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Among the 47 players from area schools, 16 were members of the Southeast All-Stars, who fell to the Northwest All-Stars, 22-8.

Ben Varney of the tournament committee had wanted to spotlight the talents of area players in front of a nice crowd and saw that wish fulfilled.

"We could not have been more pleased. We probably had 1200 in attendance," said Varney. "I think there are things we want to do better next time, but, overall, it was like 'Wow' - there was a great crowd, great weather... and there were great plays."

The Southeast team, which spotted the Northwest an early 14-0 lead, overcame some difficulties to make it an entertaining contest.

"We knew we had some issues," remarked Dennis Lester (Marlette), the Southeast coach. "We struggled all week (in practice) with our quarterback/center exchange." Lester's only quarterback was Austin Comment (Marlette), who ran out of a shotgun in Lester's spread offense the last two seasons.

"Austin hadn't done that (been under center) ever. And, we really didn't have a true center," Lester noted. "Billy Ray Howard (Deckerville) moved in there. He had played it before. It did hurt our timing, but we were still alright."

USA's Lance VanHoost scored on the opening kick-off of the game, going 85 yards. Erik Kuhl's (USA) PAT gave Northwest a 7-0 lead.

Following a Southeast fumble, Northwest extended the margin to 14-0. Dustin Griesing (Millington), the All-Thumb Player of the Year last fall (selected by the Thumb Sportswriters Association) scored on a four-yard run and Kuhl added his second extra point.

Lester's team then settled down.

Comment and Deckerville's Eddy Zapinski teamed up on a 52-yard pass play late in the half to move deep into Northwest territory.

"Austin did his typical scramble from the pocket and found Zapinski down the middle," said Lester. "We needed that. (Northwest) had gained all the momentum before that."

Zapinski gave the credit to Comment. "It was a little fly route. I was supposed to hit the seam and run. Austin's the one that made the play. It was more him than me."

A few plays later, Comment scrambled again and fired a TD pass to Jerry Torrez (Cros-Lex). Derek Sheridan (Cros-Lex) ran in the two-pointer to tighten the game, 14-8.

Torrez, who played wide receiver for the Pioneers the last two seasons, described the play. "It was supposed to be a slant, but ended up being a broken play. Comment got run out of the pocket. I saw him running left and I knew I had to improvise"

Torrez added that scoring the touchdown will leave a long-lasting memory.

"It was the first TD I had in two years. I don't think I lived up to my expectations last year. I'm really excited, but also a little disappointed we didn't pull (the game) out." Torrez added, "Still, it was a great opportunity to play with all of these guys from around the area."

The Southeast team began to move the ball better on the ground out of the 'I' formation in the second half.

"We had a pair of nice drives in the third quarter, but then we had a couple of turnovers, once was inside their 20."

The Northwest All-Stars put the game away in the final five minutes when Griesing found Garrett Stier, also from Millington, on a 31-yard TD pass. Adam Foster (Akron-Fairgrove) then tossed to David Reif (Reese) for the two-point conversion.

Lester liked the effort of all of his 23 players, but singled out some nice contributions from Dave Bliss (Marlette) and Zapinski.

"David played great," praised Lester. "He had three or four catches, including one real acrobatic one.

"I think Eddy Zapinski played great. He played well on defense (at linebacker) and real well at tight end," added Lester.

Zapinski said it was nice to get back on the football field again and make contributions.

"I thought I played well. I thought the while team played well, we just didn't get the breaks. " He then said the experience was terrific. "It's all good. I'm a little sore yet, but it's all good."

Marlette's Andy Warner was one of just six true offensive linemen for the Southeast All-Stars. Warner, who is expecting to compete on the Adrian College football team this fall, suffered a painful injury to his face in the second quarter. He recovered, though, and finished the game. Warner needed four stitches in an eyelid and had a scratched cornea.

"Somehow my helmet fell off during a play and somebody accidentally stepped on me," explained Warner. "I basically have a cleat mark across my face.'

Other than that, Warner enjoyed the experience in playing in the first All-Thumb contest.

"It was a lot of fun, but pretty tiring," he said. "There were a lot of guys (on my team) that I played against during the season, so that was pretty weird. But, I had a lot of fun."

Defensively, for Southeast, Nick Lazurka (Cros-Lex, a defensive corner) was one of the leading tacklers. He was in on six tackles, including five solos.

Others from Sanilac County that also saw plenty of playing time were: Jamie Beals (RB/LB), Doug Kennedy (OL) - Brown City; Brad Seidl (LB), Chas Phipps (DL), Derick Kerbyson (DB) - Cros-Lex; Jon Hayward (RB) - Marlette; Michael Mann (RB/DB), Brian Jozlin (OL/LB) - Peck.

Lester said he enjoyed coaching the team so much that he has volunteered to do so again next summer, if needed.

"For me, personally, it was a lot of fun being out there and being around the kids for a week. They were great to deal with and they worked very hard. It was a real positive experience."

There will be some tweaking on different aspects of the All-Thumb game, according to Varney, for next season's contest, which will again be in Cass City on Saturday, July 4, continuing to be a part of the city's Fourth of July celebration.

"We want to see more passing mixed in and not have it be such a defensive game. We want to see more action, more scoring," explained Varney. "For us, the very first time, we made a few mistakes. We'll certainly do some things differently, but, overall, we were very, very pleased.

"The kids were fantastic all week... and they showed a lot of sportsmanship," continued Varney. "The fans were really into it, too. Whenever there was a great play... no matter what team it was... everybody applauded. And, at game's end, about 45 minutes later (our Fourth of July) fireworks started. It was a memorable way to end the night."