East picks its spots

Sunday, July 23, 2006

Chris Beaven, Canton Repository

CANTON - The week began with Brian Cross not knowing a whole lot about Dave DeMarco.

By the time Saturday night’s Repository East-West All-Star Football Game ended, though,

DeMarco had left quite an impression on Cross.

DeMarco intercepted two passes, taking one back for a touchdown, to help the Cross-coached

East team win, 14-3, in front of more than 8,000 at Fawcett Stadium.

“He had a great game and a great week,” Cross said of DeMarco, a GlenOak High School graduate.

The 5-foot-10 defensive back did not enter the game with impressive credentials like some of his

teammates. But DeMarco certainly made the most of his all-star experience.

“Not only did he have the two picks, but he also had a couple of big hits,” Cross said. “He’ll

remember this game for a long time.”

DeMarco, who will attend Ohio University but not play football, will remember morethan just the

game.

“Just getting the chance to know everybody, that’s what I’m going to miss from this,”

he said. “I made a lot of friendships.”

DeMarco earned the respect of his team, too. He was chosen as one of the East captains.

“He brought a great attitude to the practice field all week,” said Cross, McKinley’s head coach.

DeMarco’s 37-yard interception return for a touchdown, followed by Drew Kuhn’s PAT, gave the East a commanding 14-3 lead. The West, plagued by five second-half turnovers, never could climb out of that hole.

“We were inconsistent,” West head coach Tom Stacy of Massillon said. “We had a lot of opportunities, and we didn’t make plays. I thought our defense played real well. We had chances. We just didn’t cash in.”

The West defense limited the East to 181 total yards and 10 first downs. But the East defense proved it was up to the challenge, too, yielding 170 yards and seven first downs.

In addition to DeMarco’s two interceptions, Drew Kuhn of Louisville also intercepted two passes.

“I’m very happy with the way our defense played,” Cross said. “It’s tough stopping someone from scoring a touchdown in a game like this.”

DeMarco was not the only playmaker for the East.

Kuhn, the Stark County Player of the Year last fall, set up the first TD with a 55-yard punt return to the West 25 late in the first quarter.

“He is as smooth as smooth can be,” Cross said.

But despite the short field to work with, the East scoring drive was not easy. It twice converted on fourth down. Kuhn kept for 7 yards on a fourth-and-inches, and Tim Cox scored on a fourth-and-goal from the 2 on the first play of the second quarter.

“Coach just told me to beat them to the corner, and everyone picked up their blocks real well,” Cox said.

West quarterback Shawn Weisend of Massillon made a couple of plays to get the West on the scoreboard late in the half. He completed a 10-yard pass to Ryan Wallace of Northwest and scrambled for 16 yards on the next play. That set up a 46-yard field goal by Jackson’s Cam McCreary with 1:39 left in the half. It’s the second-longest field goal in the game’s 17 years.

When Troy Ellis of Massillon intercepted a pass and returned it 26 yards to the East 13 on the second play of the second half, the West had a chance to take the lead. But Kuhn intercepted a pass in the end zone on the next play.

Five minutes later, DeMarco made his big play, intercepting a tipped pass.

“We knew they’d being throwing those quick flat passes,” he said. “We were trying to jump those. I was just late on one earlier. I knew it would happen eventually.”

DeMarco made the pick and returned it 37 yards down the right sideline with 5:28 left in the third.

“It was huge because neither team moved the ball real well,” Cross said. “To get a defensive score like that ... gave us some breathing room. He made a great run after the catch.”

DeMarco joked that he had to make  that run.

“The coaches from Louisville were making fun of me. Being a safety from the Federal League, was I fast enough?” he said with a big smile. “I proved them all wrong there.”

And it enabled DeMarco to provide the perfect ending to a week, “that was awesome.”

NETWORK

Drew Kuhn of Louisville played quarterback, wide receiver, defensive back, place-kicker and also returned punts Saturday in The Repository East-West All-Star Game. He was a key cog in the East’s 14-3 victory. Photo by Repository Ray Stewart

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2006 Repository East-West All-Star Football Game