Trevon Watson and Whit Kruse power North past South in wet 64th Optimist All-Star Classic
It was cold, windy and wet.
And to a man, mostly the players, the consensus was that the best way to cap the 2023 high school football season was to compete in old-era elements.
The 64th Optimist All-Star Football Classic on Saturday afternoon at American River College included a sea of canopies and umbrellas in the stands to shield from sideways rain and some fierce action on real grass. The North All-Stars prevailed over the South All-Stars 29-0, capping memorable prep careers for scores of local seniors in this tradition-rich game for local charities and for a good time.
Trevon Watson of Antelope High might have come into this contest as a bit of an unknown as his prep teams won just three games, but he had everyone’s attention by the time he reached the end zone here. The 5-foot-10, 175-pound receiver caught touchdown strikes of 10 and 48 yards from Twelve Bridges quarterback Whit Kruse, and he hauled in a 28-yard scoring pass from Austin Katapodis from Woodcreek, breaking free in showcasing his speed in making it all look easy.
“It was hard,” he said of the game and especially his senior Titans season. “We didn’t have a great year, missing the playoffs, but this was fun. Football is always more fun when you win. I had a great time. We all did.”
That was the general theme. The game featured hard hits, few yards rushing, eight total sacks and 13 punts, but the effort was there throughout. So, too, was the sportsmanship, something coaches from both teams stressed all week with the mandate of playing the game the right way and for the right reasons behind helping Camp Ross Relles and the Shriners Hospital for Children.
Both teams took a knee after the game at midfield as a group. They were applauded for their efforts by game director Max Miller, a coaching fixture locally since 1963. North coach Ron Barney, a coaching lifer with 40-plus years at Mesa Verde and the San Juan Unified School District, told the squads: “We’re all on the same side here. Proud of all of you. I saw guys helping guys up from the other team, and that made my day.”
The teams had just four or five days to practice, so the coaches kept things simple. There were no trick plays beyond a fake punt run by Roseville’s Joel Bradley for the North. He gained 24 yards, a glimpse of what made him a Bee All-Metro performer in 2023.
For small-school players who earned Bee All-Metro honors such as Kruse, this was a blast. The 6-foot-6 red-head quarterbacked new-school Twelve Bridges of Placer County to a 12-1 season, providing the balance to prolific running back star Nathan Crawford, who also played in this game. Crawford rushed for 38 touchdowns as a senior, the most of any regional player.
In the speedy Watson, Kruse found quite an elusive target with good hands and a nose for the end zone. Watson’s father, Torre, was a Bee All-Metro star from Mira Loma a generation ago. His older brother, also Torre, was a Mira Loma star in recent years.
“I tell my dad all the time I was a better player,” Watson said.
Watson had a ringing endorsement from Kruse.
“He was great!” Kruse said.
The North defense also sparkled, pitching just the second shutout since the game first started in 1957. The 1960 contest was a 22-0 win for Sacramento County over the Northern California All-Stars, as the game was formatted in those days.
Ryan Eisert, a Bee All-Metro kicker/punter from Whitney, had a 40-yard field goal for a 10-0 halftime lead for the red-jersey wearing North. Kruse hit Watson for the 48-yarder to make it 16-0, and Katapodis made it 23-0 with his strike to Watson. In a game of stars, Watson was the brightest.
MarQuay King-Johnson of Grant ended the scoring with a 9-yard touchdown run, and he had 62 yards rushing. That’s more than he had all season for Grant during the Pacers’ CIF state championship run, not that he couldn’t play. The running backs in front of him are headed to college on full scholarships — Devin Green to UNLV and Wayshawn Parker to Washington State. King-Johnson made 55 tackles for Grant and showed in Optimist practices that he had fresh legs and some burst.
The game did not feature any committed or signed Division I players, per the norm for non-national prep All-Star events, but it did include a lot of players who will likely land somewhere, be it Division II, III, NAIA or the ever-competitive junior college ranks. Some may join an FBS or FCS school as a non-scholarship walk-on.
A good many of the Optimist players do not know where they will go to college, but most want to keep on playing. This includes Watson, who had seven touchdown receptions and two rushing scores for Antelope in 2023. He said he was “thrilled” to be selected for the Optimist game.
He also said he is pondering a junior college to attend, perhaps College of San Mateo or ARC.
“I kind of like it here now,” he said with a laugh.
With that, Watson peeled off and joined his teammates to celebrate some more.
This story was originally published January 14, 2024 at 12:47 PM.