yard touchdown pass with 11:47 left in the second quarter.

The quick strike came on first down after Santa Fe Christian’s Mario Kurn intercepted a pass for the North on a deflected ball. Morales lofted the ball and Vandenkolk, who is bound for Washington State, ran under it for the touchdown.

“It was good chemistry between us,” Morales said. “I looked off the safety, and he’s fast enough to get behind the cornerback. I just had to get the ball to him.”

The North had taken a 7-0 lead in the with 1:27 left in the first quarter on a 1-yard run by Mt. Carmel running back, Joey DeMartino, a 5-foot-11, 195-pounder without a scholarship that may have been the most underrated player in North County in 2007.

The score, on the North’s first possession of the game, was set up by completions of 5 and 17 yards from La Costa Canyon quarterback Jose Mohler to Mission Hills’ Vince Misa-Amituanai, a UTEP-bound tight end.

“This was an exciting game and a lot of fun,” Misa-Amituanai said. “The South won last year, so it’s good to get a win back for North County.”

After the Vandenkolk’s touchdown gave the North a 14-0 lead, the South trimmed the deficit to 14-7 before halftime.

The South’s Jaime Dale (Steele Canyon) returned a punt 38 yards to set up a first-down touchdown pass covering 31 yards from South quarterback Derek Witte (Eastlake).

But that was the end of the scoring. The North defense, led by Poway’s Nick Milani, the North’s Most Valuable Player that is bound for Chadron State, an NCAA Division II school in Nebraska, shut out the South’s offense in the second half.

The North's victory ended a two-year losing streak to the South. The series switched from a 3A vs. 2A format based on school enrollments to a North vs. South format in 1995. The North leads the series, 8-5, since the switch.

The Chargers' sponsorship allows the High School Sports Association to use the Alex Spanos High School All-Star Classic as a fund-raiser for High School Sports Association events throughout the year. The events honor high school athletes, coaches and administrators.