Barber, West Shine Bright in 44-23 Victory
The stars were out in full force at the Northern Region Classic, and they sure were shining brightly for the West squad. Led by Virginia Tech-bound Ben Barber, the West squad put on a masterful performance which led them to a dominant 44-23 victory.
The all-star classic quickly turned into a shootout midway through the second quarter after receiver David Kruchko of Westfield put his West team up 31-3 with six seconds left in the half. Although the East's Keon Robinson, who hails from Lake Braddock, put up three touchdowns of his own in the second half, the West thoroughly dominated throughout.
The West's scoring binge would start on the first East possession when West linebacker Mike Quigg pounced on a fumble in the East's own endzone to put his team up a touchdown early on. From there, the West never looked back.
While a long Robert Byrd reception set up a 51-yard Tyler Bitancourt field goal for the East team on their next possession, it would be their only points of the half.
Edison's Kevin Carter would make the score 14-7 with a 9-yard touchdown as a David Skahn field goal gave the West a ten point lead at 17-7 as the first quarter came to a close.
The East team's prospects of a victory didn't get any brighter either when the second quarter started thanks in part to Barber. On a fade route to the back of the endzone, Barber out-jumped his defender to snag his first touchdown on the night and it couldn't have been any prettier. With his defender taking an inside path to the ball, Barber had to reach over him to get his hands on the ball. As he came down, the referee signaled touchdown and the lead increased to 24-3.
After Kruchko's touchdown, which gave his team the 31-3 lead at halftime, the floodgates had officially opened.
Barber, though, would deepen the East's wound after he made perhaps the catch of the year. In double coverage, with a safety directly behind him and the cornerback already having one hand on him, Barber outstretched his arms over the front defender to grab the ball. After getting his hands on the pass, he had to pin the ball against the front defender's body in order to come up with the reception. After Barber hit the ground, he had to play tug of war with the pigskin, as it was still pinched against the back of the cornerback. The referee ruled touchdown as "oh's" filled the crowd.
After seeing the West team get their fair-share of attention, the East stars then decided to take center stage. With Robinson moving from receiver to quarterback, his very first pass went for a touchdown to Byrd down the far sideline to give the East their first touchdown of the night.
Despite trailing 38-10, Robinson wouldn't be done strutting his stuff for the crowd. Taking a Kelly Fitzgerald pass to the endzone, he collected his second touchdown on the night and then while back at quarterback, threw another touchdown pass, but this time to Josh Earl. Earl's touchdown reception came right as the clock struck zero to make the final score 44-23.
Yet in between Robinson's display of talent was one of the quirkiest plays fans in attendance saw in quite a while. After Fitzgerald attempted to throw deep down the field for the East, the ball struck an offensive lineman's helmet, which caused the ball to fly directly up in the air. Instead of hitting the ground, the deflected pass managed to lie on the back of a West defensive lineman. Alertly noticing the ball had not hit the ground, the West's Jamey McClendon picked the ball up and ran for a touchdown as the crowd let out a boisterous yell.
With the conclusion of the Northern Region Classic, this officially brings to an end all activities for the 2007 and 2008 school year. From all of us here at Gameday, we wish every senior the best of luck in their future endeavors.
Chick-Fil-A Players of the Game:
Ben Barber, West (Edison), Receiver- Seeing Barber back at receiver this year made us forget just how unbelievably talented he is at the position. Making two extraordinary touchdown catches that turned the heads of all those in attendance, it's tough for us to not make him the West Chick-Fil-A player of the game.
Keon Robinson, East (Lake Braddock), Receiver- Robinson is listed at receiver, but he was all over the place on the field. Throwing for two touchdowns and coming down with another as a receiver, this was the brightest star for the East tonight.
