A.J. Jones has one goal every time he catches the ball. The former El Capitan High star receiver wants to get into the end zone. Jones accomplished that goal twice, hauling in three catches for 145 yards and two scores to lead the South to a 22-13 victory over the North in the third annual Merced County All-Star Football Game on Saturday at Veterans Stadium.

 

Jones was a big-play machine for the South, scoring on touchdown catches of 60 and 58 yards. The first touchdown pass came from Merced quarterback Vicente Cortez and the second scoring strike came from his Gauchos teammate Gio Mendoza. The first touchdown was a broken coverage by the North secondary that left Jones all alone. The second score was a highlight play that saw Jones out jump a North defender for the ball and then race into the end zone to give the South a 22-13 lead with 5:59 remaining in the game.

 

“I split the linebacker and the corner and I saw my quarterback throw the ball,” Jones said. “I saw the safety come under for the pick. I knew he was going to be under the ball because I was right on the ball. I jumped up, grabbed it and I tried my best to make a play.”

 

MUHSD was well represented in the game with players from Merced, Golden Valley and El Capitan playing for the South and players from Atwater, Buhach Colony and Livingston High playing on the North.

 

Atwater kicker Trevor Hill showcased his skills by making two field goals from 37 and 35 yards. El Capitan running back Lorenzo Peterson broke off a 48-yard yard that helped set up a 1-yard touchdown pass from Cortez to his Merced teammate Hayden Czirban that gave the South a 16-13 lead with 4:59 left in the third quarter.

Cortez finished with two touchdown passes to cap off a memorable all-star week. “It’s been one of my best nights I’ve ever had,” Cortez said. “Coming out with a dub, all-stars from every single school. We built such a chemistry together in less than a week. We played our hearts out.

The first day of practice we just bonded. We introduced ourselves, told jokes and when it came time to play we locked in.”

 

The North’s lone touchdown came in the first half when Denair’s Degan Butler hauled in a 12-yard touchdown pass from Los Banos quarterback Gavin Estrada. El Capitan High coach Xavier Ramirez enjoyed his first all-star game coaching experience. He was blown away by the unselfishness of the players. “You want to showcase everybody's skills,” Ramirez said. “I would tell the guys, ‘Hey, were going to get you the ball.’ Their response was always, ‘I don't care, as long as we win.’ That was just great, it's cool to hear the unselfishness among these players.”

 

Jones said it meant a lot to be selected to play in the game. “I’m honored to be an all-star,” Jones said. “All my guys, we’ve worked four years to be in this position so this has been an honor and a blessing to play as an all-star.”

 

Many MUHSD players will again be on the field for the Lions All-Star Game in Tracy next Saturday. The Merced County All-Star Football Game was brought back by former MUHSD coaches Kevin Swartwood and Lou Souza three years ago, along with one of the first girls flag football all-star games in the state. The duo helped raise money for scholarships and handed out $30,000 in scholarship money this year.

Flag Football

The Blue team made a key stop late in the fourth quarter to preserve a 24-21 victory over the Gold team. The Blue team stormed out to a 12-0 lead in the first half with Pitman’s Isabel Fuentes catching a touchdown pass with 7:11 to go in thef first half.

 

The Gold team stormed back with two second-quarter touchdowns to take a 14-12 lead into the half. Merced High quarterback Antonia LeJarde connected with Buhach Colony’s Emily Gallegos for a 52-yard touchdown pass to help cut the lead to 12-7 with 58 seconds left in the half. Merced’s Averie Steverson then intercepted a pass that helped set up a 2-yard touchdown run by LeJarde to give the Gold team the lead at the half

 

Patterson quarterback Reagan Allard engineered two touchdown drives in the third quarter for the Blue team. Allard connected with Ceres’ Ully Staggs for the first score to give the Blue an 18-14 lead with 6:51 left in the third quarter. Allard then found Turlock’s Makenli Watt for a 31-yard touchdown strike to extend the lead to 24-14 late in the third quarter.

 

The Gold team cut the lead to 24-21 after LeJarde connected with Steverson for a 28-yard touchdown pass with 10 minutes left in the game. The Gold drove deep into Blue territory in the final minutes but LeJarde couldn’t connect with Steverson in the end zone on fourth-and-goal for the go-ahead score and the Gold team was able to regain possession and kneel out the win.

 

LeJarde finished with three touchdowns. Steverson had two interceptions to go with her touchdown catch and Gallegos recorded two sacks on defense to go along with her long touchdown catch.

 

Orestimba’s Imelda Beltran Pelayo was named the Blue team’s Player of the Game and Steverson was named Player of the Game for the Gold team.

Shawn Jansen is the MUHSD Program Manager Digital Media. He can be reached at Sjansen@muhsd.org.