MICHAEL KIRAL / L’Observateur / July 26, 2000

BATON ROUGE – The Louisiana High School Coaches Association’s All-Star football game is usually decided by defense and Friday night’s was no exception.

The East held the West squad to 185 total yards and John Curtis’ Danny Wimprine led the East on two second half scoring drives for a 17-7 victory at LSU’s Tiger Stadium. The win was the second consecutive forthe East after five straight losses to the West and extended the East’s all-time lead to 37-24-2.

Lutcher’s Jemelle Cage, Riverside’s Joseph Trosclair and Destrehan’s Jeremy Parquet all saw action for the East while St. James’ CoreyWebster and West St. John’s Carl Gauthier played for the West. Websterwas one of two West players to participate in the coin toss. The West wonthe toss and deferred to the second half.

Webster, Trosclair and Cage started the game. Parquet came in on thesecond possession. Gauthier lined up at wide receiver on a second quarterpossession by the West and played quarterback on the second to last possession of the half. He came in start the second half. Webster had the West’s only score on a two-yard dive in the second quarter. He finished the game with five completions in 11 attempts for117 yards and also ran 11 times for 14 yards. The West had a couple ofscoring opportunities in the first half but two fumbles and a couple of sacks thwarted them.

“Everybody wants to come out with a victory,” Webster said. “We movedthe ball real well but we had a couple of turnovers and mistakes. Wehadn’t been playing together very long and I guess it comes from that.”Even though his squad lost, Webster said he was thankful to get the opportunity to play in the game.

“It was fun all week long and it was good to represent St. James High,”Webster said.

Cage had two tackles in the game, one unassisted, including a sack of Webster for two yards.

“We just had to get used to playing together,” Cage said of allowing the West to move the ball in the first half. “We knew they didn’t practiceharder than us so we just had to make a few adjustments and stop their running.”Cage said he will remember playing his final high school game in Tiger Stadium. “It was pretty emotional, knowing it was your last high schoolgame,” The game came out pretty good. None of us got hurt and the Eastcame out on top.”Trosclair and Parquet helped the East rush for 159 yards and pass for another 122 in gaining 281 yards in total offense. The East line also didnot give up any sacks.

“Our running backs did good,” Trosclair said. “They are great running backsand probably will do good in college. We just opened up the holes for themand they ran through them.”Gauthier was 0-for-2 in passing and also ran twice for a minus five yards.

Wimprine was named the game’s Offensive MVP after completing 9-of-17 passes for 122 yards and a touchdown. He also ran six times for 19 yards.Carver’s Freddie Stamps caught three of the passes for 35 yards and a touchdown. Carver’s Lynarise Elphage had three catches for 28 yards.Independence’s Brandon Dawson led the rushing attack with 55 yards on 13 carries. Ponchatoula’s Ronald McClendon ran six times for 32 yards whileVidalia’s Dariel Mays had 25 yards and a touchdown on six carries.

Amite’s Dorsette Buckles was the game’s Defensive MVP, recording nine tackles, four unassisted. He also had three tackles for losses andrecovered a fumble. East Ascension’s Travis Moses had eight tackles, sixunassisted.

Opelousas’ Devery Henderson led the West with 29 yards on seven carries.

He also had two catches for 88 yards, including a 47-yarder from Webster.

On defense, Loreauville’s Jarvis Reyes had 10 tackles, seven unassisted.

Port Barre’s Marcus Sonnier also had 10 tackles. Abbeville’s Travin Moorehad eight unassisted tackles, including one for a loss.

Wimprine took the East 60 yards in 10 plays late in the third quarter for the eventual winning score. Taking over at the 40 with 4:28 left, Wimprinehit Elphage over the middle for 12 yards to the West 47. After McClendoncarried off left tackle for 9 yards and on fourth-and-1, Wimprine snuck up the middle for 2 yards and a first down.

A slant pass to Stamps for 18 yards gave the East a first down at the West 18. Four plays later, on fourth-and-3 from the 11, Wimprine wentover the middle for Stamps who made a diving catch in the end zone while being held for the score. Northeast’s Warner Stewart’s kick failed, leavingthe score at 9-7 with 25 seconds left in the quarter.

The East added another score on its first possession of the fourth quarter.

After stopping the West deep in its own territory and forcing a punt, the East took over at the West 34 with 10:20 left. McClendon took a draw playfor 17 yards for a first down at the West 17. Two plays later, Mays wentup the middle for 14 yards and the touchdown. Glen Oaks’ Marcus Randallrushed around left end for the two-point conversion, making it 17-7.

Webster took the West into East territory late in the game, completing an 11-yard pass to Karr’s Michael Holmes, then hitting Henderson on the left sidelines for 47 yards to the East 33. But time expired before the Westcould get any further.

The West took advantage of an East turnover to score the only touchdown of the first half early in the second quarter. McClendon was hit in thebackfield with Port Sulphur’s Chico Mackey recovering at the East 11 with 9:31 left in the quarter. Henderson carried off right end for nine yardswith Port Barre’s Andrew Robin picking up the first down at the 2 off right guard. Webster then snuck it in for the score. Opelousas Catholic’sTommy Hebert added the extra point to make it 7-3 with 8:38 left.

The East also used a West turnover to grab a 3-0 lead at the end of the first quarter. Henderson fumbled a punt by Ruston’s Josh Joerg at the West28 with Ouachita’s Gary Wesley recovering for the East. Randall picked upa first down at the 16 with a 9-yard run around the left side. But the drivestalled at the 12 as Elphage’s pass was caught by Stamps out of bounds in the end zone. Stewart came in to hit the 27-yard field goal attempt, givingthe East a 3-0 lead with 2:37 left in the quarter.

Turnovers plagued both teams in the half. The West took over its firstpossession at the East 49 and Webster connected with Coushatta’s Reginald Prealow over the middle for 16 yards to the 33. Henderson ranthe option left for 8 yards but on the next play, St. Martinville’s DenatBonhomme mishandled a handoff from Webster with Buckels recovering at the East 24.

The East mounted a late drive in the half after starting from its 18-yard line. Randall rushed left for seven yards for a first down at the 29. Twoplays later, Wimprine hit Elphage on the left sidelines for 12 yards to the 46. Again two plays later, Wimprine found Kentwood’s Alfred Ard over themiddle for a 41-yard gain to the West 13. But on the next play, Wimprinefumbled the snap with LaGrange’s Jonathan Chretien recovering for the West at the 13.

Webster hit Henderson over the middle for 41 yards to the East 32 late in the half but his pass to Holmes inside the 10 fell incomplete as time expired.

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