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CAMPBELL — In the first quarter of the Charlie Wedemeyer Santa Clara County all-star game Thursday, it appeared that this edition would be dominated by the defenses.
The North’s offensive squad had other ideas.
It produced 27 straight points in a seven-minute stretch of the second quarter and led from there in a 34-17 victory in front of a large crowd at Westmont High School.
“We have a very talented group here, and we knew what we could do,” said the North’s Gabriel Reclusado, who threw for 2,715 yards last year for Piedmont Hills.
The 5 foot, 8 1/2 inch Reculsado fired a 27-yard touchdown pass and also returned an interception for a 25-yard touchdown in the second-quarter scoring run. He will be playing free safety for Foothill College.
“Just very happy, very happy,” he said. “Love to end my high school career on this note and just ready for the journey ahead.”
The first quarter was scoreless, as both teams combined for just seven first downs. But Los Gatos graduate Trent Huesby connected on a 38-yard field goal just 10 seconds into the second quarter for a 3-0 South lead.
Fifteen seconds later, the North struck back in a big way via a Silver Creek connection. Quarterback Alejandro Flores found receiver Nnamdi Obilor, and he brushed off an initial tackle attempt before sprinting down the right sideline for a 78-yard touchdown.
“I just took it upon myself to make that play,” said Obilor, who will be playing wide receiver at Foothill. “It’s amazing, playing with a different group of guys and becoming like family with them almost. It’s a great experience.”
On their next possession, the North took advantage of excellent starting field position and ended a 16-yard drive with a 1-yard run by former Wilcox star Gabe Herrera.
Less than two minutes later, Reclusado grabbed his interception and raced into the end zone. A point-after touchdown kick by Noah Cruz (Mt. Plesant) gave the North a three-score lead at 20-3.
Santa Clara’s Richard Corona (Santa Clara) reeled in an end-zone interception to end a long South drive. Then the North gained 80 yards in four plays, capped by a 27-yard touchdown pass from Reclusado to high school teammate Brandon Lowe.
The South scored its first touchdown with 14 seconds left in the first half on a 14-yard pass from Austin Jobe (Pioneer) to Laronn Chapman Jr. (Hill) to narrow the North’s lead to 27-10 at halftime.
In the third quarter, Cuauhtemoc Daza (Prospect) produced an emotional touchdown for the South.
On Monday, he was told that his grandfather had died. In the third quarter Thursday, after Daza found out a pass would be coming to him, his thoughts turned toward his grandfather.
“I just gave myself a blessing and prayed to my grandfather and told him that I love him, helped me get to this point, and I just caught the ball, made the cut,” said Daza, who scored on a 33-yard reception from Gabe Pulliam (Westmont). His best friend Conor Messier, also from Prospect, made a key block on the play. “So when I scored, just meant the world to me.”
The final touchdown of the game was produced by Herrera on a 6-yard run. Herrera gained 62 of his game-high 77 rushing yards in the final 14:03 of the game.
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