MOBILE — Daphne senior running back Nick Clark took home MVP honors from the South All-Stars’ 31-28 win over the North Friday night at Hancock Whitney Stadium but his largest impact might have come outside of his 102 yards and two rushing touchdowns.

In the final minute of regulation, the North All-Stars were driving near the red zone with a chance to cut into its three-point deficit. Coming out of a timeout facing 4th and 9 at the South’s 37-yard line, Clark was put in at linebacker and pressured quarterback Peyton Floyd to help force an incompletion and turnover on downs with only 50 seconds left on the clock.

“We just did a little surprise,” Clark said after the game. “I played a little defense back in the old days, just a running back now but I still had it in me so I just had to show them real fast.”

Defensive lineman Graham Uter from Bayside Academy also applied pressure on the 4th down and knew as soon as the ball was in the air that it would fall harmlessly to the ground.

“We got them to fourth down and we were sending some stunts at them. We ran a little loop stunt where I go outside and we had a blitz off the edge then we both got to him,” Uter said. “He had to run away and when he turned, the other guy was right in his face so he had to throw it up and we’ve got great defensive backs, they batted it down and finished the game off.”

South on top again

With that, the South All-Stars ran off the field with a second straight win in Mobile and a third victory in the four games since the series moved to South Alabama.

“I was so excited, golly. We had worked for it, and we had always talked about the North and South like, ‘Let’s beat them and show them what the South is really like,’ so that was cool,” Uter said of his thoughts after the turnover on downs.

Baldwin connects strong

It was a full-team effort with other Baldwin County connections including athlete Ronnie Royal from Gulf Shores as well as running back Kolton Nero and offensive lineman Logan Joellenbeck from Foley.

Nero finished with 42 rushing yards on 8 carries and was featured in some packages where he and Clark were tailbacks with Royal as a wing. Clark logged 102 rushing yards on 14 carries with touchdown runs of 42 and 29 yards and Royal registered 69 total yards between 5 rushing yards, 5 receiving yards and 59 kickoff return yards.

All five mentioned how cool it was to share the field and roster with familiar faces.

“It was great, somebody you trust and you’ve been doing it with all season and all four years of high school so to experience it one more time was awesome to end the ride,” Nero said of running behind Joellenbeck’s blocks one last time.

“That was amazing, I needed to get it in one more time,” Joellenbeck said. “Unfortunately we didn’t make the playoffs so to get to play once more with someone that I played with all four years of my high school career was great.”

“It was great, I played 7-on-7 with some of these guys so to play one last time and play with them one last time in pads was awesome,” Royal said.

“They’re my dogs, been knowing them since we were really young so we grew up together and we did what we had to,” Clark said.

It was an especially full-circle moment for Uter, who grew up playing on the same team as the Foley Lion representatives.

“I grew up playing with Kolton and Logan. Nick a little bit, we played little league,” Uter said. “But me and Kolton and Logan were on the same team in Foley from like 8U through 12U so that was fun.”

Joellenbeck gets first taste of action at the Whit

As a South Alabama commit, Joellenbeck played the first of what should be many games on Abraham A. Mitchell Field at Hancock Whitney Stadium.

“Good to warm up to it so now I know what to expect out of it,” Joellenbeck said. “A great environment, I can’t wait for the stands to be filled up with Jaguar fans but it is for sure a lovely place.”

Nero closes career with victory

A high-value target for college programs, Nero was excited to close his high school career on a high note.

“I felt it was good, had a great O-line and great run scheme so all we had to do was execute it and we did, we ran it down their throats,” Nero said. “Feels great, had to end my high school career right.”

Uter relishes Bayside’s first all-star nod

As his school’s first AHSAA All-Star honoree, Uter was sure to take a moment of reflection after the 48 minutes.

“That was cool, I didn’t even know that until I got it and it surprised me but I just wanted to thank Bayside Academy first off and all my coaches and them for giving me this opportunity,” Uter said. “I hope kids at the school later on get this opportunity, that’d be fun.”

Royal remains undefeated

Fresh off a Class 5A State Championship where the Gulf Shores Dolphins secured their first 15-0 campaign in program history, Royal — the championship MVP — earned a 16th win to cap off his senior season.

“I just think it was a great year in general, football-wise,” Royal said. “From Gulf Shores to the North-South All-Star Game, it was just a great year.”

Clark takes home MVP honors

After Orange Beach’s Chris Pearson took home South MVP honors from last year’s 42-7 win, another MVP plaque returned to Baldwin County with Clark.

Nobody was more thankful than this year’s MVP of the North-South All-Star Classic, where Clark said he couldn’t have gotten there by himself.

“My first thoughts were that it’s a blessing. I appreciate every time and every opportunity I got during this game and during the season to close my high school career. I appreciate everybody who stayed with me and stayed up,” Clark said. “Most valuable player, but all my players are valuable.”

Stat sheet

Booker T. Washington’s EJ Hall registered a 28-yard rushing touchdown and caught a 9-yard scoring pass from Montgomery Catholic’s Caleb McCreary to complement Clark’s runs to pay dirt. Charles Henderson’s Nik Peerson delivered the go-ahead, 33-yard field goal with only 1:23 left to play.

Nick Peerson from Charles Henderson connects on a 34-yard field goal that gives the South All-Stars a 31-28 lead with 1:23 left in regulation. Caleb McCreary’s fourth-down scramble coming up big right now #ALHSFB pic.twitter.com/YeiPqsK0ly

— Gulf Coast Media Sports (@GCMSportsAL) December 15, 2023

Hall finished with 28 rushing yards on 2 carries and 4 catches for 53 receiving yards and McCreary threw for 39 yards on 5-of-12 passing. Baker quarterback Josh Flowers collected 45 rushing yards on 5 carries and threw for 27 yards on 2-of-5 passing. Davidson’s DJ Butler racked up 41 rushing yards on 7 carries and delivered a 28-yard kickoff return that set up Clark’s first touchdown.

Auburn’s Akeem White and Saraland’s Jermaine Paramore led the way with 4 total tackles where UMS-Wright’s Joe Lott, Dothan’s Ke’Avviyon Durry and Vigor’s Brandon Purifoy all came down with an interception.

Money quotes

“I’m just excited, we worked for this all week and we came out on top,” Uter said. “The South showed them what’s up.”

“It was a great feeling, a great environment for family and friends to cheer you on so it was an amazing feeling,” Nero said. “Good luck to everyone in their next journeys, excited to end our high school careers right.”

“We faced a little adversity going into the second half and seeing a little bit more motivation out of them really made them physical and it make them strike on the ball,” Joellenbeck said. “I want to thank everybody, my family, my friends, my coaches, everybody that got me to this point.”

“It definitely helped me, just to get a taste of how it’s going to be and I just think that I’m going to put my head down and work my butt off and when I go up there to the next level I’ll be good,” Royal said. “It was a great experience having great guys around you, you’re not just that one guy, everybody is that guy so it was great.”

“Great. That’s how you finish your high school career,” Clark said. “Just blessings, I feel great.”