Area Players Shine at North-South Football Classic

Football

June 15, 2025•4 min read

The 2025 North-South All-Star Football Classic was a big play highlight reel Saturday at South Charleston High School.

The South Cardinals converted iys decisive big plays in all three phases.

Using three game-changing special teams plays, the South held off the North 29-22 for its second win in a row at the annual showdown.

Ronnie Staley from Wayne fired the first fireworks for the Cardinals when he returned the opening kickoff 90-yards to the North one-yard line.

Sai'Vyon Brown from George Washington then plunged in on the first play from scrimmage for a 6-0 lead.

The Bears threatened twice in the first half, but came up empty on both occasions.

Oak Hill's Mikey Spack recovered a fumble to thwart the first potential scoring threat before the South came up big once again on special teams.

Driving the ball deep into South territory, the Bears attempted a field goal with three ticks left on the first half clock.

Brandon Poticher from Greenbrier West came flying across the line, blocking the attempt to keep the North off of the scoreboard.

Blocking field goal attempts was nothing new for the Cavalier first-team all-stater.

"Without sounding pretentious and cocky, that's the only reason I am here. I have blocked six of those this year," Poticher said. "Before the snap, I knew I was going to go back there and block it, and I did."

Poticher explained how he has made blocking kicks more of an exact science.

"In this case it was real easy because we had Mikey (Spack) at middle linebacker and that big guard was worried about him crashing in. The guard had his eyes on him and didn't glance my way. Ty Mitchell was in at (defensive) tackle and their tackle was locked on him. None of those guys were looking at me. In the regular season, that is what I would do. I would look around and see who wasn't looking and find that gap. I hit it."

Video courtesy of Jessica Poticher

With the ball bouncing free in the offensive backfield, Bluefield's Jeff King made the scoop and was off to the races.

King ran 84 yards for the score, but was unsure what to do in the initial confusion.

"I saw a wide-open gap. I ran into and I picked the ball up. I didn't know if we could run it back. In Mercer County, you can't run it back. They are going to blow the whistle," King explained. "So I was running and they didn't blow the whistle. I knew I needed to keep running. I looked back and I was thinking someone was chasing me. It was my teammate (Solomon Ferrell). That is when we smacked hands."

Riding the momentum, the Cardinals forced a three-and out to open the second half and immediately added to the lead.

Noah Collins from Clay County found Brayden Clark from Scott for a 34-yard strike, pushing the lead to 20-0.

What looked to be a dominant lead disappeared before the third quarter horn sounded, however.

Washington quarterback Michael Thompson hit Patriots teammate Terry Rea III down the seam for a 64-yard touchdown before Grafton's Cam Foley hooked up on the same pass play for an 85-yard touchdown to Aaron Thomas from Morgantown.

Peyton Gardinier gave the South some breathing room with a 34-yard field goal early in the final quarter, but the North trimmed the deficit back to one with a five-yard jaunt from Thomas and a successful two-point conversion.

Needing a big play to stem the tide, Westside three-sport all-stater Kadien Vance found a situation he liked.

"We needed to score in the worst way, so we put Solomon Ferrell on a go-route. When you put somebody like that on a go-route and he is one-on-one, especially press coverage, he is an absolute athlete," Vance said. "Nobody that I have ever met is going to guard him one-on-one out there. I knew when I looked over there it was going to be a touchdown. I knew it before we snapped the ball."

Trailing by one score, the North moved into the red zone with just under a minute to play, but the South defense was up to the challenge.

With the North in a third-and-one situation at the 19-yard line, Bluefield standout Jayden Francisco crashed in from his defensive end position for a critical sack and a four-yard loss.

Needing one more stop, Francisco forced Brody Whitehair out of the pocket and he rolled to his right. Heavy pressure from Spack forced a throw into the end zone where the ball fell incomplete amongst a heavy collision.

Thompson was named the MVP for the North, while King was the MVP for the South.

S: 6 7 7 9 - 29

N: 0 0 14 8 - 22

First quarter

S: Sai'Vyon Brown 1 run (kick no good)

Second quarter

S: Jeff King 84 blocked FG return

Third quarter

S: Brayden Clark 34 pass from Noah Collins (Peyton Gardinier kick)

N: Terry Rea III 64 pass from Michael Thompson (rush failed)

N: Aaron Thomas 85 pass from Cam Foley (Kyree Bunny pass from Foley)

Fourth Quarter