Who can blame them? No other District 4 North-South all-star game had ever gone to overtime before, so it really was a figure out as one goes concept. And while the past week has been about making new friends and enjoying one last taste of the Friday Night Lights, these players are competitors and wanted a clear winner.

So, they played on.

After Weston Bellows was stopped inches from the goal line on a second overtime two-point try, the South had its chance and capitalized. Brett Nye hit Carson Persing by the right pylon and the South won a 9-7 thriller Friday at Williamsport’s Millionaire Stadium. Persing, the three-time Danville all-state wide receiver earned Most Valuable Player honors, catching 11 passes for 138 yards as the South snapped a two-game losing streak in the series.

“I was going to go shake their hands and they said, ‘No, we’re thinking about playing more.’ I was like, ‘Well then, let’s go,” Hughesville quarterback Luke Kaiser said after throwing for 63 yards for the South. “I was excited. It was awesome, and I’m happy we came out with the win.”

MARK NANCE/Sun-Gazette Correspondent North's George Whaley of Williamsport makes a reception before running for a touchdown in the first quarter.

“It was a stress reliever. It was needed,” Hughesville linebacker Kelby Gordner said after helping fuel a stingy South defensive performance. “It was definitely different, but I loved it. It was great putting on the pads again and playing with the boys.”

While both teams want to win each year, getting to experience high school football one last time makes everyone feel like a winner. Friday was no different as North players shared smiles and hugs with their former rivals who now are friends. It was a similar scene with the South players at midfield.

Former rivalry tensions melted away over the past week and new bonds were formed. And given one last chance to display their high school skills, both teams emptied their barrels and played the most competitive game in the series history.

“I became great friends with a lot of players from rival schools which is pretty awesome to be a part of,” Jersey Shore’s Kooper Peacock said after catching four passes for 122 yards and a touchdown for the North. “I loved every minute of high school football, all the sacrifice that goes into it, and all the teamwork and leadership. It’s nice to be in a brotherhood like that, so I’m very blessed.”

“It was awesome. There’s no better feeling than being under the lights and running out one more time with my buddies,” said Kaiser, who will play at Lycoming. “It was great playing with new people and making new friends.”

MARK NANCE/Sun-Gazette Correspondent South quarterback Brett Nye of Shamokin throws under pressure from North's Cameron Brought of Wellsboro in the second quarter.

The North had won four of the last six in the series, including the last two. A year ago, the North won, 36-0, so the South had something to prove entering Friday’s game. It certainly did so, relying on a tough defense and a passing game which Persing helped make sizzle at times.

Persing will play at Lafayette next fall and his 55-yard catch in the second quarter set up the game-tying touchdown as Nye (175 yards) hit Mason Raup with an 8-yard score and tied it, 7-7. Defensive backs covered Persing well at times, but any time Nye and Kaiser put the ball near Persing, he caught it.

That included in the second overtime. Both teams were given one shot at a two-point conversion and after South’s defense made a big stop, the coaches dialed Persing’s number again. Nye rolled right and threaded the ball into a tight window with Persing making the game-winning catch in front of a defender blanketing him and next to the pylon.

“That kid is a menace. He’s awesome. No one can guard him,” Kaiser said. “He’s super fast and he’s just a great player. I loved throwing the ball to him.”

Bellows felt the same way about Peacock.

MARK NANCE/Sun-Gazette Correspondent North's Riley Parker of Canton runs the ball against the South in the All-Star Game at Williamsport Friday.

Both players earned all-state honors as athletes last year while helping their respective teams capture district championships. They played against each other in Week 9 when Jersey Shore traveled to Canton but enjoyed playing together much more. They developed a chemistry throughout the week and then turned practice into perfection when they connected on a 71-yard touchdown on the North’s second play.

Bellows, who played mostly running back and wide receiver at Canton on consecutive championship teams, dropped a dime deep downfield, hitting Peacock in stride while putting the ball past the arms to two outstretched defenders. Peacock took it from there, staying in bounds along the right sideline and completing the scoring play which put the North up 7-0 just past the midway point of the first quarter.

Bellows finished the game throwing for 87 yards and running for a game-high 68.

“We repped it in practice just about every day and we knew it was going to hit in the game,” Peacock said. “Once we saw that free safety up high, we knew it was go time and Weston threw me a beautiful ball. I just did the easy part.”

Peacock earned some closure to his brilliant high school career which included four district championships, a state final appearance and two Final 4 runs. He missed most of the district final and the state tournament with a badly pulled hamstring, but looked as strong as ever Friday, and crossing the goal line in the final game of his football journey.

MARK NANCE/Sun-Gazette Correspondent The South and North compete in the District 4 all-star game on Friday at Williamsport.

“It was pretty incredible,” Peacock said. “You can’t get the feeling anywhere else in your life under the Friday Night Lights one more time. It was awesome.”

Following the Peacock and Raup touchdowns it felt like this game might be headed for a high-scoring, back and forth theme. Instead, the defenses took over.

It was not the defenses playing like the 2000 Ravens or 1985 Bears, but each unit repeatedly made big stops when the opponent threatened. Frequently each team moved into the other’s territory only for the defenses to seemingly put up force fields and repel them every time over the game’s final 31 minutes and change.

Gordner was part of a nasty Hughesville defense last fall which helped turn around the program. In his final high school game, the linebacker turned the all-star game around. Following Peacock’s touchdown, the North was on the move again when it earned a first down at the South 25-yard line.

Gordner came blasting through the line on the next play and dropped Brady Jordan (70 total yards) for a four-yard loss. The North gained only one yard on the next two plays and missed a 45-yard field goal as the momentum started drastically shifting following Gordner’s big play.

“I think that pushed our team to a better level. It made it a tipping point and we knew we needed to pick it up and that’s what we did,” Gordner said. “It was an adrenaline rush. It was awesome.”

Last year, the North put the game away by halftime, scoring 29 first-half points and cruising to a victory. South coach Mark Burrows and his staff made that a point of emphasis throughout the week and their team certainly played determined.

That included in the first overtime. After the North forced a four-and-goal, it took over at the 10-yard line, needing just a field goal to win. Jordan ran for a touchdown on the first play, but a holding penalty negated it. The next play lost seven yards and an incompletion followed before Jordan broke loose for a 20-yard run to the 4-yard line.

The North opted to go for the touchdown instead of a field goal and the South defensive wall rose, stopping Jordan for no gain on an outside run and forcing a second overtime.

“After what coach said all week, that North was always beating South, we wanted to change that,” Gordner said. “We came in with a really big chip on our shoulder.”

Each defense traded big plays late in the first half. Canton’s Austin Allen snuffed out a drive with a diving interception at the 18-yard line midway through the second quarter before breaking up a potential touchdown in the first overtime. Montoursville’s Corbin Frey then made an excellent read a series later and intercepted a pass across the middle, returning it to the South 26-yard line late in the first half.

Three plays later, CMVT’s Shane Tomlinson denied the North a halftime lead, making a leaping interception in the right corner of the end zone. So it went throughout the second half with each defense bending but not breaking.

Ultimately, the connections players on both teams made will not soon break either. And that is what the players found really rewarding.

“It was awesome. I was very pumped for this game and looking forward to it ever since I recovered from my hamstring,” Peacock said. “I was fortunate to be with a great group of guys.”

“During season were enemies, but for this game we’re like a brotherhood,” Gordner said. “We had a great time bonding together.”

South 9, North 7

South 0 7 0 0 0 2–9

North 7 0 0 0 0 0–7

First Quarter

N–Kooper Peacock 71 pass from Weston Bellows (Breck Miller kick), 5:25

Second Quarter

S–Mason Raup 7 pass from Brett Nye (Carson Persing kick), 7:09

Second Overtime

S–Carson Persing 2-point pass from Brett Nye

TEAM STATISTICS S N

First Downs 17 9

Rushes-yards 31-49 27-145

Passing yards 238 139

Comp-Att-Int 22-43-2 10-22-1

Total yards 287 284

Fumbles-lost 0-0 2-0

Penalties-yards 4-40 4-35

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING: South, Isaac Shaeffer-Neitz 13-30; Toby Zajac 9-12; Gresyon Shaud 2-7; Jon Melendez 1-6; Brett Nye 2-2; Team 1-(-1); Carson Persing 2-(-2); Luke Kaiser 1-(-5). North, Weston Bellows 7-68; Nasir Hennigan 5-29; Riley Parker 5-28; Brady Jordan 8-18; Kooper Peacock 1-4; Matthew Conklin 1-(-2).

PASSING: South, Nye 17-33-1, 175 yards, TD; Kaiser 5-10-1, 63 yards. North, Bellows 6-13-1, 87 yards, TD; Jordan 4-9-0, 52 yards.

RECEIVING: South, Persing 11-138; Ryder Zulkowski 5-65; Nick Rice 3-11; Jake Toczlousky 2-16; Mason Raup 1-8, TD; Nye 1-0. North, Peacock 4-122, TD; Sam Lawrence 1-20; Luke Horton 1-3; Breck Miller 1-1; Hennigan 1-0; Connor Griffin 1-(-2); Conklin 1-(-5).

INTERCEPTIONS: South, Shane Tomlinson. North, Austin Allen, Corbin Frey.