Thoughts from the AutoZone Liberty Bowl All Star Game

There were outstanding performances on both sides of the ball. For my money, I thought that the best player on the field was Raleigh Egypt's Denarius Dooley (6'2, 230) of the Blue team. Although they didn't keep stats (why I don't know), Dooley always seemed to be involved in the play/tackle. The LB was all over the field and even scooped up a fumble and returned it 32 yds for a score.





The northern half of Shelby Country represented itself very well in the game. In addition to the performance of Dooley from Raleigh Egypt, their neighborhood rivals from Craigmont acquitted themselves very nicely. RB Walter Crutchfield (5'10,175) returned 1 kickoff 82 yds for a TD and actually returned a second for a TD as well except an official had to throw a flag 15 yds behind the play to nullify it. Crutchfield was a beast all day as were his teammates LB Dorian Robinson (5'10,210) and DL Devin Williams (6'2, 245). Both Robinson and Williams seemed to always be in the middle of the action along with Dooley.

Millington DB George Odom (6'2, 179) had some big hits and RB Antonio Webber (5'11, 215) had 2 rushing TD's. Arlington QB Drew Reed (6'2, 185) played for the first time since breaking his collarbone back in the middle of the season and threw 2 TD passes. Reed even caught a pass late in the game that was pretty spectacular as he went up and over the defender to get the ball and the first down. His teammate WR Justin Boring (6', 165) made a spectacular catch for a TD to get the Blue team on the board and threw the pass that Reed caught. Boring is going to make some college coach look very smart for recruiting him. He doesn't pass the "eye test" but Boring just makes plays and you can never have enough of those players on your team. The hit of the night came when Bolton's Garrett Copeland (5'9, 185) absolutely devastated Wooddale's Andre Stokes (5'8, 160) on a punt return in the second half. Stokes was able to get up and walk off the field. CBHS DE Robby Young (6'4, 250) spent a good amount of time in the backfield for the Blue team and his teammate, WR Anthony Miller (5'11, 170) had 2 TD's on the day.

The Red team had its share of outstanding performers as well. MUS QB Jordan Rodgers (6'1, 185) had 2 TD passes to Whitehaven WR Gerald Perry (5'10, 160). On the first one, Rodgers threw the ball 10 yds ahead on Perry and he never broke stride and ran straight into the end zone from 36 yds out. The second showcased Perry and his open field ability as he broke some tackles en route to a 60 yd TD. MUS RB Shane Tucker (6'1, 208) ran very well in the game and had 2 TD's as well. East QB Eddie Harper (5'8, 180) had 2 TD passes of his own.

Defensively, Mitchell DB Antonio Gilliam (6'1, 175) had a spectacular interception right in front of me continuing the impressive work he did during the season for the Tigers. White Station's Jason Carr (6'6, 270) was part of a D-line that was huge and made it extremely difficult to run on. Hillcrest's Courtney Gaines ( 6'4, 275), East's Herbert Moore (6'2, 320) and Harding's Mack Weaver (6'6, 245) were some of his partners in crime on the line. Another teammate (although not nearly as big as the others on the line) was Southwind's Christian Johnson (6'4, 225) who always seemed to be in the backfield. LB's Marcus Robinson of East (6'3, 215) and Jeremie Glass of Westwood (6'1, 230) were involved in numerous plays as well. Whitehaven's Darius Sims (5'9, 170) was his usual self, making plays on both sides of the ball. How would you feel as a defensive coordinator if you looked out on the field and saw the opposing team running the spread offense with having to stop this set? Rodgers at QB, (on the left side in twins) MUS WR Will Whitley (6'3, 190) and Sims, (on the right side) White Station ATH Donald Gray (5'10, 190) and Perry. That's a lot of firepower!

One of the other things that struck me was how the coaches were into this game. All star games get the reputation of being laid back affairs that everyone is there to have fun but from the start you could hear the coaches barking out instructions and moving up and down the sidelines with the intensity of a regular season game.

Here is a link to the game story from John Varlas at the Commercial Appeal along with some great pictures!

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2012/dec/08/autozone-liberty-bowl-prep-all-star-game-an/