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All-Star grid finale is good as Gold

7/16/2011

The Gold team’s Nick Rightnowar sprints out. He threw a pair of touchdowns.

The Blade/Andy Morrison
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Toledo Christian quarterback Nick Rightnowar approached Friday night’s Regional All-Star Football Game as both a farewell to high school and preparation for college.

Rightnowar excelled at both as he threw two touchdown passes and was named his team’s most valuable player. Rightnowar’s Gold squad held off the Black team 17-6 before a crowd of about 2,100 at Perrysburg’s Steinecker Stadium.

Rightnowar, who will play at Trine University this fall, connected on TD passes of 80 and 38 yards at the 21st annual all-star game.

“It was a ton of fun,” he said. “We had a great group of guys. It was great to come out and get the win. [The MVP] is a team award and my team played great. The defense did a great job stopping them and giving us opportunities. We had a great group of receivers.”

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Rightnowar will play QB at Trine and will report to camp in a month.

“This gave me some prep and some conditioning,” Rightnowar said. “It was good to get back in the pocket again and get live reps. I’ll be a little more prepared than I would have been if I didn’t play.”

Rightnowar connected with his Toledo Christian teammate Zach Brumbaugh on a 38-yard TD strike in the third quarter for a 14-0 lead.

“We were talking about what they were doing before that series and we knew we could get some things deep,” Rightnowar said. “I got out of the pocket and they forgot to stay with him.”

Maumee wideout Jordan Lane got the Gold team on the board with a big play in the second quarter. Lane got behind three Black defenders and Rightnowar’s spiral hit him in stride. Lane sprinted the rest of the way for an 80-yard TD, breaking a scoreless tie.

“That was awesome,” Lane said. “It was a low scoring game and I was just trying to get something going. He put it right there and I made a play. I saw him looking at me and I just got so happy. Then it was more of the Black team having some big boys on defense. I just wanted to get away from those guys.”

Lane said it was bittersweet because this is the last time he’ll be playing football.

“It was great to be out here one more time,” said Lane, who will be a student only at Bowling Green State University. “Our last game [at Maumee] was a tough loss, so it was good to get one last win before I put them away.”

Holgate wide receiver Reed Waisner was named MVP of the Black team. He scored his team’s only points on a 25-yard TD throw from Whitmer QB Alex Palicki.

“This is really cool because it’s my last high school football game and I got a plaque for it,” Waisner said. “I scored the only touchdown but I wished we would have gotten the win. But it was fun even though we did not come out on top.”

Waisner got one foot in bounds in the corner of the end zone on his superb TD catch.

Palicki completed eight passes that went for 10 or more yards.

For the Gold team, Maumee’s Matt Williams recovered two fumbles, while Rossford’s D.J. Recknagel pounced on another loose ball. Osha Carter of Scott and Toledo Christian’s Anthony Dodd each had a sack..

Maumee kicker Jake Olman boomed several good punts throughout the night and also connected on a 24-yard field goal with 29 seconds left for the final margin.

Bowsher’s Dijon Tucker had the Gold team’s biggest run, a 11-yard scamper. Rightnowar was four of six for 125 yards.

Perrysburg’s John Reddick, Rossford’s Andrew McFarland and Brandon Hunt of Rogers, each broke up a pass.

Whitmer defensive back Scott Pfeifer had an interception and broke up another pass for the Black team.Central’s Mike Bell also had a pick. Northwood’s Mike Prothero and Bryan’s Jake Phillips each also had a sack.

Other highlights from the Black team include two tackles for loss by Central Catholic’s Delroy Chance and another tackle behind the line by Edon’s Joey Brown. Anthony Wayne’s Jack Henry and Lake’s Kurt McKee each had a good pass break ups.

Offensively, Woodmore’s Grant Weirich had two catches of 11 and 32 yards. Southview’s JA Bowers had a 16-yard run, while his Cougar teammate Konnor Chuba had an 11-yard reception.

Waisner, who had six catches for 61 yards, will play wideout at Tiffin University.

Contact Mark Monroe at: mmonroe@theblade.com or 419-724-6354.