PREP FOOTBALL / NORTH-SOUTH ALL-STAR GAME : Ready or Not, Offenses Will Try to Play Catch-Up

COSTA MESA — When the more than 70 athletes suit up tonight for the 36th North-South All-Star football game here, it should be an evening of fun, soreness--and revelations.

For some it marks the first time they are not the only top players on a team. The first time they will have to battle for the amount of playing time they will receive.

“It can be a shock for some of these guys having to play against kids of their own ability in practice,” South Coach Jim Barnett said. “You can’t take any downs off.”

For others, it’s a chance to measure themselves against some of the best players in the county for the last time. Two-year and four-year colleges await most of the players after the game, set for 7:30 at Orange Coast College.

“Orange County has done a good job of keeping football to two all-star games--ours and the state game [Shrine game, July 22],” North Coach Gary Meek said. “In basketball, there are now so many all-star games--as people try to make money--that the talent is watered down. Here you see the best.”

Most of all, though, the players get a final lesson in handling adversity and uncertainty, especially if they play on offense.

Even as a showcase for area talent, the North-South show is not an evenly distributed one. It is not uncommon for offenses to struggle. The North, which has a 19-14-2 edge, has won the last two games, 12-6 and 14-3.

“If you score three touchdowns in this game, you’re really doing something good,” said Meek, who coaches at Esperanza. “Ten days of practice is not enough time for an offense to jell. And the defense has an added advantage of being able to blitz and stunt, which further disrupts the timing.”

No matter, Meek hopes he can get productive nights from his starting tailbacks--Servite’s David Bedard, who rushed for 1,220 yards and scored 29 touchdowns, and Esperanza’s Dahrin Footman, who totaled 1,852 yards and 24 touchdowns.

Meek will start Esperanza quarterback Chris Stretch, and Canyon’s Adam Hoover also is on the roster. The beneficiaries should be Savanna’s Daven King (19 touchdowns), La Habra’s Will McIntosh (49 catches, 1,026 yards) and Sunny Hills’ Jeff Renaud (55 catches, 811 yards).

Sonora tight end Mark Gonzalez (26 catches, 662 yards) could also prove dangerous.

“I expect Gary to throw the ball,” Barnett said. “He has his own quarterback in Stretch, his own elusive back in Footman, so they’ll run their package.”

Said Meek: “We will run, but I’m not afraid to throw the ball.”

The South offense counters with Costa Mesa’s Dewayne Crenshaw--who gained 879 yards despite missing several games because of injury--and Santa Ana Valley’s Dwayne Cherrington, who ran for 1,115 yards and scored 14 touchdowns, at running back.

Brian Wilson, a quarterback from El Toro, also has some talented receivers to throw to--Trabuco Hills’ Bobby Johnson and Edison’s Andy Linnen (62 catches, 752 yards). Newport Harbor tight end Mike Freeman (23 catches, 310 yards) should get a few balls tossed his way as well.

What Wilson does not have is a prepared backup in case he gets hurt. Newport Harbor quarterback John Giordani was a late addition to the South, and has only had three practices. Ape Tuato was a terrific quarterback at Los Amigos, but he will be playing defensive back in the game and has not worked with the offense.

“The real key for us is Wilson has to have a good game,” Barnett said. “I’ve got some guys who can run and a good offensive line, but the big advantage they have is Gary playing with his own quarterback where I had to teach my stuff to a different guy. You never know how it will work until he gets out there and performs.”

Meek is wary, however. Barnett’s teams at Trabuco Hills had a tendency to do the unexpected.

“When we faced them in the playoffs, they came out in formations we hadn’t seen before, scored two early touchdowns, and made us play catch-up all night,” said Meek, recalling Esperanza’s 23-12 loss to Trabuco Hills in a Division I first-round game last season.