If this year's talent -- and past results are any indication -- the 21st annual version of the Sertoma All-Star Football Game should be an entertaining affair.
Northern Nevada's top senior players from last season will be featured in the game when the East takes on the West at 7 p.m. Friday at Spanish Springs. The Carson Country will again be well-represented in the game.
Carson, Fernley and Yerington High players will play for the East and Douglas and Galena players will play for the West. The series between the East and the West is tied at 10. Carson Country players selected for the game include:
Carson -- Josh Carter, Javier Vega, Chris Randle, Mitch Price and Chris Barredo; Douglas -- Brandon Shupe, Mike Garren and Chad Linderman; Galena -- Luke Penrose, Vann Adams, Jake Wahrer, Darrell Faircloth and Graham Munro; Fernley -- Adam Schwab, Kyle Davis and James Barnes; Yerington -- Phil Wilson; and Dayton -- Ivan Trigueros and Ryan Jacobsen.
Among those selected who will not be able to play are Fernley's Matt Lambeth, arguable the best all-around Northern Nevada 3A athlete. "He's concentrating on baseball," Fernley coach Dave Hart said.
Butch Cattanach, who coached Trigueros and Jacobsen at Dayton last year, said both players will be unable to play due to prior commitments. Fernley running back-linebacker Danny Maguin was chosen as an alternate and may receive the chance to play.
Several Division I players will be featured including Luke Penrose, who won an appointment to the United States Naval Academy and will play football for Navy. As a running back and defensive back, Penrose was one of Northern Nevada's best all-around players.
McQueen quarterback Jeff Rowe, Wooster linebacker-tight end J.J. Milan and Elko running back-kick returner Kyle Eklund, who all signed with the University of Nevada, are scheduled to play in the game.
Carson coach Shane Quilling said Carter still plans to throw the shot put and discus in track at Wake Forest. Last season, Carter averaged 7.0 yards a carry and rushed for 14 touchdowns in being selected to the all-Sierra League first team and as Carson offensive most valuable player.
Vega was the team's most valuable player and an all-league first team choice. He played receiver, defensive back and returned kicks. He had a 17.0 yard punt return average and a 28 yard kickoff return average.
"He basically did it all," Quilling said. "He was the heart and soul for us. He was a fantastic player."
If the contest comes down to the kicking game, it appears that neither team will have an advantage. Two of Northern Nevada's best kickers last year were Barredo and Munro.
Barredo plans to walk on as a kicker for Nevada where he will have a tough challenge ahead as Damon Fine has established himself as the Wolf Pack's kick.
Barredo was also Carson's defensive MVP at linebacker and an all-league first team choice.
"He was just all over the field," Quilling said. "He was a real leader."
Randle, an all-league first team choice as an offensive lineman, had more than 20 "de-cleaters" last year and was one of the most dominant linemen in the league, Quilling said.
Price, an all-league second teamer as an offensive lineman, would have made the first team if Carson had a better record, Quilling said. Quilling said Price was one of the top five linemen in the league.
Shupe anchored the Tigers' offensive line. "He's a guy that we really depended on," Douglas coach Mike Rippee said.
Garren was a receiver-linebacker at 5-8, 168 pounds. "He was an undersized linebacker and a slow receiver," Rippee said.
"But he loved the game and he played it with a passion."
Rippee said if anybody deserves to be in the game, it's Garren. Linderman was a 6-3, 275-pound defensive lineman.
Barnes was all-state first team both ways as a defensive end and offensive lineman and maintained a 4.0 grade point average. Hart said Barnes was one of the best linemen he's seen in his 26 years of coaching.
Davis was an all-league first team choice at center and Schwab was Fernley's top receiver. All three were three-year starters.
Schwab set a single game record for receiving yards when the Vaqueros beat eventual state champion Truckee for the first time ever.
"He's a heckuva receiver," Hart said. "The bigger the game, the better he played. He catches everything that's thrown to him."
Wilson was a tight end and linebacker. "He was really a backbone to us offensively and defensively," Yerington coach Cody Neville said. "He's the type of player that knows his position along with everybody else's."
Adams was Galena's go-to receiver while Wahrer was a 6-1, 240-pound defensive tackle and Faircloth was a 6-2, 210-pound defensive end.
Trigueros and Jacobsen were both linebackers and Trigueros was also an outstanding kicker and punter.
