Re: Alabama-Mississippi High School All-Star Classic (12/17): Team rosters and articl
39 yd fg,ms. 21-3
39 yd fg,ms. 21-3
AJ McCarron connected with Raphael Poellnitz on two touchdown passes and Alabama's defense forced five turnovers in a 28-3 victory over Mississippi in the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Classic at Ladd-Peebles Stadium on Saturday.
McCarron finished 9-for-16 passing for 162 yards and two touchdowns for Alabama, and Shawn Southward scored on two runs in the high school football showcase.
Quarterback AJ McCarron put on a show for the home folks, but he had a little help from a cast of stars.
Playing his last game in his hometown, McCarron threw two touchdown passes, and the Alabama All-Stars downed Mississippi, 28-3, on Saturday at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.
McCarron, a St. Paul’s senior and University of Alabama commitment, won the MVP award after completing 9 of 17 passes for 162 yards.
BACK IN THE GAME: Alabama defensive back Dre Kirkpatrick, who is largely considered one of the nation's best cornerback prospects, went down with an injury and limped off the field in the first half.
Kirkpatrick suffered a hip pointer and appeared to be finished for the day when he removed his shoulder pads. He then returned to the lineup in the second half and showed few signs of the injury.
-- TWO-WAY PLAYERS: Two Alabama players — Tana Patrick and Dre Shackleford — played on offense and defense Saturday.
Patrick, one of the South's top linebacker prospects, made two tackles. He was inserted at tight end in goal-line situations.
The Mississippi All-Stars' plan was simple.
With Meridian quarterback Tyler Russell and a deep, talented group of wideouts, Mississippi's best hope for success in the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Classic was to move the ball through the air.
But once the game started, the plan started to look like a long shot.
"Coach (Marcus Boyles) said I could call the first play," Mississippi starting quarterback Tyler Russell said. "I wanted to run all go routes to test them out."
That was the first shot, but Alabama fired all the rest in a 28-3 victory in which Russell's deep ball set the tone for the game. The 6-foot-5 Mississippi State commitment looked deep on a 40-yard heave to one of his top playmakers in Chad Bumphis. Alabama had Gadsden City's Dre Kirkpatrick locked on Bumphis.
Mississippi forgot about Kirkpatrick. The state's top prospect and elite national cornerback intercepted Russell's message, sending one of his own.Kirkpatrick stayed between Bumphis and the ball's flight.
He made the pick at the 10 and his momentum took him into the end zone. The 6-foot-3 Kirkpatrick carried the ball back out to the Alabama 29.
But the game's MVP looked athletic and poised as he scrambled to make plays all day Saturday.
"I had to try to make everything happen for my team," said McCarron, who will play his college ball at Alabama. "But in this I just did my job. Everybody did their job. We had the best 37 players in Alabama. They made plays and made me look good."
McCarron found Kelly on a 57-yard pass that showed everything one of the state's top receivers has to offer. He had been slowed this season with a groin injury.
Alabama quarterback A.J. McCarron connected with Ra.phael Poellnitz on two touch.down passes. McCarron hooked up with a Poellnitz on a 9-yard touchdown in the first half, and he threw a 23-yard to Poellnitz in the third quarter.
"No turnovers, no mistakes," McCarron said. "Every player did what they were supposed to do. We worked hard all week, and it paid off."
McCarron was named Alabama's MVP, and defensive back David Conner was named Mis.sissippi's MVP. Conner finished with four tackles and a sack.
CS: What's your take on the statement in this article about many observers on location thought that Dre Kirkpatrick was Texas bound?
Alabama had more success finding a rhythm, driving 71 and 70 yards in the first quarter to build a 14-0 lead. After a missed field goal following a Mississippi turnover, Alabama stretched the margin to three touchdowns on a perfectly executed slant from A.J. McCarron to Caleb Lewis on third-and-goal from the Mississippi 9 with 9 minutes, 5 seconds left in the second quarter.
McCarron, a slender 6-foot-4, 194-pound quarterback headed to Alabama next fall, completed 9 of 17 passes for 162 yards and two touchdowns to earn his team's MVP honors. Alabama finished with 158 rushing yards, including 29 on seven carries by Ole Miss commit Tim Simon of Cordova.
"They were strong up front offensively; that's a solid offensive line," said Mississippi defensive coordinator Todd Mangum of Ocean Springs. "Especially D.J. Fluker. He's an outstanding player."
The paragraph was written by a very misinformed writer. I gave it absolutely no credence. Dre has never indicated that Texas is his favorite. Most of the top recruiting analysts have said that they would be shocked if Kirkpatrick went anywhere besides Alabama. I feel the exact same way.CS: What's your take on the statement in this article about many observers on location thought that Dre Kirkpatrick was Texas bound?
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