South Tahoe High School's Tim Sprinkles played just under 10 minutes in the 19th Sertoma High School Classic all-star football game Friday night at Reno High, but he made his presence known.
Sprinkles, who was the third quarterback used by the West team, passed for his team's final two touchdowns in the third quarter and dashed any hopes for an East comeback, as the West dismantled the East 35-0.
Sprinkles was named the game's Most Valuable Player, an award he planned to get one way or another.
"I was joking around at the banquet earlier in the week, and I said that I should steal the MVP trophy after the game," said Sprinkles, who will attend Washington State to play both baseball and football.
Theft wasn't necessary, as the East turned the ball over a dozen times, hampering its own offensive flow the entire game.
"A lot of the turnovers were the result of the lack of practice," said East coach Rob Kittrell, who coached in the Sertoma Classic as an assistant in 1991.
East quarterbacks Lamar Lee and Carson High School's Jordan Payette were unable to lead the offense, as both struggled and accounted for nearly all of the team's turnovers.
"It was kind of sloppy out there and it didn't exactly turn out like we wanted," said Payette, who said most of the turnovers were caused by bad timing on the snaps. "But that's football."
The 35-point victory margin set a new record for the most lopsided win in the Sertoma Classic's 19-year history. The old record was 31 points, set back in 1987.
But Kittrell's spirits remained high despite the disappointing loss to the West.
"It was like Christmas in June," he said. "We lost, but I'd do it all over again."
Up 21-0 at halftime, the West used Sprinkles' 11-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter to Reno's Ryan Kane to increase its lead. Another Sprinkles touchdown pass in the beginning of the fourth quarter sealed the win for the West, as tempers started to flare on the field.
Payette and several West players got into a altercation that resulted in a three penalites against the East, pushing the team back 45 yards.
" We got frustrated because we were playing bad, and both teams took some cheap shots at each other. But those things happen," Payette said.
After the East fumbled with under two minutes left in the game, the West players sensed the game was over and raised their helmets in the air.
" It was an awesome feeling," said Dayton High School's Andy Gust. "This was a great experience."
At the start of the game, both teams tried to jump out to an early lead. West quarterback Brian Fritz threw an interception to start the game after going for a long pass. The East returned the favor when Lamar Lee threw a deep pass that was intercepted. But the West capitalized, just as it did the entire game on East's turnovers.
Bishop Manogue High School's Justyn Midanik ran for two touchdowns off East turnovers as the West jumped out to an early 14-0 lead. Fritz's 1-yard touchdown before half-time increased the West lead to 21-0.
