TRACY, Calif – Nicolas Cuevas and Dylan McCauley are officially finished playing high school football.
The former Orestimba High football players suited up one last time on Saturday, as members of the South squad competing in the 49th annual Lions All-Star Football Game at Wayne Schneider Stadium on the Tracy High campus against the North team. Down by an 11-point deficit entering the final quarter, the South rallied but the North prevailed with a 42-37 win.
“The whole game was exciting,” said South head coach Tony Franks of St. Mary’s.
Cuevas started at outside linebacker for the South. McCauley also started on offense at wide receiver. Both also played on special teams in the game.
“Those boys are incredible,” said South head coach Jeremy Plaa of Downey, referring to Cuevas and McCauley.
Both teams had five days of practice, and Franks felt his staff and Plaa and his assistant coaches did a “great job” in preparing their respective players for the annual summer contest.
The North entered the fourth quarter with a 28-17 lead. Then the final 12 minutes of the contest saw a combined five touchdowns.
The South scored the final touchdown of the game with 3:55 left on the clock when quarterback Dominic Gonzalez of Golden Valley of Merced tossed a 47-yard scoring pass to wide receiver Joseph Delte of Turlock. Kicker Kacob Wallace of Downey booted the extra point.
“Would have loved a chance to give our offense one more chance to have the ball,” said Plaa of the fourth quarter.
Looking to gain the football back on the kickoff, the North retained possession and was able to run out the clock for the win.
The North made it a 42-30 game at 5:19 when running back Cody Ferrante of Calaveras cut to his left and found his way into the end zone at north end of the stadium on a 14-yard run. Tracy’s Elijah Gutierrez booted the extra point.
The South busted out a trick play to make the score 35-30 with 9:44 left in the game. The result was wide receiver Noah Cozart of Patterson hauling in a 54-yard halfback option pass and racing toward the end zone for the score. The extra point was also good.
The North’s first score in the final quarter came at 10:57. Quarterback Zackery Willson, who was named the game’s MVP, found North teammate in Edison wide receiver Marcus Harrison on a screen pass and raced down the North’s sidelines for a 48-yard touchdown. Gutierrez’s kick was also good to make it 35-23.
The South put points on the board first at the beginning of the quarter when Adarias Morales-Saetern, a running back from Merced, went up the middle and untouched on a 5-yard run for a 28-23 score. South quarterback Carson Lamb of Downey threw a pass on the 2-point conversion, but North’s Adrian Bankston tipped the pigskin for an incomplete pass.
In the third quarter, the North, which held a 21-17 lead at halftime, found its way to the end zone when Willson found wide receiver Terrence Hampton of Lincoln on a 35-yard strike with 4:42 remaining on the clock. Gutierrez’s kick was good for a 28-17 score.
The North’s only touchdown in the second quarter was quarterback Cody Ferrante of Linden rocketing the ball to wide receiver Isaac Sagapolu of Edison for the 63-yard score. The extra point extended the lead to 21-10.
Willson gave the North a 14-7 advantage in the opening quarter on a 13-yard run. Ferrante faked a handoff and hit Sagpaolu on a slant pattern for an 8-yard score with 9:37 in the quarter for a 14-7 score.
South wide receiver Johan Chaney of Davis scored the touchdown in between the North’s scores on a 1-yard run at 7:46. Wallace’s kick knotted the game at 7-7.
This is the second consecutive summer the prestigious all-star game provided excitement in the fourth quarter. In the 2024 meeting, the South posted an 18-15 win, scoring the go-ahead touchdown with 4 seconds left in the game. The South held a 12-0 lead in the game, then the North rallied for a 15-12 score before the South’s come-from-behind victory.
Sagapolu was given the game’s offensive MVP award. Tracy linebacker Ruben Moreno, also part of the North roster, was the game’s Most Inspirational Award.
Cuevas said his plan is to play football at Modesto Junior College this upcoming season.
“See where it takes me,” Cuevas said.
Mike Bush is a multimedia journalist who was born and raised in the Stanislaus and Merced County areas. Follow him on X/Twitter @MikeBMultimedia and Instagram @mikebushmedia.
