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GREENSBORO -- If you looked outside your window during Wednesday night's rainstorm, you probably would have seen bright flashes of lightning accompanied by loud claps of thunder. Unfortunately, this is the same thing that was seen at Grimsley High's Jamieson Stadium prior to the 60th Annual East-West All-Star football game. Due to the inclement weather, the game was subsequently delayed for more than an hour to let the storm pass.

In a defensive battle full of its fair share of sacks and punts, the East went on a scoring spree in the fourth quarter to beat the West All-Stars 27-3. Running back Marquan Brown was named the Offensive MVP, and defensive end Kamar Frost won the Defensive MVP.

"Tonight was pretty fun," said All-Area first-team selection Ryan Kurzec, who will be attending Western Carolina in the fall. "It was a tough loss. It's more of a test to see if I'm ready and a chance to get a good workout."

The East showed no signs of rust early. On the opening kickoff, a hard hit to William Marion caused him to fumble the ball, which was recovered by Mike Daniels for the East. Two plays later, Travis Daniels of Washington High broke a nine-yard run into the end zone to put the East on the scoreboard a minute and a half into the game. A bad snap resulted in a botched PAT, and the East took a 6-0 lead that lasted for the remainder of the quarter.

In the second quarter, Corey Brooks' sack on third down pushed the East deep in their own territory. The ensuing punt put the West on the 35-yard line, setting it up with an opportunity to even the score. But Kamar Frost from Jones Senior High returned the treatment with a third-down sack. The West settled for a 44-yard field goal attempt, which veered off to the left.

With time running out in the second quarter, a pass interference call gave the West the ball on the 35-yard line with 10.8 seconds remaining in the half. Quarterback Jonathan Efird threw a desperate fling to Andrew Bodenheimer, who was waiting in the end zone for the pass. He caught the last-second heave, and the crowd exploded in excitement from what seemed like an amazing touchdown play.

However, the referee called the receiver out of bounds. With only two seconds left in the half, Justin Matis of North Mecklenburg attempted a 52-yard field goal that looked good, but missed just right of the goal post.

In the third quarter, Evan Short from St. Stephens recovered an East fumble to give the West a chance to score. Fullback Michael Milam fumbled a handoff on the following possession, and Northwood's Bernard Palmer picked up the ball and broke a 10-yard run to the 12-yard line. After the West failed to score a touchdown, Matis finally capitalized on a 14-yard field goal to make the score 6-3.

With just over two minutes remaining in the third, Frost earned another sack on third down that resulted in a 12-yard loss for the West All-Stars.

The ensuing punt left the East on its own 15-yard line, but quarterback Jamere Pugh broke a 12-yard run to gain a first down for the East as the quarter clock ran out.

After holding possession for the first four minutes of the fourth quarter, the East was eventually forced to punt. However, Marion fumbled the punt return, and Marquan Brown recovered the ball on 10-yard line for the East. A couple plays later, Pugh ran in a 3-yard rush for another East touchdown. The PAT went sailing through the uprights, and the East held a 13-3 lead with 7:43 to play.

With five minutes left, Brown ran a punt return 57 yards into the end zone for a third East touchdown run. The PAT was good again, and the East jumped out to a 20-3 lead.

With the clock winding down and the game well in hand, quarterback Michael Adams broke a 30-yard touchdown run with one minute remaining to ice the game for the East.

"It was a great experience," said All-Area second team selection Kendall Bratcher. The former Northeast Guilford star will attend Wofford College this upcoming fall.

"It's a great group of guys. We lost, but we had a great time."

Contact Joel Brown at 373-7091 or joel.brown@news-record.com