GREELEY — The words weren’t coming to Brock Veasley after the all-state football final, but all he will need to remember are three letters: MVP.
The Aurora Central running back’s twitchy speed earned him a touchdown and set the tempo Saturday as the North squad routed the South 40-16 at Northern Colorado’s Nottingham Field to cap the 52nd annual event, presented by the Colorado High School Coaches Association.
“It’s the most amazing experience in the world. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” said Veasley, who will attend CSU-Pueblo. “There’s no words to say how fun it is.”
Veasley scored the game’s first touchdown on a 36-yard run. But perhaps his biggest play was as a decoy on a reverse kickoff that Simla’s Jake Toney took 85 yards to begin the second half and sufficiently break the South.
“Brock tore it up in the first half, so they were looking for him,” Toney said. “It went the opposite way and they weren’t ready.”
Toney also hauled in a 62-yard touchdown pass from Rocky Mountain quarterback Alex Kelly during the fourth quarter to prove a small-school athlete can make a big impression.
“I’m not going to lie, I was intimidated,” Toney said. “But once you get on the field, everyone is the same.”
Kelly completed two passes — both touchdowns — for 128 yards. He connected with D’Evelyn’s Jordan Kehoe for a 66-yard strike early in the second quarter to spark a long run of big plays for the North.
The North scored four touchdowns during the second half using a combined six plays. Holy Family quarterback Drew Hawkins had a 53-yard run to set up a 4-yard touchdown run by Sterling’s Lee Meisner and Heritage’s Ryan Skogg made it 40-9 with a 35-yard touchdown run.
The South had the speed of Justin Jackson (Pueblo West), Sean Farrior (Widefield) and Keenen Ballage (Falcon) in its backfield, but lacked the power to break through the North’s lines.
The third quarter was the South’s undoing as it failed to get a first down and had minus-17 yards of offense. Hard-hitting Chatfield linebacker and safety Andy Clements, who will attend Colorado State, was in on a heap of tackles, earned a personal foul and ran an interception back 55 yards during the third quarter.
“I was trying. I was trying to get something going,” Clements said.
North 0 13 13 14 — 40
South 0 3 0 13 — 16
North —Veasley (Aurora Central) 36 run, Crawford (Fort Collins) kick. North — Kehoe (D’Evelyn) 66 pass from Kelly (Rocky Mountain), kick failed. South — FG 31 DeLine (Steamboat Springs). North — Toney (Simla) 85 kickoff return, Crawford kick. North — Meisner (Sterling) 4 run, run failed. North — Toney 62 pass from Kelly, Crawford kick. South — Medina (Pueblo South) 1 run, run failed. North — Skogg (Heritage) 35 run, Crawford kick. South — Stone (Limon) 30 pass from Paddock (Fountain-Fort Carson), DeLine kick.
