Saturday’s 26th annual Alex Spanos All-Star Classic at San Diego Mesa College is the state’s longest-running high school football all-star game.
The game, which previously took place in July, comes a month after the end of the high school state football championship bowl games and showcases the region’s top senior players in a more football-friendly timeline.
The event features a north versus south format and is sponsored by the San Diego Chargers and the High School Sports Association. Bonita Vista High School’s Chris Thompson will serve as the South head coach while Jason Texler of San Marcos High School will serve as the North head coach.
Kick-off is 6 p.m.
The South squad currently leads the series in its current format 11-10 and has won the last five match-ups, including last year’s game by a score of 28-0.
“I think that we have put together a pretty good team that is representative of the south talent,” explained Thompson, who earned honors as the 2015 San Diego Section Coach of the Year. “The South roster is made of kids from as far north as Mira Mesa down through the City Conference and into the South Bay and stretches out into the East County. I like the new format overall and I think with a few tweaks it can really be a great all-star game.”
South County Pride
Thompson will be joined on the sideline by assistant coaches Curtis May (offensive line), Robert Laguna (tight ends), Doug Brady (quarterbacks), Aurelio Morales (running backs), Eric Parker (wide receivers), Carl Martin – (wide receivers), Mohammed Abuamer, Phill Lomax, Sam Mason (outside linebackers), Robert Brooks (inside linebackers), Mike Trollinger (defensive line), David Mickens (defensive backs) and Noah Fajota (defensive backs).
The South roster includes a number of Metro Conference standouts.
Division III section champion Bonita Vista will be represented by five players: defensive back Ethan Williams, receiver Quentin Harrison, running back Greg Bell, defensive back Atoa Fox and defensive lineman Moli Faalogo.
Bell, the offensive MVP for the Metro-Mesa League, finished the season with 2,632 rushing yards and 34 touchdowns.
Harrison played in 10 games with 891 receiving yards and eight touchdowns while Williams tallied 518 yards and four TDs in 14 games.
Fox led the team with 54 tackles while Faalogo led the team with six sacks. Fox also had two interceptions and two fumble recoveries.
The Barons finished the season with a nine-game winning streak, including a 52-14 victory against Mission Bay in the division finals. Bonita Vista went on to place runner-up to Hanford in the Division IV-AA state championship game.
The Eastlake Titans, runner-up to the Barons in the Metro-Mesa League standings, have three players represented on the South roster: linebacker Nathan Sweat, defensive lineman Greg Raby and offensive lineman Jake Suggett.
Sweat, the Metro-Mesa League defensive MVP, ranked second on the team with 84 tackles while Raby tied for the team lead with four sacks.
Hilltop, which finished runner-up in the Metro-South Bay League standings, has two players named to the all-star roster: offensive lineman Matthew Hanau and Carlos Silva.
Also named to the South roster are Olympian quarterback Garry Cannon, Otay Ranch tight end Ennovy Halton and Castle Park receiver Luq Barcoo.
Barcoo racked up 804 receiving yards and a team high 12 touchdowns in 10 games.
Christian leads the East County selections with three players: quarterback David Jeremiah and receivers Adrian Petty and Nick Sexton. Petty and Sexton are both South County residents.
Sexton had 68 catches for 1,389 yards with 13 touchdowns. He helped lead the Patriots to the City Conference City League championship and a berth in the Division II quarterfinals.
Also for Christian, Petty rushed for 1,171 yards and 13 touchdowns while Jeremiah passed for 2,750 yards and 26 TDs.
Tickets for the game are available at the gate and are $10 for adults and $5 for children. All proceeds go to support the High School Sports Association of San Diego.
