Tracy Press – Football: North snaps losing streak, wins 49th Lions All-Star game

• https://www.ttownmedia.com/tracy_press/sports/football-north-snaps-losing-streak-wins-49th-lions-all-star-game/article_2e1967ab-0ae0-4797-916b-94e71e60bbba.html
• Arion Armeniakos & Javier Delgado Jun 24, 2025

For only the second time in the last seven, the North emerged victorious from the Central California Lions All-Star football game – beating South 42-37 on Saturday at Tracy High’s Wayne Schneider Stadium in the 49th edition of the event.

The North won the offensive shootout with five local players on the team – three from Tracy and two from Kimball. They were led by all-time great head coach Tony Franks of St. Mary’s who is seventh on the Sac-Joaquin Section wins list (234).

“I think we selected a bunch of guys for this team that really like playing football,” he said afterwards. “It was easy for them to come together as a team and play hard and play. That’s what they did, and they had a ball doing it.”

Bulldogs’ Elijah Gutierrez, Lucky Tupouata, and Derek Bogetti and Kimball’s Jermaine Nance and Jaylin Rodgers all made meaningful contributions in the win.

Two-way star Gutierrez led the game in rushing yards with 49 on nine attempts. He also went 6-6 on PATs as the North’s place kicker. He will be playing at American River College in Sacramento in the fall.

“It felt amazing (to play in this game), especially because my (senior) season got cut short with a broken hand,” Gutierrez said. “Just being able to get one more win out on this field meant a lot.”

Tupouata chipped in with three tackles. Lineman Rodgers had two. The reigning Tri-City Athletic League MVP Nance carried nine times for 39 yards. Linebacker Bogetti did a bit of everything for the North defense.

Amongst the individual post-game award winners was North quarterback Zak Wilson (Sierra). Wilson had a perfect game to help his side to a historic win. He went 11-11 for 205 yards and three touchdowns. He added a rushing TD and was named the Wayne Schneider MVP.

North’s wide receiver Isaac Sagapolu (Edison) was the Les Ratzlaff Offensive MVP after going off for 90 yards and two touchdowns on five catches. South’s M.J. Uili (Modesto) led the game in tackles with 13 to claim the Bob Mattos Defensive MVP award.

“I always get a little nervous in the beginning of games, but I was able to get confidence from my first drive, and I found a way to pull through as the team rallied behind me,” Wilson said.

Cody Ferrante (Calaveras) scored what felt like the decisive touchdown for North with 5:19 left in the fourth quarter when he rushed into the end zone from 14 yards out to make it a 12-point game. However, the South team would not lay down and they made things interesting again in just over a minute.

Carson Lamb (Downey) connected with Joseph Delte (Turlock) for a gorgeous 47-yard TD strike to make it 42-37 with under four minutes to go.

Back on offense, the North team was pinned back deep inside its own half, and it looked like they were getting ready to punt the ball away with a little under two minutes left to play on 4th and 12.

However, a gutsy play call from Franks and his staff saw North’s other QB Matthew Schallberger (Linden) hook up with Marcus Harrison (Edison) for a timely conversion to all but put the win on ice. Harrison led all receivers with 100 yards on six grabs. He also had a receiving touchdown.

Nance was excited to have been able to end his high school career with one more high-profile victory. “This felt great. It was a great experience. Everybody came out to compete,” he said.

“I think the game went great for us. We had solid momentum throughout the game, and everybody was having a good time.” Nance is set to continue his athletic and academic career at Modesto Junior College in the fall.

The winning North team opened the scoring early in the first quarter as Schallberger got the start under center. He threw a five-yard tunnel screen pass to Sagapolu who made it 7-0 to the North team with his catch-and-run TD.

The South found a response inside the opening five minutes – suggesting this game would be a battle of offenses – as Quintell Dupree (Merced) punched in a touchdown rush from the one-yard line to tie things up.

This came moments after Lamb linked up with Adarias Morales-Saetern (Merced) on a 64-yard reception to put the team in prime scoring position.

The North took a 14-7 lead out of the first frame after Wilson scored on a 13-yard QB keeper with 1:18 left in the quarter.

Rodgers and the North defense got an important stop to start the second quarter as they held South to a 38-yard field goal from Jacob Wallace (Downey) to stay in front 14-10. That proved to be somewhat decisive in the end.

The multi-time All-League lineman said he had a good time seeing out his high school career in a fun and competitive game. It was a solid stepping stone as he continues getting ready for the next step of his career at Modesto Junior College.

“It’s time to lock in now and put the work in at the next level,” Rodgers said. “This was a nice way to get back to work and experience having to work for your spot against other top players.”

The North added to its lead with 3:31 left in the first half when Wilson found Sagapolu for a 56-yard touchdown reception. Lamb hooked up with Jeremiah Dela Rosa (Atwater) soon after, making it 21-17 with a 20-yard TD. Lamb went 9-19 for 162 yards and two TDs. He also threw a pick.

The lone scoring play of the third quarter was delivered by the North with Wilson finding Terrence Hampton (Lincoln) as he scrambled out of the pocket for a 42-yard touchdown. The North led by 11 at 28-17 going into the final 12 minutes.

South’s Morales-Saetern punched in a five-yard rush early in the fourth to bring his team right back into it, but a failed two-point conversion left the North with a five-point cushion up 28-23.

Wilson gave Harrison the spotlight with 10:57 left in the game as the latter took a short checkdown all the way to the house for a 48-yard TD to make it 35-23.

South head coach Jeremy Plaa (Downey) reached deep into the playbook to get his team within five again at 35-30 with 9:44 remaining. The South converted an excellent double pass trick play into six as Lamb passed to Delte, and Delte fired a 54-yard downfield dime to find Noah Cozart (Patterson) on his way to the end zone.

Cozart led the South in receiving yards with 76 on three catches. Morales-Saetern had 70 total yards of offense with 59 on three receptions and 11 on four carries. However, a five-point deficit is as close as the South would get.

The North successfully exorcised its demons from recent years after losing in the dying moments in two of the last three games. The North held onto the win to extend its advantage in the all-time series to 27-19-2.

Contact TP Sports at aarmeniakos@tracypress.com, or call 209-830-4229.