North ekes out Agganis football win over South

LYNN ? In one of the most competitive, intense editions of the Agganis All-Star Football Classic, O’Shane McCreathe ( Malden) scored on a 4-yard run with 1:03 remaining to give the North squad a 26-25 win over a plucky South team, Friday night, at Manning Field.View Photo GalleryThe game went back-and-forth all night, with Brandon Walsh’s (North Andover) second rushing touchdown of the game putting the South on top with 5:04 left to play. Everett’s Jonathan DiBiaso then led the North on a 65-yard drive that was capped by McCreathe’s touchdown run.DiBiaso (10-19-0-193, 2 TDs) was named the North squad’s MVP, while Walsh (7-13-0-118, 2 TDs) was the MVP for the South.”To see Jonathan lead the team down the field like that on the last drive of the game was pretty special,” said North coach John DiBiaso, the quarterback’s father and head coach at Everett High. “And to do that his last time in an Everett helmet made it even better.”Failure to convert extra points was the undoing for the South, according to South coach Steve Dembowski, of Swampscott High. The South had a kick blocked after its first touchdown and was points for the most of the rest of the game, failing to convert on the two 2-point conversions it tried in the second half.”It came down to our kicking game,” Dembowski said. “Maybe we started going to two too early, but we didn’t execute. But it we score 28 points, we win the game.”The North scored on its second possession of the game when DiBiaso found Cambridge’s Kevin Lovaincy on a 39-yard fly pattern, after the defender covering the receiver slipped. The try for two was no good, and the North led, 6-0, with 2:58 left in the first quarter.The South answered almost immediately when Brandon Walsh directed a quick drive that culminated with a 17-yard touchdown reception by Marblehead’s Will Quigley.The North came right back again behind the passing of B.C. High’s Bartley Regan and the running of McCreathe, which set up a 23-yard scoring strike from Regan to Northeast Regional’s Bob Novello. The North got the ball right back when Swampscott’s Mike Walsh was intercepted by Chelsea’s Juan Martinez, and three plays later DiBiaso connected with Woburn’s Chuck Ortiz in the left flat. Ortiz made a move at the South’s 40 and then beat two defenders to the end zone for a 48-yard score. DiBiaso rushed for two points to give the North a 20-6 lead with 4:11 left in the first half.The South unleashed a gadget play on the ensuing drive with a flea flicker from Brandon Walsh to Swampscott’s Richard Sullivan for 34 yard, and then Swampscott’s A.J. Baker hauled in a 33-yard touchdown throw on a fly pattern down the left sideline with 1:52 left in the second quarter. The point after kick from Lowell’s Connor McHugh was good and the North’s lead was cut to 20-14 at halftime.The game started getting physical in the third quarter, with a fight just before Brandon Walsh scored on a 1-yard run on the opening drive of the second half to make the score 20-19, with the North hanging on to the lead. There were two other skirmishes on the North’s ensuing drive, and the officials called the coaches onto the field to try to quell the rough stuff.”Was it intense for an all-star game? Sure,” said coach DiBiaso.Neither team scored again until the fourth quarter, when the South took over at the North’s 21-yard line after a short punt. Brandon Walsh quickly found Classical’s John Finnigan for a 20-yard gain, and two plays later Walsh bowled in for a touchdown. The important try for two was no good and the South led, 25-20.Using mostly short passes, Jonathan DiBiaso converted three consecutive third downs, the last of which was a 14-yard throw to Everett teammate Vondell Langston that moved the ball to the South’s 6-yard line. Two plays later, McCrethe went off-tackle for the winning touchdown.The South got the ball at midfield after a good kick return by English’s Javon Brown Simpson, but four pass attempts by Brandon Walsh failed to connect, and the Sou