GREENSBORO — Steven Moore had seen enough.
Too many plays had been busted at the line of scrimmage, too many times had he looked up at the scoreboard and seen all zeroes staring back at him. He took a hand-off early in the fourth quarter of Wednesday's North Carolina Coaches Association East-West All-Star Game and decided that by the time someone brought him down, the score would no longer be 0-0.
"I wasn't going to be denied the end zone, I can tell you that," said Chapel Hill's Moore, whose 5-yard touchdown scamper proved to be the only scoring in a 6-0 victory for the East at Grimsley's Jamieson Stadium.
Last year's game was marred by thunderstorms, limiting the two teams to 154 total yards of offense. This year's teams had no such meteorological excuse, but both struggled mightily to move the ball in the teeth of defenses stocked with All-State talent. The East failed to complete its only pass attempt all night; the West had almost as much punt yardage as it did total offense.
"Both teams were real strong off the ball, and everybody was fast," said Dudley quarterback Ricky Lewis Jr., who had 3,500 all-purpose yards last season but was stifled at every turn Wednesday. He had nine rushing yards on five carries, completed one pass and had two receptions for two yards. That's the kind of night it was for almost everybody, as the East simply outlasted its counterpart in a game of willpower.
The West drove into the red zone twice in the first half but came away scoreless both times. Zack Pickard of Southern Alamance missed a 36-yard field goal on the West's second drive, and a promising charge late in the half was wiped out when Newton-Conover quarterback A.J. Bazzle was intercepted at the goal line by Jerrod White of Fayetteville Jack Britt, who had five tackles and was voted defensive MVP.
"We were amped up too much," said Dudley defensive lineman Kelton Shepherd, whose six tackles were third highest in the game. "None of us took the time to settle down."
The East finally charged hard on its second drive after halftime, pushing a 13-play, 71-yard drive that culminated with Moore's scoring plunge.
"That's my bread-and-butter play," said Moore, who ran for 57 yards on 10 carries and was voted offensive MVP.
KaRonne Jones of Cape Fear had 55 yards on 13 carries for the East, and Rashad Parker of Wilson Fike added 53 yards on 13 carries. Jarkeevus Alexander of Gastonia Forestview led the West with 86 receiving yards on four catches, and Aaron Rainey of Bessemer City added 40 rushing yards on six attempts.
Wednesday's game tied for the third lowest scoring output in the 61-year history of the event and was the lowest since a 3-0 East win in 1995.
"When I got here, I only knew three people," said Moore, who will play at Fayetteville State. "But everybody clicked, we put our egos aside and we came together for one common goal — to be the best team in the state."
Contact Tom Keller at 373-7034 or tom.keller@news-record.com
East 0 0 0 6 — 6
West 0 0 0 0 — 0
East — Steven Moore 5 run (Nick Hahula kick failed)
EAST ... WEST
First downs — 12 ... 10
Rushes-yards — 47-174 ... 30-65
Passing yards — 0 ... 128
Comp-Att-Int — 0-1-0 ... 8-17-1
Punts-average — 6-31.7 ... 5-37.6
Fumbles-lost — 4-0 ... 3-0
Penalties-yards — 5-30 ... 4-25
Photo Caption: West's Artis Gilmore (Asheville T.C. Roberson High School) catches a pass during Wednesday's game. The East's Gregory Gilbert Jr. (South Brunswick HS) defends.
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